Page 86 of Dangerous Intent

“Thank you.” I kissed her as she handed me my phone. I glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Milo.”

“Do you want me to give you some privacy?” she asked.

“I want you to stay with me.” I took her hand as I answered. “Milo.”

“The message has been delivered,” he said. “I made it clear that anyone aligning with who Gian and Angelo were working with will suffer the same fate as they did at the hands of the Accettis.”

“Excellent work.” We may not have known who was coming for us, but by taking Angelo out, we showed strength. The Accettis were still in control, and we would always protect what was ours.

I wrapped my arms around Lissia as she settled into my lap and rested her head against my chest.

“You do realize we’ve gotten ourselves tangled up in another war,” Milo said.

My brother was right, but this time, we had no idea who we were fighting against or when they were coming for us.

TWENTY

Lissia

Marchelloand I were set to leave for Miami in a few hours. As excited as I was to get away and spend a few days alone with him, I couldn’t rid myself of the intrusive thoughts that kept creeping into my head.

I trusted that Marchello believed he could keep me safe, but I wasn’t as naive as everyone claimed when it came to organized crime. The Accettis remained in power because they were capable of doing the unspeakable tasks that had to be done to keep them there.

But weren’t their enemies capable of inflicting the same terror to gain control? Wasn’t there always going to be someone lurking in the shadows, waiting to overthrow my new family?

Ricardo came up the stairs that led to the main offices from the showroom floor at the dealership.

“It’s a beautiful portrait, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Huh?”

His voice broke my concentration from my obsessive thoughts about enemies and power.

“You’re staring at the portrait of Julia.” He motioned toward the stunning photo of Marchello’s mother leaning against a vintage Mercedes-Benz. The photo credit on the picture was from 2001, but the white convertible looked to be from the sixties.

“Oh, I never realized that was Julia in the picture.” How could I? It wasn’t as if Marchello ever thought to mention that was his mother in the picture. I’d seen pictures of her in their house, but I never put it together.

“Nico took the picture.”

“Really?”

“There was a whole series of Julia, and even Marchello and Milo when they were younger, in front of all these classic cars. They used them in an ad campaign.”

“I’d love to see the photos.”

“The originals are in storage, but you could probably search the internet for the campaign,” Ricardo said. “They hung this one for the first charity auction after she died. Nico didn’t want to take it down after.”

“Julia is striking.” Her designer red dress accented her long black hair, and her naturally olive complexion made her stand out even more against the backdrop of the car.

“She really was.”

“I don’t know too much about the charity, but I think it has to do with young moms who need assistance.”

He nodded. “Julia really embraced that cause because she and Nico got pregnant with Marchello at a young age. She realized that her life was different because they had the support of their families and Nico ended up doing well for himself.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Julia knew she was fortunate, so she did what she could to help other women who needed support.” Ricardo gazed at Julia’s picture. “The charity was getting off the ground right around the time she died, so Nico pledged the Accetti support. The car auction raises so much money every year.”