Enrico
“What are we doing here?” Lorenzo asks from the passenger seat.
I watch the front doors of the Milan Library from our parked car across the street. “Just checking something out.”
“Like what?”
“You don’t think it’s weird that Francesca has been frequenting here?”
Lorenzo frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Francesca has been here every day for weeks.”
“So? She’s studying.”
I watch Francesca’s car arrive and pull into the parking lot. She gets out of her car with her driver and walks up the front steps. “I smell a rat.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” He scoffs.
I smile and sit back in my seat. “We shall soon see, won’t we?”
Twenty minutes later, Francesca’s guard is sitting on the front steps of the library having a cigarette. He did his job, went in, and searched the premises with her. I get out of the car and cross the street. He stumbles to his feet as he sees me.
“Mr. Ferrara.” He throws his cigarette to the side. “I just checked on her.”
“It’s fine. Stay where you are. I’m just here to talk to her.” I brush past him and walk into the library to take a look around.
Where is she?’
My eyes scan the room until finally I find her. She’s sitting in the back corner with a boy. I can’t see his face. He’s wearing a cap. I walk over to behind a bookcase and watch them. For five minutes, they talk, and then eventually, he picks up her hand and kisses the back of it.
They’re obviously more than friends.
I clench my jaw. I knew it. I march over there at once, and they both look up.
My heart stops.
Giuliano.
What the…?
“What are you doing?” I growl.
His eyes widen in horror.
“Enrico,” Francesca whispers in a panic. “We’re just talking.”
Before I can help myself, I grab him by the arm and I’m marching him toward the door. We burst out the front doors, and I throw him across the garden. He rolls spectacularly across the lawn.
“Rico!” Francesca cries from behind me.
“She is underage,” I shout.
He scrambles to his feet and steps forward. “You can’t stop me seeing her.”
Lorenzo comes running across the street. “Rico. Rico, no!” he cries, waving his hands in the air. “Stop it. Stop it now.”
For the second time tonight, I lose control. I grab Giuliano by the throat. “She is too young for you.”
“Stop it!” Francesca cries. “I love him. Stop it, Rico. Don’t hurt him.”
I turn to her, my eyes wide. What the fuck?
He’s her brother.
Lorenzo’s horrified eyes meet mine, and he shakes his head in disbelief.
I squeeze Giuliano’s throat so hard that his eyes nearly pop out of his skull.
“You go near her again and you will be dealing with me.” I throw him across the garden, once more, and he falls to the ground.
Francesca runs to him but I grab her arm and tear her from his side. She fights to try and get back to him. I drag her to the car and throw her inside, slamming the door shut behind me.
I turn back to Giuliano as he watches on. He glares at me as he pushes himself to his feet. His fists are clenched by his sides, and anger is radiating out of him.
“I’m not leaving her alone,” he states, as if daring me to come at him again.
I step forward, dangerously close to losing control.
“Rico, don’t,” Lorenzo whispers. “Leave it.”
“I love her, and you can’t keep her from me.”
Contempt drips from my every pore. I don’t think I’ve ever despised someone as much as I despise him.
“Watch me,” I whisper.
He steps forward.
The kids got guts; I’ll give him that.
“Over my dead body will you ever see Francesca again,” I sneer.
He growls at me through gritted teeth, and I turn to get into the car. Once inside, I slam the door.
“Drive!” I yell to Antonio. I turn to Francesca who is crying in the backseat.
“I hate you, Enrico,” she cries.
I turn back to the road and drag my hands through my hair.
I can’t even speak to her, I’m too angry. This situation is completely out of control.
What the actual fuck just happened?
He’s her brother.
* * *
“Enrico, can I see you for a moment?” Marly asks as he pokes his head around my office door.
“Yes, please come in.”
Lorenzo stands to leave, and Marly looks between us. “Can you stay, Lorenzo?”
Lorenzo’s eyes meet mine. “Sure.” He falls back into his seat.
Marly falls into the seat. He seems nervous. “I had a phone call today from a private number.”
“And?”
“Someone offered me ten million euros to kill you.”
“What?”
He swallows nervously. “Lucky Lombardi is trying to recruit someone from your own team to kill you.”
I stare at him, lost for words.
“What?” Lorenzo explodes as he jumps from his chair. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” He twists his hands nervously in front of him. “I told him I would do it, because I didn’t want him to contact anyone else. It will buy us some time. If I said no, he would have offered it to someone else. This way, he thinks I am going to do it.”
“Good thinking, Marly. Well done,” Lorenzo tells him.
I begin to hear my heartbeat in my ears, and I go to the window and stare out the city.
My inside team? Who can I trust now?
“He’s gone too far!” Lorenzo barks. “I’m going to kill him with my bare hands.”
“Who else has he contacted?” I ask. What if he bribes one of Olivia’s guards?
“Nobody would ever take a deal, Enrico. Our men are family.”
She’s in danger.
I stare out over the city as my mind begins to race. “Ten million euros is a lot of money, Lorenzo. It’s only a matter of time before someone accepts it.”
“Put a bounty on his head for fifteen million. His own men won’t be so loyal,” Lorenzo fires back.
I go to the bar and pour myself a drink where I quickly drain the glass. “We’re losing control,” I say quietly.
“We aren’t.”
“Lombardi has contacted my private security guard and offered him ten million fucking euros to kill me. What control do you think I have left?” I cry.
Lorenzo puts his head into his hands, and I turn to Marly. “Thank you, my friend. Your loyalty is greatly appreciated and will be well rewarded. Please, put your ear to the ground and try to find out if anyone else has been contacted.”
“Yes, boss.” He dips his head and rushes from the room.
I pour another glass of scotch as a heaviness hangs in the air. There has been a lot of bad things happening lately, but this is a low blow.