Page 96 of Mafia Darling

Holy shit. Wait, it couldn’t be. I stared closer. Enlarged it to be sure.

Yes, I was right. It was her.

Agent Rinaldo was in the background.

My mind reeled with the news. What the fuck? This was no coincidence. Vic was related to a GDF agent? How was that possible? Was Rilando even an agent? She’d handed me a card, but anyone could print those online.

“Turn around!” I slapped the headrest of Nesto’s seat. “Go back to the castello. Right now!”

Nesto didn’t question it. Immediately, he turned around in the middle of the street, causing the SUV’s tires to squeal against the pavement. I hardly noticed. I began texting Giulio that I needed to see him and Marco right away.

The drive seemed to take forever and the men in the car were quiet. More than likely they didn’t know what to think about my erratic behavior. I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to explain myself to them, not with news like this.

Once inside the castello I didn’t bother knocking on the office door. I turned the knob, went in, and closed the door behind me. Giulio looked up from behind the desk, Marco standing at his side. I blurted, “Agent Rinaldo is related to Vic.”

Marco went stiff and Giulio narrowed his eyes at me. “How do you know that?” my friend asked. “We’ve looked into his family and his background and found nothing out of the ordinary.”

I found the screenshot of the post I’d saved on my phone. “This came from his Aunt Rosemary. I found her on Facebook and started scrolling back through old photos.” I pointed to the woman’s face. “This is her right there. That’s the woman calling herself Agent Rinaldo.”

“This is from seven years ago,” Giulio said, passing the phone to Marco. “Minchia! How did we miss this?”

“Because we weren’t looking on Facebook,” Marco murmured. “This explains why we hadn’t heard of her. She’s not a real GDF agent.”

“Why would Vic’s relative pose as a GDF agent and approach me? It makes no sense. If he’s working with Enzo to embezzle money, why bother with me?”

“Chaos,” Marco answered. “You are Fausto’s weakness. If Enzo can get you thinking about leaving or turning over information, that’s all he needs.”

Giulio nodded. “Who knows? If you agreed to go with Rinaldo, you might’ve been kidnapped again.”

Jesus. This was making my head spin. Was Enzo really so devious?

“So now what? You’re going to go and find Vic, right?”

“I know exactly where he is.” Marco took out his phone and began texting. “I’ll have the boys get him and bring him here. That way he won’t suspect anything.”

“Then the dungeon?” I asked, my gaze bouncing between the two men.

Giulio cast me an odd look. “Why do you sound excited by that?”

“I’m not excited.” I heard the lie in my voice. Damn, I was excited—but not at the idea of Vic enduring whatever hell awaited him in one of those cells. No, I liked that I’d played a part in discovering his treachery. I was good at this mafia shit.

“Okay, they are bringing him,” Marco said. “He thinks we need his help with a problem in the security room.”

I dusted my hands and took a bow. “Well, my work here is done. Good luck, boys. I think I’ll head over to the hospital now.”

“Wait, Frankie.” Marco gestured to the chairs in front of the desk. “Let’s sit down. I have something to tell you.”

Giulio’s face went completely blank, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear. “I don’t need to sit. Tell me now.”

“He said you can’t come to the hospital any longer. It’s too dangerous.”

My jaw fell open. That fucking husband of mine! Anger flared to life in my chest like a match had been struck. “He can’t keep me from visiting him.”

“No, but I can.” Giulio sighed heavily, looking serious and resigned, very much like a young mob boss. “I don’t want to, Frankie, but I will. Until Enzo is dealt with, we all need to remain cautious. And our enemies are crawling out from under the floorboards now that Fausto is injured. I can’t worry about everything else and you, too.”

The nape of my neck turned hot and a familiar defiance burned in my chest. No way was I staying inside the castello for months while Fausto recovered alone in the hospital. These two had to know me better than that.

“Do not get that look on your face,” Giulio warned. “I’m serious, Frankie.”

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