I step out of my office and holler to my staff to come downstairs immediately.
I come back inside and Dimitri asks, “And she’s not here?”
“No.”
“That’s all I need to know. As for the other matter, are you ready to head to your office to go over the cameras from the office?” We left enough time to pass to see if any employees snuck into my office, knowing I wouldn’t be back until Monday.
“They aren’t expecting me until Monday, that’s for sure.” Dimitri reaches for the glass I set down. “Don’t drink that.” I take the glass away from him and set it on the sideboard.
My staff walks into my office sans Joey who I sent with Giada as her security although it should be me who’s protecting her. “What’s going on?" my lawyer asks.
“I called you in here because someone is trying to kill me.” I wave my glass around. “My surveillance cameras point to one of the officers who was in here, but it’s also the fucker who came in this room with him. Don’t drink anything in this house before checking every single camera.”
“Oh my God,” Rita exclaims.
“Like I said, check every camera. From the smell, I’m betting the poison is cyanide. I’m going to toss it, but make sure you guys double sanitize everything. Go shopping for new food. Do whatever is needed to make sure this place is safe again. From now on, we won’t let anyone in here without triple security measures. I didn’t come this far to be taken out by my asshole family and their minions. Dimitri and I are going to be working in here for the next couple of hours.”
“Before you get busy working, I found devices in your bedroom,” Martin says.
I shake my head, thinking they truly had balls of brass to do that. “I knew they would. I wonder how many of these bastards work for Marchetti. What kind of devices?”
“Both recording and visual.”
Smiling, I say, “Very good. Cover the one and move the audio device to the television and put on something loud, preferably porn. Let’s give them something to enjoy.”
“Sounds like a plan.” They leave us and start the cleaning process.
“Let’s log into the system from here and run through it. Thankfully, the cameras only record when someone enters the room.” We take the seats in front of my desk, turning on my laptop to get things started. Once the application is opened, we press play.
The camera turns on twice during the day where the receptionist drops off documents in my inbox. The next time it turns on, it’s about ten and the building should be empty, but it seems someone’s interested in my office. I watch as the receptionist comes back in and slips her hand under my desk, pressing something to the underside. We couldn’t make it out from that angle, but there’s no doubt she put something under there.
“Is there a way to tell what she put in there without going in?” If it’s a listening device, that can easily be dealt with, but if it’s a mini explosive, that’s another matter. I’m going to have my friend meet us at my office with the necessary equipment to scan the room without getting close to my desk.
He shakes his head. “Not that I know of.”
“Shit. Maybe we should make a run to the office with Jacobs.”
“Okay. That works for me. Let me check the exterior cameras. I’m not feeling very trusting.”
“Of course.” I pull up the security cameras to see if anyone is lingering or if they were fucking with my cameras. The officers came and went from the house without coming near the vehicles.
“Ready?”
“Yes.” Thank fuck they didn’t mess with the cars. Maybe it was too obvious that there were cameras or because the buzz of cop cars drew the attention of my neighbors. Either way, we safely drove out to the office.
On the way there, I call in some favors, doubling my security at home and the office. Shit. There’s no way I can let her come back into this mess. I want eyes and ears everywhere except our bedroom. There is just too much danger to bring my Giada home, but I miss her so much it’s fucking unexplainable. Having been what I have been through, I know life can change in a blink of an eye, but damn, she entered my world and I can’t go back to life without her in it, so I might have to speed up my plan for revenge.
My phone rings as soon as we enter the parking garage, sending an ominous feeling into the pit of my stomach. It’s a number I don’t know, but I refuse to cower, so I answer. “Hello.”
“Son, we need to talk.” I can’t believe he has the nerve to call me at all. Two years in prison, and I only saw him during the sentencing phase of the trial and once when he brought my mother in to see me.
“Son? Since when has that been? I let you play along with that loving father act in front of my mother because I wanted to see her, but at this point we have shit to say to each other. Did you think I’d have the cops tear through my home at your behest and I wasn’t going to act like shit happened?”
“It’s not like that.”
I’m torn between laughing and snapping off. “It’s not like that? What kind of bullshit are you on?”
“You’re the only one who could have gotten to her.” Oh, so he believes it’s still me that has her. Well, it’s not like they’re wrong, but I’ve left no trace of her being in the house.
“Oh, really, because after two years in prison, I suddenly want to get to a woman I just met
