Page 32 of Ruthless Lord

Charlie

S tefano drives and I give him directions. The GPS unit from the truck is in my lap, a little green light glowing at the far end. “How’s it look?” Davide asks, his voice coming through the car’s speakerphone.

“Looks like a fucking suburban neighborhood.” Stefano glares at the road like he can make it explode with his mind. “What’s the data say?”

“You’re close.” Davide sounds like he’s having fun. “Within a few miles, I think.”

“We’ve been driving in circles all morning trying to triangulate this shit.” Stefano’s impatience is starting to show. He’s a man of action and clearly hates sitting in a car going down street after street. “I thought you said you knew where you were going, Charlie?”

“I want to be sure before we just show up there.” I pat him lightly on the arm. “Come on, it’s an adventure.”

“And a fun puzzle,” Davide adds.

“You two need to rethink your definition of fun . This is just exhausting. When do I get to break something?”

“Soon,” I promise. “Davide, how close now?”

“Very close. I’m guessing a mile now.”

I sigh, staring out the window. I know these houses. I know this street, the trees, the fire hydrants. Everything about it feels so familiar.

“What’s wrong?” Stefano puts a big hand on my thigh. “Just talk.”

“When I was twelve, I rode a skateboard down that hill.” I point to a road as we roll past it.

The slope is dangerously steep. “I remember barreling down, totally out of control, thinking I’m about to get hit by a car.

Lucky for me, I bombed through traffic and crashed into the grass over there—” I wave a hand to our left. “And nobody touched me.”

“Lucky,” Stefano mutters. “Stupid kid shit. But I thought you grew up in the city?”

“I grew up all over the place. My family has houses everywhere. We have a condo in DC, apartments in LA and New York, vacation homes in Maine and New Jersey.”

“And houses in the Philly suburbs.”

“My dad never liked the city. He always says it’s too crowded and dirty.

Too many homeless people on the streets.

He talks about them like they’re rats or something.

He preferred it out here. Called it more civilized.

” The truck rolls along a shady, winding road toward a dead end.

“They shuttled me around a lot. I was with my grandfather half the time. He was constantly introducing me to new tutors, teaching me new lessons. But every once in a while, I’d go stay with my dad out in his private house.

Not that often, but maybe a few weekends every summer. ”

We reach the end of the street. An enormous black fence cuts across a long driveway. Tall, mature shrubs block our view, perfectly manicured. Several trees loom above them.

And past the foliage, lost at the other end of that driveway, is my father’s personal mansion.

Stefano parks the car.

“You’re there,” Davide says, sounding surprised. “Within feet now. The signal’s really strong.”

I turn off the transmitter and sit in silence, staring at that gate.

There are too many memories for me here.

Most of them aren’t all that bad. My dad wasn’t a bastard my whole life.

He was even kind of decent when I was a kid.

We’d go sledding and ride our bikes together all the time.

It wasn’t until Grandfather named me the heir that our relationship fell apart and Dad showed me the kind of man he really is.

But back when I was younger, I had no clue. He was just my dad to me back then.

“Thanks, Davide,” I say and hit the call end button, cutting him off.

Stefano watches me carefully. He knows something’s going on but hasn’t pressed for details yet. I wrap my arms around myself, feeling small, hating myself for being surprised. Because obviously, this is how it had to be.

“My dad lives in this house most of the time.” I watch the gate for any sign of life. I still remember the code to open it. I doubt it’s been changed.

Stefano’s grip on the wheel tightens. “He’s the one who was breaking into the depot.”

“Not him personally, I’m sure. He probably hired some very good, very expensive people to do it.”

“He tried to kill you.”

I tilt my head side to side. “Maybe. I don’t know. The guy I caught could’ve just been surprised and panicked. He looked like he was searching the office and wasn’t there to kill anyone. I just stumbled in on him.”

“You’re defending your father now? That fucking prick?”

“I’m trying to be rational.” Because inwardly I’m a storm of emotions. I always knew my dad hated me, but I don’t want to think my own father would have me murdered. He’s a bastard, but is he really the kind of bastard who will have his own daughter strangled?

“I’m going to park down the block. I’ll break in, confront him?—”

I put a hand on his arm. “No. We can’t do that.”

“Why the fuck not? Show me where to scale the fence, tell me the layout, and I’ll do the rest.”

“If we go in, it’ll tip our hand. They’ll know we know. Right now, we have surprise on our side.”

“What the fuck do you care about surprise?”

I tremble with anger. I stare at the bushes and think about losing tennis balls in there. Dad used to throw them to me and I’d whack them as hard as I can. Some rolled down the long hill and disappeared inside the shrubs, lost to time. I wonder if I could dig any out, even so long later.

“I need to know if my grandfather is a part of this or not.”

Stefano’s lips tug into a tight frown. “I thought you said you and your grandfather were working together?”

“That’s the thing.” I slump down in my seat, hugging myself tighter. “Grandfather isn’t normally a patient man. But he hasn’t reached out for information at all since we got married.”

“That’s not like him.” Stefano grumbles to himself.

“Exactly. The only reason he wouldn’t be constantly on me is if he’s got another source.”

“You think they’re working together.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time my grandfather used a member of his family to get what he wants.”

“I thought they were enemies.”

“Dad wants to be the heir desperately enough to do anything for it. He’d happily spy on you for Grandfather.”

Stefano strokes his face with a groan. “You have a fucked-up family.”

“I’m aware.”

“Are they always like this?”

“Pretty much. You get used to it.”

He grunts and starts the engine. “What should we do then?”

“If we’re going to take my father down, I need to catch my grandfather as well.”

“Adriano would be very interested to learn that his new ally isn’t exactly as trustworthy as we had hoped.”

“But we need definite proof. Grandfather will happily throw Dad under the bus if given the chance.”

“That’s why you want to wait. You want to get both of them.”

“Exactly. And we can do it if we’re smart and careful.”

He lets out a long breath. It’s clear he hates this. He’s looking at that gate like he wants to walk over and smash it with his bare hands.

“I don’t like playing games.”

“I know, but we have to be smart about it.”

“I’m a cage fighter. This subtle shit—” He waves a hand in the air before bashing his fist against the steering wheel. “It’s not me.”

“Then leave it to me. I’ve been doing this my whole life. Trust me, we can catch them if we’re smart about it.”

“I trust you,” he says, turning the car around. “But the second we have what we need, I’m going to break your fucking father for hurting you.”

“When the time comes, I promise. No more leash.”

He shows his teeth in a vicious grin. “That’s what I like to hear.”