Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD|
The man who had approached Giovanni was broad-shouldered, with a close-cropped beard and a small earpiece tucked behind his right ear.
He spoke quickly in Italian.
I caught only two words.
"Rossi. Alive."
Giovanni's hand tightened around mine.
"Are you in danger?" I whispered.
"Not yet."
"That isn't reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
He guided me away from the dance floor and toward a quiet corridor. Two other men moved behind us, watching the ballroom.
I pulled my hand free.
"Wait. You said one dance. You didn't say anything about dead men appearing at weddings."
His expression softened a fraction.
"You're right. I owe you an explanation."
"That would be a good place to start."
"My family has business interests in Chicago. Some legitimate, some inherited from men who are no longer alive. Rossi was one of my father's most trusted associates. He disappeared three years ago after stealing money and selling information to our enemies."
"And now he's here?"
"Apparently."
"At my sister's wedding?"
Giovanni looked toward the ballroom.
"That is what concerns me."
I stared at him.
"How could someone like that know about this wedding?"
Before he could answer, my phone vibrated.
Camilla.
I immediately answered.
"Hey. Is Lily okay?"
Camilla's voice was strained.
"Jess, she's fine. But there's a man outside my apartment asking questions about you."
My stomach dropped.
"What kind of questions?"
"He asked whether you were at the wedding. He said he was an old family friend. I didn't open the door."
"Did he say his name?"
"No. He left something in the hallway."
I closed my eyes.
"Don't touch it. Lock the door. I'm calling you a car and sending someone to stay with you."
Giovanni was already speaking to his security man.
I covered the phone.
"How do you know where my friend lives?"
"I don't."
"Then how can you send someone?"
"Because I have people who can reach her quickly."
I didn't like the sound of that.
"Giovanni, who are you?"
He looked at me for a long moment.
"Someone whose enemies sometimes look for the people standing closest to him."
"Then I shouldn't be standing next to you."
I turned to leave.
He didn't stop me.
But before I reached the ballroom, a woman's voice cut through the corridor.
"Jessica?"
Vanessa stood near the doorway, one hand resting on her stomach. Tyler was behind her.
Her eyes moved from me to Giovanni.
"Well. This is unexpected."
I said nothing.
She smiled.
"Are you entertaining a stranger now? I suppose everyone has to find happiness somewhere."
Tyler laughed.
"Don't be rude, Vanessa. Maybe he's her new charity project."
Giovanni stepped forward.
"Your husband seems unusually interested in my companion."
"Your companion?" Vanessa repeated.
"Tonight, yes."
Tyler looked at him.
"Listen, buddy. Jessica is my ex-wife. I know exactly what she's like."
Giovanni's expression turned cold.
"Then you should know better than to speak about her that way."
Tyler took a step closer.
"Do you have any idea who I am?"
Giovanni didn't blink.
"Unfortunately, I do."
One of Giovanni's men appeared at the end of the corridor.
"Mr. Fioraldi. We need to leave. Now."
Giovanni looked at me.
"Your ride is being arranged. Someone will escort you home."
"I'm not going anywhere with your men."
"Then I'll take you myself."
"I can take a cab."
His jaw tightened, but he nodded.
"All right. But don't go alone."
I walked away before he could say anything else.
At the ballroom entrance, I turned once.
Giovanni was still standing there.
Tyler had stopped smiling.
And Vanessa was staring at Giovanni's security men as if she had finally recognized something she had seen in the news.
Her lips parted.
"Tyler," she whispered. "That's Giovanni Fioraldi."
Tyler's face went white.
May you like
I didn't know what the name meant.
But the way they reacted told me I had just danced with someone far more dangerous than a wealthy stranger.
