Page 32 of Hide Little Traitor

“There’s no evidence that Ralph had any plans to leave the family,” Robert says. He’s one of my father’s oldest friends and someone he trusts implicitly.

“And yet he’s not here,” Dad replies.

There’s a beat of silence before another voice fills the void. Perry. Ralph’s best friend. “He wouldn’t do this, boss. He’s loyal to a fault to this organization.”

“You’ve seen the video. He went into the cell and turned the cameras off, and the next thing you know, the traitor and my son are gone. That’s pretty fucking damning.”

My hands fist at my sides at the jab. Chloe is a lot of things, but she’s not a traitor. It remains to be seen whether her parents were, but she was too young back then, and even if she and Kingston have been in contact over the years, she’s had no reason to be loyal to us.

We drove her to run, to hide, and she had to do whatever was necessary to survive. I can’t fault her for that.

“I think it’s time we consider the possibility Ronan took the girl,” Perry says.

“That’s not possible.”

“Isn’t it? He’s always been weak when it comes to her. What makes you think he wouldn’t betray the family to save her?”

Another long pause makes my palms twitch with the need to do something, to defend my brother even though they’re right on the money. It was only a matter of time before they worked it out. Now I just have to hope they don’t catch on to my involvement.

I step out from my hiding place and close the distance to my father’s office in a few long strides.

Not bothering to knock on the open door, I step over the threshold and shove my hands into my pockets.

“Son,” Dad greets me, barely sparing me a glance.

“The piece of shit that thought he could steal from us is dead,” I tell him with a satisfied smirk.

“Good.” He nods, turning his attention to the laptop in front of him, giving me a chance to acknowledge Perry and Robert.

They stare me down, and I mentally add them to the list of assholes to kill when I finally take the throne. I haven’t given up everything I ever wanted to have the likes of them look down on me.

I will be the next leader of the Lombardi family, and anyone who stands in my way will meet their maker before they have the chance to cause any trouble.

“You were running point the night your brother went missing, were you not?” Dad asks without bothering to look up at me.

“I was.”

“The perimeter alarms were repeatedly triggered by animals, but the most recent update you ordered should have stopped that kind of thing from happening, correct?”

Keeping my expression passive, I give a short nod. “The security specialist advised small animals such as squirrels and raccoons would no longer trip the sensors, but they did say larger ones could still be mistaken for a human.”

“There aren’t that many large critters around these parts,” Perry points out, but I shrug in reply.

“You said the De Marco girl was threatening to breach the compound. Is there a chance Ralph made a deal with her to deliver Chloe?”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Perry snaps.

“You never know what those closest to you are capable of,” my father points out. “I never thought Beaumont was capable of killing my wife, but I was wrong about that, wasn’t I?”

He looks like he wants to argue, but he hasn’t lasted this long in this family without knowing how to pick his battles.

“Would you like me to contact Camilla and get a gauge whether Chloe has been returned to them?”

“That still wouldn’t explain where Ronan is,” Robert points out.

“Perhaps that was her revenge for us taking Chloe?” I shrug. It’s plausible enough, and if I played my cards right, I may be able to bring Ronan home.

If he even wants to come home.