Page 53 of Corrupt Crown

His laughter follows me down the stairs and into the foyer. “If you don’t keep her, I will.”

I plan to.

Having reached the office, I unmute the call, and hold the cell to my ear. “Have you tracked a lead?”

“I have it on good authority that Salvatore is playing both sides.”

That double-crossing motherfucker.

“How do you know this?”

“I have a man in each household, Rafe. You know that.”

In the aftermath of Conti’s attack, Enzo had doubled down on all security measures, including finding the weak links in each family. Paired with the right incentive, it’s amazing what you can uncover.

“Do we have further details?”

“All I know is that there have been calls made from Salvatore to Conti discussing a match between Conti and Salvatore’s daughter.”

I clench my jaw, barely gritting out an expletive as Enzo continues. “But I didn’t get to the best part yet. My inside man told me that he overheard Gabriela complaining how she didn’t want to marry outside of Italy, and Salvatore told her that Conti was forming a permanent base in Italy.”

“That’s why we haven’t found him. Because he’s not Stateside. He’s right here, under our fucking noses.”

Once I’ve told Enzo to get on the next flight home, I flop into my desk chair and remove Conti’s picture from my drawer. I stare at his face as I recall the bruises he’d left on Elodie, the scars he’d left on Maria, the two black eyes I’d witnessed on my sister.

My hatred grows as I ball up the image and toss it in the trash can. “You’ll pay with your worthless life, Conti. Mark my fucking words.”

ELODIE

Having receivedmy orders in no uncertain terms, I present myself at dinner on the last night of this Congress that was so important for me to attend – despite the fact I’ve mostly kept to the shadows until now.

I walk into the dining room with slow steps, smoothing my white knee-length dress over my legs before ensuring that the low chignon I’ve pinned my hair into remains in place.

Nico greets me with a kiss on the cheek, proceeding to haul me from one man to another, all while palming my ass. It appears that I’m the only woman in attendance, and as such, Nico is in high demand.

Most of the men find any excuse to touch my knee or brush my hair back from my face, and Nico watches on, almost daring one of them to take things too far.

It’s like hewantsthe peace between these families to come crashing down.

I’m beyond grateful when they decide to unwind with cigars and bourbon in the Den.

Once they’ve left, and there’s only cleaning staff remaining, I grab a blanket from the pile by the door and slip outside to the firepit.

My Louboutins crunch the snow as I cross the deck, tossing the blanket over my shoulders as I look up at the infinite stars that decorate the night sky.

A shooting star streaks across the sky, and I stare at it longingly, pretending I might one day be as free as that star.

“Cosa succede quando esprimi un desiderio una stella?”

Rafe’s deep voice fills the night, and I look down from the starry sky, finding him doing precisely what I’d planned on doing.

A large white woolly blanket covers his shoulders while his hands extend before him, held toward the flicking orange flames of the firepit. His eyes are like coal, fixed firmly on me as I falter in my heels.

“What did you say?” I swallow roughly before taking a smaller step closer despite myself.

“It translates to ‘what happens when you wish on a star.’”

My heart is beating so fast, he can surely hear it. “Did you make a wish?”