“He told Camilla to disappear. Isn’t that strange?”
I defend my best friend and Capo with conviction. “He has feelings for her that go beyond friendship; he wanted to help her. There’s more at stake here than we are both aware of; I’m positive of that.”
“But what if A—”
“Basta così!” Enough! “I told you once don’t go there, last warning.” Aggravated, I lean forward with my elbows on my knees to get the control back over my emotions because I want to avoid a fight. This relationship we don’t dare to define is still too breakable.
“She planted a bomb at your headquarters,” she suddenly blurts out.
Craning my neck, I evenly demand, “Did you have anything to do with that?”
“No,” she answers in a soft voice as the hurt over my question blisters to the surface. “Do you believe me?”
And it’s that hurt that moderates my temper instantly because she’s already been through enough with losing her parents, so I reel myself in and lean back against the sofa.
Her hand rests on my thigh. “Do you believe that I had nothing to do with it?”
“I do.”
The breath eases out of her, and she straddles my lap. “I can’t handle fighting right now. Don’t be mad at me.”
She brings our foreheads together, and I rest my palms on her hips, stroking the curves, fingers splayed wide over the swell of her ass. I trace her nose with the tip of mine before our mouths meet. Only the lips caress at first, but when I open my mouth she welcomes my tongue and bows into my touch as she writhes on my hardening length, and I push my tongue hungrily inside. Her fingers weave into my hair, making me groan against her mouth while mine dig into her ass, but I pull back because we need to finish our talk. We’re quiet as our breathing slows, and we gaze at one another with the same look we used to share when we first met: the look of lust.
“I’m not mad, dolcezza. Tell me everything.” Feeling remorseful over my outburst, I press my lips to hers one more time, softly, and adjust her position a little because my hard-on is straining in my dress slacks.
She fidgets with the top buttons of my blue dress shirt. “A couple of days before my parents died, she came to my house. Cam was petrified because she found out the Capo crimine is looking for her. Luca, even we realize it can’t be a good sign when your boss – who must be a powerful man because you’re a rank lower and you’re already very influential – is trying to track down a person.”
I’m absolutely taken aback that she’s talking so openly about the Syndicate, which is the one subject we’ve been avoiding for weeks. Not wanting to disrupt her willingness to talk, I stay quiet but keep my hands on her to display that I’m not annoyed. I’m proud of her.
“She looked so different, and I was—” Abruptly she stops and startles herself because her eyes round.
She’s clearly holding something back, so I urge, “Keep going. I’m not angry. I know you’ve been through hell since your parents died.”
Opening and closing her mouth, she hesitates and takes a deep breath before continuing. “She didn’t tell me about the bomb the day she came to my house. Cam is also afraid of you and Adriano. She’s been hiding from the three of you: James, you, and Adriano. You and I weren’t really in contact then because it was after…you were done with me. Since the day my parents died, I’ve helped Cam by giving her money. She’s been visiting Sylvia’s office on Mondays for me to give her cash, and every time, I do my best to convince her to let us help her. I’ve told Cam how you and Adriano have been helping me.”
Her story is slightly confusing, so I’m trying to draw a timeline in my head as she relays the events. Cupping her head with one hand, I rub my thumb over her cheekbone. “I believe you. I’m disappointed you didn’t tell me before, but I do understand. Don’t worry about that, okay?” She has enough on her plate while coping with the grief, so I shouldn’t judge her harshly. “What’s Camilla’s plan, and where is she staying?”
“In a hotel. She doesn’t have a plan, and I can’t keep giving her money, but I feel obligated to help her since she helped me at your headquarters.”
I need to know for sure whether Fallon’s opinion about me has actually changed. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she answers instantly and keeps looking at me directly in the eye.
Good, but I need verification. “Why do you trust me now?” The back of my hand skims down her cheek.
She looks toward the window before explaining. “I think I always trusted you to have my best interest, but when everything came out, my fear forced me into a certain behavior. And…I still can’t grasp exactly what the Syndicate is, but I am starting to realize that not everything is what we make it out to be. I was also mad about the deceit, but mostly just confused. But through it all, I haven’t stopped loving you. Even though we’ve been apart for almost five months, I’ve missed you every day.” A few tears rush down her cheek, and I tenderly rub them away. “I was mostly afraid what it would say about me if I could love someone like you so deeply. However, since my parents died, I don’t want to be alone, and I don’t want to think about the future, not yet. I just…still want you to love me.”
“Ma io ti amo ancora.” I do still love you. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. How often I’ve wished you hadn’t continuously pushed me away. I will still do anything for you, and I want you to know that.” She realizes I’m referring to interfering with the police investigation or handling Ashton as I see fit when I’ve found him.
“I’m not sure I can live with myself if I ask you to help me break the law somehow. I’m just pleased that my grief hasn’t completely consumed me and that you’ve been here for me because that’s what’s kept me sane throughout this nightmare. I-I…No, don’t ask me that. I can’t make that decision now, let’s leave it up to the police, okay?” She presses her hands against my chest and inches closer while still sitting astride me.
This woman has no idea what she does to me because I instantly harden again, so I hold her hips to stop her movement.
I was right; she’s slowly losing faith in law enforcement, and I’m sticking to my original plan and won’t push her. “Okay. This is the first time you’ve spoken about the Syndicate. Did Sylvia encourage you to talk to me more?”
She nods.
“Did you say anything about the Syndicate in your sessions?”
“No. Everything I’ve said has been vague, and I never mentioned the Syndicate. I know that wouldn’t be smart because I could be endangering Sylvia too.”
Smiling, I hug her to me.
Did I ever underestimate her because she’s much smarter than I gave her credit for.
“This was the scariest yet most honest conversation we’ve ever had,” she says and presses her lips in my neck.
I mirror her action. “I think we just made some progress, dolcezza, but we still have to discuss Camilla.” She leans back, and I quickly rest my hands on her upper back, preventing her from falling.
“What about Cam?” she asks.
“What did you two agree on? Is she just going to keep visiting you on Mondays at Sylvia’s?”
“Well, we just take it week by week,” she admits sheepishly.
“Are you going to follow my instructions if I try to help you?”
“You mean help me with her? You’re not handing her over to James, are you?”
“I won’t.”
“I knew I was right!” And her mouth finds mine. “I knew you would help her. Tell me what to do because she desperately needs help.”
“First, we’re going to include Adriano in our course of action. Are you meeting her again next week?”
“Yes,” she confirms.
CHAPTER 26
Fallon
I’ve been carrying around the paperback of Tatiana and Alexander – the one Luca bought me when I was at the Syndicate’s headquarters last summer and had delivered to my apartment – in my purse and finally decide to read a bo
ok again while waiting for Camilla at Sylvia’s office. Opening my paperback, I realize that I have no idea what chapter I’m on, so I start at the beginning. After I’ve read only two lines, the door slides open.
“Hey,” Cam greets. “How have you been?”
Apparently, Luca and Adriano were ordered to stop searching for Cam, and that’s when James took over. Now Luca thinks there’s another reason James wants Camilla besides her possible involvement in the bombing at their headquarters, but he can’t figure out what that reason might be. Could there be anything romantic between James and Camilla? I told Luca and Adriano everything Cam revealed to me – even about the sex club, which Luca hurriedly explained when he witnessed my hurt expression. I was thrilled to hear they only visited the sex club to gather information about Cam. Cam hasn’t been completely truthful, but in her defense, she did say upfront that she couldn’t tell me everything.
All I want is for everything to be over so that I can focus on myself. This ordeal with Cam is starting to affect my life too much, but I do still want to help her. I’m hoping that when Cam’s problems are solved, Luca and I can start concentrating on us because we need to discuss a lot before taking the next step. And I’m not even sure if I can accept all of him, but for the last few weeks, he’s been my only light in this dark cloud of grief.
“Hey. I’ve been better.” I put my parents’ house up for sale this weekend. It’s been a tough couple of days.
Sympathy shines in her eyes as I store the book back in my purse and place it on the seat next to me. As discussed with Luca and Adriano, I don’t reveal that they’re in the know but follow instructions to hopefully gain valuable information from Camilla that will also help her. “Cam, I don’t have any more money.”
“I need to relocate anyway, Fallon. You’ve helped me so much, and I can’t thank you enough. Living in hotels is too expensive, and I’m so lost and confused.” A tear leaks from the corner of her eye as she sits down. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t put this all on you since you just lost your parents.”
This is actually good. If we bond more – Adriano and Luca instructed me – she’ll be more inclined to confide in me. “But what are you going to do?” I take the disposable phone that she gave me, but I never used, from my purse and hand it over. “Take this back. Maybe you’ll need it.”
“Thanks.” Pocketing it, she expels a strained breath and palms her forehead. “I don’t know what to do. Maybe Ashton can help me.”
My eyes widen in alarm. “Ashton?” Maybe she means another Ashton.
Her brows furrow in bemusement. “Yes, he’s an acquaintance. Worked at Club 7 too, and he’s also in some kind of trouble. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he owes me a favor. Why?”
“Surname?”
“Uhm good question…. Bank or something.”
I just stare at her while my mind has a difficult time to process this new information.
“What’s wrong?”
“Banks?” I whisper in disbelief
“Yeah. You know him?”
“How well do you know him?”
“Not very well. I don’t consider him a friend.”
I’m starting to perspire, and I’m quickly contemplating how much I need to reveal. “Listen to me. Stay away from him; he’s dangerous.”
“Why?”
Did she also know Alex then? Luca told me Alex was Ashton’s lover, not only his stepbrother. Ashton is a psycho whose lover was killed, and he’s under the impression it was all my doing. “Did you know Alex Gentry?”
“I think so. Isn’t Alex Ashton’s partner? Ashton was always at the fight club with another man.”
“Was,” I correct her.
“Huh?”
“Alex was his lover. He’s dead. How come you don’t know this?”
“Because I’ve been in hiding for months,” she retorts softly.
“Alex was my boss – whose murder I was framed for. And Ashton Banks has been determined to destroy my life.” I grit my teeth and rub the tips of my finger over my forehead as my annoyance starts to rise. “I think Ashton killed my parents, okay? Tell me why he owes you a favor?”
Her lips tremble as she blows out a deep breath. “The last time I saw him at the club was a few weeks back. The hostess, my friend I told you about, got me inside. I wanted to talk to the owner, Sal, but I ran into Ashton in one of the hallways; that club is filled with corridors that connect the different areas together. Ashton was upset and trying to find a way out of the club, and he recognized me as a former employee, so he knew I didn’t get inside ‘legally’. I got both of us out via the hostess, and we exchanged numbers. I told him I might need a favor from him in the future because I was already in so much shit and was just looking for allies. His name just popped up in my head as the only other person who could maybe somehow help me since he owes me. Fuck, but I’m staying away now.”
What to do? Do I unveil what I know? Do I tell her about the rape? Maybe I shouldn’t say anything and just stick to the original plan, but I can’t. A growing need for revenge has me changing Luca’s plan. “How can you reach him?”
“I don’t know if I can, but I still have his number stored. Shall I call him?”
“Yes.”
She chews on a fingernail and puts the phone on speaker, but the number has been disconnected.
“How do you know he killed your parents?” she probes.
“It’s the only possible scenario, and the cops aren’t doing anything. They just want to close the case quickly because they say that there are no leads.”
“Cops are useless; I can tell you that.” She covers my hand with hers. “If only I had known, I would’ve tried to contact that asshole sooner.”
Her sincere statement makes me feel even worse because if only is a dangerous path and can consume an already grieving mind.
I need to talk to Luca fast, but I must stay in contact with Cam now too. What if somehow Ashton does contact her? The police aren’t any closer to finding clues that lead them to the murderer, and I’m positive it’s Ashton. Luca isn’t looking for Ashton either because I haven’t asked him for help yet.
“Give me the phone back, and meet me again at the same time on Thursday.” Heading inside Sylvia’s office, I’m anxious for this session to end.
***
Luca’s black Maserati awaits me around the corner of the brownstone building when the session is finally over, and I jump into the back seat because Adriano is up front. I start speaking immediately as I slide to the middle of the seat. “She knows Ashton, and she helped him escape Club 7 once.”
Luca and Adriano’s heads turn as one, and they both say in unison, “What?!”
Leaning forward, I kiss Luca on the lips, and he cups my jaw.
“You okay?” he asks.
I shoot him a swift nod. “I need to tell you guys what she told me before I forget. She referred to him as an ‘acquaintance’.”
Adriano stays turned toward me. “I’m not surprised she knows him because they both worked in the fight club, but I am interested in how and why she helped him.”
Luca starts the engine to take us home as I relay, “So a couple of weeks back – she didn’t specify when, and I forgot to ask – she was in the club to talk to the boss. The hostess of Club 7 is a close friend of Cam’s, and she got her inside. In the halls, she ran into a distraught Ashton, who was trying to find his way out of the club and knew she wasn’t supposed to be in there, or something like that, so she got them both out via the hostess friend. Cam hasn’t had any contact with him, but she mentioned his name because he owes her for that night. We called his number, but the phone was disconnected. She says she never spoke to him after that night at Club 7, and I believe her.”
Luca, who knows me too well, asks calmly, “What’s changed in our plans?”
“I didn’t know what to do, so I told her to meet me again Thursday. I wanted to discuss how to handle this with you first, and I still have the disposable
phone.” Our initial plan was for me to cut all ties with her, and a member of the Syndicate was to follow Cam to see what she was going to do. “Is someone following her?”
“A member was ordered to, but we just pulled up here, so Adriano still needs to verify.” Then Luca speaks to Adriano. “Camilla was there when I fought with Ashton and was the one who got Ashton out. Remember Sal was wondering how he got out when all the guards were told to keep him inside? The hostess is the leak in Sal’s organization; she’s probably still helping Ashton and the reason he’s always a step ahead. She must somehow be up to date on Sal’s activities and warning Ashton when she finds out that Sal’s hot on his trail. That way, Ashton can continuously escape Sal’s clutches.”
With a quaver of surprise, I ask, “You fought with Ashton?”
“He cut me that night.” Luca catches my eyes in the rearview mirror. “What else did she say? Did you give her money?” His tone is calm.
“I didn’t give her money, and she didn’t say anything else.” I slide back to settle against the seat and watch the buildings go by as a thin layer of snow is decorating the city.
“I think we should talk to her Thursday,” Adriano states to Luca.
Luca nods in agreement before we drop Adriano at his house, and I move to the front passenger seat.
Resting his warm hand on my thigh, he traces his fingers up and down leisurely while steering through traffic. “I want to get a few clothes and other possessions from your apartment and then head over to my penthouse because you’re much safer there. Stay with me there for now.”
It’s a question posed as an order, and I adore that he and I are interacting more and more like we used to – before everything went sour after my kidnapping. So much in my life has changed lately that I’ve come to appreciate the familiar things more. Turning my head to him, I smile when his fingers touch me between my legs.
My hips start to move on their own accord. “You’re not playing fair.”
For Luca (Chicago Syndicate Book 2) Page 21