Chapter 9
NINE
JULIET
Sitting in the library, looking over some of the staff log evidence Gino requested, I find nothing. Nothing definitive to tell us if Lorenzo’s working with anyone who’s also on his father’s staff. I know how badly Gino wants to give his sister something, but there really is nothing yet.
I don’t hear Gino walk in until he sits on the coffee table in front of me.
My eyes widen looking at his hands; they're red and lightly swollen. And there’s blood on his shirt, and his brown hair is disheveled.
“I should call Vanessa,” I say to him, grabbing my phone from my pocket.
He stops me, taking my phone and placing it down on the table. “No,” he says gruffly.
“No? Gino, you have cuts all over your hands. It could get infected—”
He cuts me off. “I said no. If she sees this, she will ask questions, and right now I can’t see her and tell her I have nothing.”
I swallow. “What happened?” I whisper, looking back down at his hands.
“Ryan tracked down one of Russo’s associates in New York. I didn’t know they had people here, but I guess they do. We questioned him. He didn’t have any details, so we eventually let him go.”
“What did you do to him?”
He looks up and stares at me for a second, and I think he’s about to walk out of the room.
“We questioned him, and it got violent.” His voice is low.
“Got violent? Gino, please tell me he isn’t in the hospital or something.”
“I don’t know where he is right now. But I may have tied him to a chair and punched him a few times,” he mumbles.
“I thought you didn’t want to be as violent as your father.”
“My father would have killed him if he didn’t give him something he wanted. I’m still not as violent as him,” he says with finality in his voice.
“That’s true, but you have to promise me that you won’t turn into your father because of this,” I practically beg.
“I won’t. I’m going upstairs. Vanessa said she wants to come over tonight for dinner,” he says as he gets up. Before he leaves, I can feel his gaze on me. Then, as quickly as he was here, he’s gone.
By midafternoon, I decide to take a break and start dinner. Vanessa loves Chicken Parmesan, and I really want to bring a smile to her face, so it’s settled.
Before I get started, I head up to Gino’s office.
I’ve never knocked before, but for some reason I do this time.
“Yeah,” his gruff voice calls out.
I open the door and peek my head in.
Gino has showered since he was in the library. His hair is still slightly damp. He’s got slacks on but no shirt; it's over the chair in front of his desk.
I can’t speak; I just stare at his toned body on display.
“Juliet, what is it?”
I snap out of my trance. “Uhh, how many people are we expecting for dinner?”
“Just you, me, and Ness.”
“Should I be there?”
“Why wouldn’t you be?”
“Because this seems like a family dinner.”
“I guess you could call it that, but it doesn’t need to be just her and I.” He pauses. “I would like you there.”
That throws me off. He wants me there?
I turn to leave. But before I do, Gino calls my name.
“Juliet, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything.”
Why is my phone ringing this early in the morning? Prying my eyes open, I look over at the clock and see it’s 4:45 am.
Seriously, whoever this is couldn’t wait until the sun rises?
I grab my phone and look over at it: unknown number. I’m not answering that. I put the phone back on my nightstand, and it keeps ringing. I won’t answer it, not a chance. After their third attempt, they finally stop.
Then the texting sounds start, and I groan. What the hell?
Unknown
Juliet
Juliet
Who is this?
Unknown
That isn’t important.
Juliet, you need to help get something to Gino
Juliet
I am not giving Gino anything until I know who this is.
Unknown
That isn’t important. Get this to him immediately.
File sent
Don’t open it, I tell myself. There has to be a way to figure out who this is.
I dial the number.
“This number is no longer in service.” Are you fucking kidding me? They blocked me after sending that. Curiosity gets the better of me, so I open the file.
Holy shit.
Before I can get dressed, I run out of my room to Gino’s office.