Chapter 104: The Catch-Up

Marco was agitated. Throughout his entire two-day visit I had been handing him more than spectacular progress reports with the necessary details—like how I was the owner of it all—conveniently omitted. He was rolling in cash, just like I'd promised. Anybody would've been thrilled.

He wasn't. He was barely listening to me.

"Monsieur DiBiancci, are you listening?" I snapped my fingers in front of his face, and he finally turned his eyes toward me. Finally. "What has you so distracted?"

"It's almost March fourth," he confided, much to my surprise. "Her birthday."

Yes, I already knew it and my little bout of depression hadn't lasted long. There were better things to worry about.

I glanced around the hotel room where I'd come to meet him today, clocking his soldiers standing outside the door and even more of them where his consigliere was sitting by the balcony. I'd never seen the DiBiancci consigliere before, and the vision that met my eyes most certainly was not what I'd expected.