Page 47 of Empire of Seduction

The four of us went to the SUV parked in the winery’s lot. Tommaso got behind the wheel, Cesare up front, while Michael and I settled into the back seats. When the doors closed, I said, “One of my guards is missing. He went out last night to a bar outside of town. I need you to direct us to where he might’ve gone.”

“Oh.” Michael visibly relaxed. “Okay. There are a few dive bars that people go to. Farther out of town are two strip clubs. Any idea what direction he went? That might help.”

“The strip clubs,” Cesare said. “We should start there.”

“Let’s go,” I ordered. “Michael, direct him.”

No one else spoke as Michael gave Tommaso directions out of town. I hoped we were overreacting. Like Tommaso said, we weren’t familiar faces here. There was no reason to think there was any danger. Benetti had assured me things were running smoothly, so we should be safe here.

The first club was deserted, the parking lot empty. To be sure we drove around the neighborhood, checking for Gaetano’s car, but didn’t see it. Along the way, we passed two of the dive bars Michael mentioned, but there was no sign of the car.

It only took a few minutes to reach the second strip club, but my brain kept spinning possibilities the entire time. One of my bad habits, Enzo liked to say, was overthinking things. Good for a consigliere, but a boss needed to make swift and certain decisions. Time was a luxury I could no longer afford, as my brother warned before I left for Toronto.

The lot at the second strip club was not empty. A large black SUV rested in the back, near a patch of woods. “There’s the car. Pull in here.”

“Cazzo!” Tommaso said under his breath and swung into the lot.

I scanned the surrounding area through the windows. No one seemed to be around. Was this a trap? Where the fuck was Gaetano?

My muscles tightened, my body alert as Tommaso parked the car. I pulled the gun from my waistband. “Stay here,” I told Michael and got out. Tommaso and Cesare were beside me as we all eased toward the parked SUV.

“Maybe you should also wait in the car,” Tommaso said quietly to me. “Until we know this is safe.”

I didn’t bother responding. Gaetano was my responsibility and I would help find him. I tried the passenger side door and found it locked. “Is that side open?”

“No.”

We peered through the tinted windows and the windshield. The car appeared empty. This was confirmed three minutes later when Cesare broke in. There was no evidence of Gaetano in the car, nor any indication of a struggle. “Start calling his mobile.”

Tommaso pulled out his phone while I walked around, searching the area. No scuff marks, no blood. No bullet casings. It was strange. Maybe Gaetano did go home with?—

A buzz sounded in the distance. We all froze, listening. “The woods,” I said, bolting toward the trees. “Again, Tommaso!”

I followed the noise, moving carefully so I could still hear. The other two were behind me, doing exactly the same. I moved to my right as Tommaso called a third time. I hoped to fuck that someone had thrown Gaetano’s phone out here, that it wasn’t what I feared.

A large shape on the ground, unmoving, caught my eye. A mobile buzzed somewhere underneath it.

Gaetano. And he was not alive.

“Motherfucker!” I snarled and lowered my gun.

“Madre di dio,” Cesare cursed as the three of us surrounded the body.

Gaetano had been shot once in the forehead. Executed here in the woods. Alone.

Leaves crunched nearby.

All three of us aimed our guns at the sudden noise. Michael put his hands up, his eyes round with horror. “Don’t shoot me. I just . . . Oh, my god. Is hedead?”

“You were told to wait in the car,” I snapped. “Go, Michael.”

“Wait, I’m sorry. I wanted to help you look. Has he been out here all night?”

Tommaso found Gaetano’s mobile and handed it to me. “The code is his birthday,” my guard told me. “February seventeenth.”

I unlocked the phone and began searching for any clue as to who did this. There were a flurry of missed calls from us, plus unread text messages from Tommaso. Nothing else of note.

“Think this was Benetti?” Cesare asked. “In retaliation for being here.”

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