Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 148612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 743(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 743(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
“My guy came up with the same information, although he’s going to continue to dig,” Val said. “Just to be on the safe side.”
“I was looking at his face,” Emmanuelle said. “And really listening to him when he was talking. I can hear lies.” She turned to look at her bodyguards. “Just remember that, Levi and Axel. I hear lies. The driver was telling the truth. It was a simple accident. They happen. I was grateful nothing happened to him or any of you or the restaurant. I love this place so much, Salvatore. It’s really quite unique and beautiful.”
Valentino wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We’re just making certain, Princess.”
“In any case, if it wasn’t an accident, I was hardly the target. Everyone was standing there. Most likely you were, Val.” Her eyes darkened, and for a moment she looked anxious. “Dario, he needs a million bodyguards around him all the time. Don’t listen to anything he says.”
She sounded brave enough, almost like she was joking, but there was very real fear in her eyes, and that turned his heart over. It always did. He captured her hand again, his thumb unerringly finding her rings.
“Nothing will happen to me, Emmanuelle. We’ll find this person and take him down. Everyone in this room is dedicated to that purpose. And Dario doesn’t need any more encouragement when it comes to being a watchdog. I think he shot me with ten trackers and has some kind of satellite surveillance hooked up in his eyes.” He said the last to make her laugh.
The waitress rolled a cart filled with plates of food into the room. Behind her, a second waitress followed, that cart loaded as well. The two began to place the plates in front of them while two men served wine or a sparkling beverage to them. Once everyone was served, the waiters and waitresses left and closed the doors behind them.
Talk turned to other things, and laughter spilled over. Valentino let himself enjoy the company of the Ferraro family for a short time. He didn’t share Emme’s opinion that the car jumping the curb had been a random accident. He didn’t believe in coincidences. Maybe the target had been him. Maybe not. But if it had been Emmanuelle targeted because she was married to him, he wanted to know and put an end to whoever was trying to intimidate him by using his wife. He glanced at Dario. Dario’s eyes met his. He felt the same way.
Over coffee and outstanding tiramisu, Bernado got back to him. Jason Caruso went to the same private school the last year of high school with Marco Messina. Same college. Roomed together. Took theater for 2 semesters the first year. Caruso continued to take theater while Messina focused on business. Messina has master’s. Father pulled Caruso out, didn’t like the direction he was going. Both work for their family.
That fit with what Emmanuelle had said. Caruso had spent time with Marco, and he’d taken several theater classes. Val shared what Bernado had found with the others.
“Ask him what he means by the direction Caruso was going,” Stefano said. “Never mind. Rigina is getting back to me. She’s giving me the same information but added a little more about his history with theater.”
Caruso has amazing reviews in off Broadway plays. He was really good in every performance he was in, no matter how small or large. He was beginning to make a name for himself but was suddenly pulled out of the business in his last year of performing arts by his father. Word was, his father frowned on such an impractical career.
The Caruso family had a small portion of a waterway they acquired in a business deal, from Giuseppi. They controlled two ports on the lake, bordering Saldi territory. That made sense if they were involved in human trafficking. There were five families in Chicago, and the Caruso family had arguably the second-smallest amount of territory, businesses and clout. It would seem much more likely for one of the larger families in the middle of Chicago to be the big spider sitting in the web branching out across the city. Yet the more Val thought about it, the more he was certain they had hit on the right answer.
The second name came in: a member of the Russo family. Of the five ruling families in Chicago, the Russo family held the third-largest territory. The Russos had a very large family, with six children—four sons and two daughters. All business, Valentino could believe any one of the sons or their father were shrewd enough to carry out such a plan, but it seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, he would follow up. They would check out the new information because they had to, but Valentino would bet every last dollar he had, and it was considerable, that the man they were looking for was Jason Caruso.