Page 11 of Secret Baby of the Don

“The Gallos are putting on some kind of charity fundraiser,” he said idly.

I froze. “The Gallos?”

“Enzo likes to make a big splash in the community,” my father commented. “And that one I’d really like you to be at. Your friend Martina should be there, so don’t let her distract you.”

I nod solemnly. “Never again.”

My father chuckled. “Never say never,” he warned.

I looked at him for a long moment. “Do you suspect the Gallos for the laundromat incident?” I asked.

He tilted his head. “Not Enzo,” he said finally. “But Ricardo? Maybe. He’s a loose cannon, and I’m not sure Enzo realizes how bad he’s gotten the last couple of years.”

I thought about Ricardo hitting on me the night before, obviously drunk and high. I nodded, agreeing with him. “He kind of has a thing for me,” I mumbled. “So I can probably get some information out of him.”

My father raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that. Maybe you could just ask Rocco—”

“No,” I said flatly. “Rocco just got back to town, he won’t know anything.” I paused. “When is the meet?”

“Tonight,” my father answered, and I groaned. He looked at his watch. “In about an hour, actually, so you should get dressed.”

I took a deep breath. “Can I bring Alberto?” I asked.

He looked at me, surprised. “I thought you’d make the case you should go alone.” I usually would, not liking being watched by my father’s men, but after last night, I’d be grateful to have Alberto with me, traitor or not. With the way Ricardo was on the edge, if I planned to pretend to be interested in him, I needed to have someone to keep an eye out. “Tell him he’s going with you. He should be downstairs,” my father said.

I went down to find Alberto. He was smoking out on the terrace, and gave me a sheepish grin when I glared at him. “I can see I can’t trust you with secrets,” I mumbled, but there was no harm, no foul. My father had been even encouraging about me going out. It had ended in a bust, but I did feel a little better after getting some down time, I had to admit. Alberto shrugged in response. “You’re coming with me to the fundraiser tonight,” I said firmly, and he just nodded. “Be ready in half an hour.” He looked down at himself, wearing a tailored black suit, and back up at me, as if he was already ready. I snorted out a laugh and headed upstairs to my room to get ready.

I’d showered this morning, so all I had to do was find a dress. I needed a particularly revealing one to grab Ricardo’s attention, and so I picked out one I hadn’t worn in a while, an eye-catching red one that hugged my curves and showed off my legs. I paired it with a pair of red stilettos that made me almost Ricardo’s height. If this didn’t do the job, nothing would. I put on some light makeup with a smoky eye, even putting on eyelashes. I didn’t usually because my lashes were already long and black, but it made my brown eyes pop to put them on with a bit of blue eyeliner.

Alberto escorted me to the car after I said my goodbyes to Papa, and made sure Alice was available in case Matteo got up in the middle of the night. I tried to breathe deeply and evenly on the way there, my heart racing. I would have to see Rocco again. I didn’t know if I hoped he’d ignore me or speak to me. It wasn’t like we’d exactly gotten to talk much the night before, after all, and part of me did want to catch up. Of course, I wouldn’t say anything about Matteo, but I was curious where Rocco had been all this time.

When we entered the Gallo mansion, Ricardo was nowhere to be seen, but Enzo was sitting near the bar, greeting everyone who walked in. “It’s a thousand dollar buy-in for the dinner,” he said, giving me a sly smile. “But in that dress, I think you deserve a discount.”

“Absolutely not,” I said, smiling back. Enzo was a sweet old man, although a bit flirty. “My father sends his regards,” I told him, handing him a check for five thousand my father had signed.

Enzo looked up at me, his smile fading slightly. “He wasn’t able to make it?”

“His blood pressure,” I started, and Enzo nodded, seeming to understand. I knew that Enzo was sick, some kind of heart condition, so I figured that excuse was something he’d understand. In reality, my father had just been giving me more rein for the last couple of years. The other night was the first night he had let me go completely by myself, and I thought I’d ruined it. But he’d seemed grateful I’d gotten some time off, and he still trusted me to come to this meet. I wouldn’t let him down.

“Where’s Ricardo?” I asked, noting the slight grimace on his face.

“Hopefully somewhere in the mansion, staying out of trouble,” he said in a low tone.

I smiled. “I saw him last night, wanted to catch up.”

“By all means,” he said, pointing out to the balcony. “That was where I saw him last.” I looked over and saw there were three or four men out on the balcony. I couldn’t recognize Ricardo from the back.

Alberto greeted Enzo with a smile and nod and followed me to the balcony. I put a hand on his shoulder just outside the door. “Wait here,” I ordered. “Just keep an ear out.” He did as I said and I walked out onto the balcony, right next to Ricardo who was smoking, leaning against the railing.

“Oh, look, it’s the little tease from the club,” he snarled.

Anger rose up in me but I pushed it down. “Sorry, I was a little drunk last night,” I said. “I wanted to come and apologize.”

Ricardo stood up straight, tilting his head. “Is that so? I guess I could spare some time for you, then,” he said with a sleazy grin.

I hated this part of the job, pretending to be some bimbo who would sidle up to any wiseguy, but until I officially took over my father’s business, this was what I had to work with. “Haven’t seen you in a bit,” I started conversationally, leaning toward him. “Have you been busy?”

“Very,” he bragged. “You know I’m taking over for the old man.”

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