“I know, right?” Fox’s voice took on a jubilant tone. “Here’s the kicker—Talia’s been missing for the last 24 hours, and Don Russo’s been tearing through every city trying to find her. But guess what? I caught her on CCTV last night.”
“Where was she?”
“She went to a countryside hospital, pregnant, the day she disappeared. But by midnight, she slipped out quietly, and let’s just say, the balloon had popped.”
A dry laugh escaped my lips, almost involuntarily, as the pieces started to click into place.
As I watched the footage, something caught my eye—she wasn’t alone. A man was waiting for her inside an unidentified car, but the footage was too dark to make out his face.
I leaned closer to the screen. “Did you get an ID on the guy in the car?”
Fox went silent, the line thick with tension. “Amore,” he finally said, his voice low, “you know the rules. I can’t divulge a client’s information.”
“Hah!” I laughed in disbelief. Every piece of intel from Fox made me want to set the world on fire.
This guy was part of the reason nothing was reaching me, and I hired him to help me out. Damn irony!
“Do you flirt with all your clients, or just me?” I asked, needing to distract myself from making him an enemy too.
“Only because I like you,” he teased, but I could hear a serious edge to his voice.
“Fine. I'll pay you whatever you ask. I want everything you can dig up on her and the scum she’s working with, especially this guy,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Now, we’re talking!” He rejoiced.
Fox forwarded me all the intel I requested, and as I read through it, a mix of anger and disbelief churned in my gut. Having that snake, Talia, slithering in the shadows was bad enough, but Marco Russo too? Dominic’s own brother?
“These motherfuckers!” I cursed with every bit of my being.
All this time, they’d been conspiring together to pit me and Dominic together like fighting dogs. I couldn’t believe I’d ever trusted that wench. She was more vile than I’d imagined. Even the controversial hallucinogenic drug that surfaced at the black market auction years ago was being linked to her.
And ever since she married Dominic, his standing in the Russo family had been on shaky ground. Dominic had started acting differently too. The faction supporting him suspected Talia of infidelity and was already questioning the legitimacy of her unborn child.