Page 46 of His Obsession
“That we know of,” he shoots back. “You have no idea how long your ex has been stalking you. For all you know, there’s a LoJack on your car.”
“Which doesn’t matter, because he already knows where I work,” I snap.
He cocks his head in surprise.
“He sent me flowers there,” I explain quickly.
He nods, a quiet hum in his throat. “All the more reason you need security,” he says. “Davis will drive you and stay with you at work. It’s just a precaution.”
I roll my eyes and march down the steps to my own car instead. He says something behind me, but I don’t catch it. When I pull out, though, Davis is tailing me in the SUV. So one way or another, I don’t have a choice.
When I get to the office, I’ve got meetings, vendor calls, a venue walkthrough for a future client, payroll approvals, and a stupid number of emails waiting for answers. I don’t have time to be furious with Sebastian.
At least, not until I leave for lunch and see Davis still parked outside my building in his SUV. This is too much.
The rest of the day, I steal glances out the window, but Davis never moves. He stays outside my building all day. I guess I should feel lucky he doesn’t insist on sitting in my office. That would invite a million questions I don’t want to answer.
For the last hour of work, I plot how to shake Davis. But when I walk outside, it’s Sebastian waiting for me. He’s leaning against the same black SUV with his sleeves rolled and his jacket off, watching the door like he knew exactly when I’d come out.
“What the hell is this?” I ask, already irritated.
“I wanted to make sure you got home safe,” he says.
Something in his tone tells me not to push. An icy cold spreads down my spine as I imagine a million things Adrian might have done to put Sebastian on high alert. I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. So I nod and slide into the SUV. I don’t know why, but it feels like the safer choice.
18
SEBASTIAN
Ispend my morning learning more about Adrian Vescari than I ever wanted to. Nico fills me in on what little he knows, so then I ask Matteo to bring me everything he can dig up. He has the first file on my desk before noon. By one, he brings another. By three, my desk is buried in police reports and newspaper clippings.
Adrian Vescari comes from old New York money. The kind that built the city. Not simply through hospitality investments, real estate, private equity, and family trusts. There’s a paper trail of dirty backroom deals and a few unexplained deaths. He also has connections to a smaller but very well-established Mafia organization.
Matteo stands across from my desk, one hand braced on the back of a chair, talking me through the rest while I go line by line through the report.
“Nothing public ever stuck,” he tells me. “Not on him personally. Two assault allegations got buried. One civil matter with an NDA attached. A girl from Tribeca who moved to Miami right after. No charges.”
“Any verified violence?” I ask.
“Enough whispers that I’d count it.” Matteo slides another sheet toward me. “And this is where it gets interesting.”
The page in front of me has Bellissimo on it. I look up.
“We pulled enough from the alley camera and rear traffic feed to get partial ID on the driver from the shooting,” Matteo says. “He’s not Marchetti.”
That gets my full attention.
“He used to run errands for a Vescari-owned lounge in Manhattan. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
I don’t either. I don’t believe in coincidences. Adrian is in Los Angeles, or he has men here. Either way, he’s moving pieces around Valentina’s life, and for some reason, he linked me to her before we even really knew each other.
“Why Bellissimo?”
“I can’t say for sure,” Matteo says. “But he clearly knows Nico works for you. Maybe he’s targeting both of them.”
“We should put a detail on Nico, then,” I say. “I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“Done.” He nods. “I’ve already ordered a tail on the SUV. How much does Nico know about this?”
