Quiet Empire by J. L. Drake

Author:J. L. Drake [Drake, Jodi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J.L. Drake

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“Vinni, I’ve decided we’re going to skip the Villa Del Cardinale. I know it was an important stop, but with recent events, the less we do in Rome, the better.” He waited a beat then hung up. I was surprised to hear we weren’t attending the party there, but unbelievably thankful Elio decided not to go.

“How are you feeling about everything today?” Elio tapped his finger on the steering wheel and side-eyed me. It had been two days since Mariano had tried to kill me in the woods, and a lot of discussion had been held since. He and I, however, had not had a chance to share our private thoughts in the last day. The search for Mariano had kept everyone busy. He had managed to slip away and couldn’t be found. The guys were convinced he’d been getting help from someone.

It turned out my phone had been stolen from my purse during the party. I was quite sure Mariano was the one who had taken it and had probably accessed my contacts. I felt a little foolish as I knew I’d been lax at keeping my purse secure. A member of the staff had witnessed someone who had been near our table and could have had access to my purse while I’d been busy with the guests. He described a man he’d seen near the table long enough to warrant remembering him but hadn’t gotten a good look at his face. We believed it was Mariano. No one knew for sure just how he had gained access to the party. Niccola was very relieved when he realized there was an explanation as to how someone could have used his number to draw me away from the others. I reassured him that I would never have thought for a moment he was involved and apologized for my own possible part in it.

“I’m fine. Still mad that he ruined my favorite Gucci dress, though.” I sipped my water, not sharing that it felt like I could still taste mud in my mouth. I knew Elio was furious that Mariano had been able to get to me despite all the safety guards he’d put in place and that he managed to slip away into the night. I knew it was a point of pride for him.

“Mmm,” was all he offered as he started the car.

Tabby and Andrew still felt terrible about what happened and wanted us to stay on a bit longer, but Elio had made the decision that we had to move on. He wanted me to join him for the drive this morning, and vaguely mentioned something about a package. I was happy to join him, as I was tired of everyone fussing over me. The fact that we were off to Sicily the next day didn’t help. It was the one place I never wanted to return to. Memories of my younger life there at the Di Vaio house kept me awake at night.

“I shortened our next visit.

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