Page 141 of Bellini Born

“Fancy meeting you here, Commissioner.”

The bastard looked me dead in the eye. “Our business relationship has concluded. Paid off my debt.”

I tsked. “You’re not as smart as you think you are.”

He thrashed against the chains holding his arms over his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, asmartmanwould have paid off their debt gradually. But instead, you decided to clear it off the books in one lump sum. Hell, that amount would have been enough to raise red flags even at a federally insured bank, because people just don’t have that kind of cash lying around.“ I twirled my finger. “See where I’m going with this?”

“Not particularly,” he huffed, refusing to give anything away. Unfortunately for him, we already had him dead to rights.

“You see, that led to us doing a little digging. Imagine my surprise when we uncovered a wire transfer from aRussianbank totaling the exact same amount that was stolen from the casino last year.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“Maybe not on its own,” I conceded, rising to my feet and circling his stretched-out form. “But then we came across a little video footage. And wouldn’t you know it”—I snapped—“that footage placed you at the scene of the crash, and subsequent shoot out, that resulted in my late wife’s life. From the looks of it, you weren’t calling for help. No, you were in on the action.”

“It was supposed to be Gio!” he screamed.

I gripped him by the throat, watching as his face turned red. “But it wasn’t! It was a defenseless pregnant woman, you son of a bitch!”

When I released him suddenly, he sucked in gasping breaths. “I swear I didn’t know. And when I found out . . .”

“What?” I threw my arms out wide. “You suddenly felt guilty for plotting a murder? Guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from a dirty cop.”

He had the good grace to flinch when I hit the nail on the head.

Enzo stepped up to my side. “How do you want to do this?”

For over a year, I’d imagined all the ways I would torture Allegra’s killer. I pictured drawing it out for days, relishing the sound of them begging for death and not granting mercy.

Now, I had Summer in my life, the girls were happy, and our family was whole again.

There was no hard-and-fast rule that said the life we took in exchange for Allegra’s had to be his, and an idea came to mind that would cause this man agony for years to come.

Lifting my gaze, I mused, “You have a daughter, don’t you, Commissioner?”

The color drained from his face. “Y-yes.”

An evil smirk crept onto my lips. “Well, as it just so happens, Enzo is in the market for a wife. Isn’t that right, cousin?”