Page 31 of The Man with a Treasure

Now feeling guilty for the trap, I said, “Get some rest. We were only fooling around.”

Light brown eyes locked on mine. I was being read.

After long seconds, Mrs. Rossi took a sip of tea. “Alright,” begun Mrs. Rossi. “Since this goes far beyond you two being nosey, and your lives are intertwined, I will give my boys what they need. The youngest of the brothers is Mateo. He has returned for his upcoming wedding. The second youngest is Dante.” Her eyes met mine. “I believe him to be the most harmless of the four.” She peered down to her tea and stared, slowly spinning her cup on the saucer. “Then there is Armani, and the eldest is Lorenzo.” I didn’t miss her shudder. “It is sad to say, but I trust neither of them. Lorenzo far less so.”

Tiredly, her head leaned back to the couch. “Where is Isabella’s mother? Not where she should be, by her daughter’s side. She moved to France with Mateo and Dante. She claimed to have done it to protect them. I say she wanted far from her unhappy marriage.”

My mouth fell open. “But… what of Isabella?”

The mention of Isabella’s kidnapping had Mrs. Rossi appearing terribly sad, informing me of a hurt I had not realized until now.

I rubbed a hand down my face. “You love her.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “Why do you think my husband searched for her?”

Up to this point, I had believed… “Mr. Giordano?”

She wiped her cheek. “Insane with heartbreak, due to Isabella being his reason for breathing, that father went on a revenge killing rampage, but truly believed his daughter to already be dead. He began dying the day she went missing and lost most of his fight.” She exhaled, showing more exhaustion. “No, due to my beliefs, your father and Sal’s asked Mr. Giordano to allow them to search.” Dismissively, she waved a hand. “The rest is history.”

Knowing I was crossing a line by even asking, I quietly did anyway. “Do you know who took Isabella?”

She stared into the fireplace as if in a trance. “Outsiders with inside connections.”

My stomach soured. “A brother.”

“I have no proof other than my gut.”

Grimacing at the whole scenario, Sal asked, “Does Mr. Giordano know the truth?”

Mrs. Rossi was barely audible. “Blindness is sometimes by choice.”

After Mrs. Rossi went to bed, I was sitting on the couch next to Sal when he whispered, “When we find Scarlett, we have to protect her.”

So proud that my best friend would be by my side for the rest of my life, no matter what, I nodded, whispering in return, “I fear for her safety, too. I am going to ask Isabella to allow me to be Scarlett’s personal guard.” That earned me a backhanded smack against my knee. Chuckling, I bowed my head. “We. That we are to be her personal guards.”

“Thank you.”

I did just that. The very next day, sitting with Isabella, I said, “I need your blessing on a matter.”

“Wow,” giggled Isabella. “You’re more intense than usual. Aren’t you supposed to be the one cheering me up?”

“Cheering?” I looked around for an alcoholic beverage, but Isabella was only drinking hot tea prepared by Mrs. Rossi.

Isabella giggled again. “No. Not that kind of cheers. Making me happy.”

“Oh, umm, no, I do not know if this would do that.”

Just then, a leaf to my right crackled. My natural reaction, due to training and being a bit on edge, had me quickly standing while retrieving my gun.

“Wait! Wait!”

As soon as I saw Isabella’s youngest brother, Mateo, with wide eyes, I internally snarled while resting my gun back into its holster. Sitting back down, I said, “Forgive me. I was not expecting you.”

Walking toward us again, he snidely observed, “I got a little close before you even noticed me, no?”

Mateo was approximately 5’10” and slender. He was well dressed, of course, and had dark brown hair. His face was definitely younger than his brothers, and his skin was lighter, like Isabella’s. He had her blue eyes also. Since these traits were unlike Mr. Giordano’s, it was easy to comprehend they got them from their mother.

Mateo may have been older than me by five or more years, and my boss’ son, but none of that stopped me from staring him straight in the eye. “A mistake that will not happen again. I assure you.”