Code of Honor (Spontagio Family 1)

I’m about to explain that I have her phone when I remember she has two—the one her father knows about and the one he doesn’t. She must have the other phone stashed away.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He sighs. “Keep thinking of where she could be. I’ll call you if I hear anything.”

—

It’s just before six the following morning. I’ve been up all night trying to think of anywhere she might be, but I’ve come up empty. I’m really hoping Giovanni has more leads than I do. My hands twitch in my pockets as I glance through the crowd again. Finally I spot him. Giovanni rushes toward me, Mark, one of his lackeys, at his side carrying his luggage.

“You haven’t heard from her?” he asks me.

“No, so can you please tell me what this is all about?” I’m frustrated, angry, and I need answers now.

“I told you I would. Take me to your place and we will talk there.”

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nbsp; —

The cab ride back to my apartment drags. My anger is at boiling point. All we seem to be doing is wasting time when we could be looking for her. The taxi pulls up in front of my building, and I help Mark with the bags while Giovanni takes a phone call.

Upstairs, I dump the bags in the spare bedroom while Giovanni continues his phone call. I’m getting more impatient by the second, and the only thing stopping me from taking that damn phone and throwing it out the window is the fact that it might be about Lucy.

“Please, Giovanni. I need to know what the fuck is going on,” I growl as soon as he hangs up the phone. Sighing, he nods.

“Mark, I need you to go to this address and pick something up for me.” He hands Mark a piece of paper. Mark studies it for a moment, then nods. After he leaves, Giovanni sits down at the dining table, motioning for me to join him.

I sit down, frowning at him while I wait for him to explain.

“I know where Lucia is,” he begins, wiping his brow.

“You know where she is?” I gasp. “Then why the fuck are we still sitting here?” I shout, jumping up. Giovanni doesn’t move.

“Sit back down,” he chastises. “I told you, I’m handling this.”

“You’re handling this?” I repeat with a laugh. “Forgive me, but your daughter is God knows where and you don’t seem to give a damn.”

“My daughter wouldn’t be in danger if you had just done your job,” he fires back, his eyes black.

“You can’t push the blame onto me,” I protest. “How about your daughter wouldn’t be in danger if you’d done your job as a father properly?”

I shut my mouth. My hand rises to wipe a thin film of sweat off my forehead. That was too far. Giovanni was a damn good father but he couldn’t blame me for this, and the only reason he was trying to was because he’s sensing Lucy and I are involved.

“Can you please tell me what happened?” I ask. I take a deep breath and sit back down. “Who do you think has her?”

“Three weeks ago I was informed that an associate of mine was running illegal activity without my permission. He was using my name to gain support for this, which naturally tarnished my reputation. So, I had to put a stop to it. They didn’t take it well.”

“Giovanni.” I sigh, rubbing my head. “That’s all you’re going to give me? You’re talking in riddles. Who are these people? What illegal activity are you talking about? You need to trust me, dammit.” I slam my fists down on the table with a bang.

“Trust you?” Giovanni laughs. “Like I trusted you to look after my daughter? Maybe what we should be discussing is how long you’ve been sleeping with Lucia?”

I freeze, unsure of how to play this. Is he guessing there is something going on, or does he know?

“I’m not an idiot, Pietro. I had a feeling I shouldn’t trust you and I was right. Be honest with me, all you wanted was a chance to get her into bed, wasn’t it?”

“You’re being ridiculous,” I growl.

“Am I?” he asks. “I saw you with her, Pietro. Did you think I wouldn’t have cameras in place when I was concerned about your ability to do what I asked of you?”