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His bald head glinted in the dim light.
Jon. Gio’s Consigliere and advisor.
The man was on his knees, hands behind his head, with a gun pointed at his temple. Moans and whimpers spilled out of him as he kept pleading and apologizing. Three other men surrounded him, immune to his pleas.
A guard holding the gun, Luke…and Gio.
Her stomach dropped.
The expression on her husband’s face was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. So cold, it froze every nerve ending until she started shivering uncontrollably. If she’d thought him intimidating before, it was nothing compared to him now. The pure revulsion and rage radiating off him were noticeable even from here.
“H-he’s lying! I swear.”
“Is he?” Gio asked coldly. “What do you think, Luke?”
The burly man, who just days ago seemed mild-mannered and polite, snarled. Teeth bared in the night. “I gave you all the files, Boss. When you mentioned Jonny Boy here loving strip clubs, I remembered seein’ him there before. And I have the footage to prove it.”
Satisfied, Gio turned back to the kneeling man. “Hear that, Jon? Someone committed to doing their job. Unlike you.”
“He’s lying! He’s just trying to suck up to you!” Jon cried.
“Maybe…but that doesn’t negate your lies.”
Luke also seemed unbothered by the accusation. His large arms were crossed as he watched the simpering advisor, bored. Gio, on the other hand, was coiled tight. He circled the prone figure, never shifting his gaze for even a second.
“Your responsibility as my father’s advisor was to oversee his staff, including his head of security,” Gio said, glaring down at the man. “That fool didn’t monitor the bodyguard’s moves before the attack, and neither did you.”
“There w-was nothing!” Jon protested. “I showed you all the logs and background checks. The bodyguard’s file was spotless.”
“I agree.”
“You do…?” Jon sat back on his haunches, confused.
Gio nodded assuredly. “I reviewed all the files myself, and there were no warning signs that the bodyguard was going to betray them. That’s why I kept you on for this long. Because you, like me, missed all the signs.”
The Consigliere slumped, relieved.
Ana’s fingers dug into her palms, every tick of the clock throbbing in time with her pulse. Her neck ached with the strain of watching them without coming into their view. Was there no other staff here? No one else to witness the scene except her?
She sucked in a breath as Gio bent low until his face was in line with the bald man’s. “But you’re not here on your knees because of that.”
“W-what?”
“You’re here because of what happened that morning. The security head was in New York, but you were there in Pittsburgh with my parents. You could have checked my parents’ car in the security head’s absence. But you were busy, weren’t you?”
“I told you–”
“Because you were in the strip club!” Gio’s voice bellowed, a thunderclap that split through the house. “At eleven in the fucking morning! Instead of talking numbers with the failing businesses, like you claimed you were, you were busy getting lap dances and God knows what else!”
Ana clapped a hand over her mouth. Shocked.
“My parents were defenseless,” Gio spat. “No one to protect them that morning. All the other staff were dismissed early because you told them to go!” The advisor shook his head frantically in denial, scrambling back even as the gun jabbed his head harder. “Did you want my parents to hurry up and get out of town so you could get your rocks off?” Gio demanded. “Or were you hoping to swoop in and secure my father’s place for yourself?”
“No! Gio–Boss, please.”
Her husband’s dark curls fell over his face, casting it into the shadows. Making him so much more fearsome than before.
“I put someone in my p-place. I swear. Please, I thought they had it cover–”
