Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,169

latest. I enjoyed the time I spent talking to the girls, the bartenders or the croupiers, but listening to most of the customers was strenuous. At least Raffaele had made sure to stay away from me, which was a huge plus.

When Enzo took me home at night, I always checked the street for a sign of Frank, but the only person I saw regularly on the sidewalk was an elderly woman walking her Yorkshire Terrier. By now, I’d almost convinced myself that I’d imagined seeing him. Maybe my mind was unconsciously missing Antonio, and conjuring up Frank had been a way to cope with it. Dante wasn’t the presence I wanted him to be in my life. He took me every night, mostly in the dark, and always with my back to him, sometimes with me kneeling, sometimes lying flat on my stomach. Not that I was complaining. He always made sure I came at least once while he was in me, but I was starting to long for something else. This felt too much like mere fucking, almost like I was nothing more to him than a way to relieve tension; but whenever Dante’s hand slipped between my legs at night, I promised myself to talk to him next time, too desperate for his touch.

As usual my eyes wandered over the sidewalk when Enzo steered the car through the gates to the house. But tonight I saw him again. Frank was strolling along the sidewalk across the street, trying to look as if he was only catching some fresh air. He wasn’t succeeding. He looked suspicious to me, so I didn’t dare to think how he would appear to Dante’s guards. I would have to find a way to send him away. It was too risky for him to be here. I headed straight up to the guest bedroom that allowed me to view the street, but like last time, Frank seemed to have disappeared.

My phone rang and for a moment I was sure it was Frank, but he knew better than to call me. There was no saying who was tracking my calls, after all, and I’d changed my number a few months ago. The screen flashed with Bibiana’s name. I picked up. “Hey, Bibi.”

“Val,” Bibi said in a whisper. Her voice was shaking. She sounded terrified. “Can you come over?”

I tensed, turning my back to the window. “What’s wrong?”

“Tommaso, he…” She sniffed. “He was in a foul mood today.”

“What did he do? Is he still there?”

“No, he left because of a meeting with Raffaele, but he’ll be back soon. Can you come over? I’m scared of what he’ll do when he comes back.” My eyes darted to the clock that said it was almost nine.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, Bibi.”

I rushed out of the guest bedroom and down the stairs. I wasn’t sure where Enzo was. It probably would have been easy to find him, but I wasn’t in the mood to explain myself. Instead I grabbed the keys from the hook in the garage and took the SUV. Before the doors had glided up all the way, I pressed the gas and shot out of the garage, the car roof missing the bottom of the door by inches. I slowed only as I waited for the gate to part for me. Dante would be furious.

As I turned around the corner at the end of the street, I spotted a familiar back and hit the brakes. Frank jumped, and threw a panicked look over his shoulder. He had his phone pressed against his ear but ended the call when he saw me. I checked our surroundings before I rolled down the window and gestured for him to come closer. “What are you doing here?”

He crept closer, eyes darting around nervously. I understood his anxiety only too well. He was risking too much by being here. “I need to talk to you in private.”

I frowned. “About what?”

“About Antonio, about the Outfit, about everything.”

I checked the rearview mirror again. “I can’t talk right now. Meet me tomorrow around five thirty.” I explained the way to the street where the storehouse was that hid the casino, but didn’t tell him what was inside.

“That’s where one of the underground casinos is, right?”

I stared. Antonio had told him? Damn it. Why couldn’t Frank have stayed away? “We’ll talk tomorrow.” I let the window slide back up and pulled away. Nobody seemed to have followed me, or at least I didn’t see