Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

Faro grimaced. “Exactly, but we both know you didn’t tell Luca the truth
about Andrea and Gaia. In his current mood, that could be your death sentence.”
“Only you and my father know. Father made sure of it.” Father had killed the
cleaning team and Doctor Sal after Gaia’s death without consulting with me. He
sometimes forgot I was now Underboss and didn’t need his meddling.
“What about Giulia?”
I frowned. “I trust Giulia.”
Faro shook his head. “After Gaia, you shouldn’t. What if she mentions
something to her brother or God forbid her father? Felix will use his chance to
either blackmail you or tell Luca so he gets bonus points.”
“Giulia won’t tell anyone.”
“They are her family. She’s a woman. They tend to overlook the
shortcomings of their loved ones.”
“A fact we should be grateful for, or neither your nor my wife would put up
with us.” Shortcomings didn’t even begin to cover my faults. Giulia accepted
them. From the first day of our marriage, she’d taken care of Simona and
Daniele selflessly, despite her young age.
“Talk to her,” Faro insisted.
A knock sounded and Giulia poked her head in. “I’m sorry for disturbing
you, but Christian is here and says he needs to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Send him in.”
Faro gave me a meaningful look.
Christian stepped in. “Faro. Cassio, can I have a word alone with you?”
“As my Consigliere, Faro will stay.”
Since the incident in December, I didn’t trust Christian anymore. We’d never
been friends, but he’d been a good asset. It was unfortunate that our work
relationship had suffered because of my unreasonable jealousy. I wasn’t a man
who apologized, and I doubted Christian would have accepted one.
Christian nodded. He didn’t come farther into the room. Instead, he stayed
close to the door. “I talked to Luca…”
Faro cut me a sharp look, but I didn’t get swept up in his panic. I still didn’t
think Giulia had told her brother anything. Maybe Christian had his suspicions,
but he knew better than to spread rumors that weren’t based on solid proof. I was
in good standing with Luca. It would take a lot to convince him otherwise.
“I’m going to work in New York under him in the next few years until I take
over in Baltimore.”
Fury raced through my veins, but I held back. “You didn’t consult with me
first?”
“I’m not really one of your soldiers, Cassio. I’m the son of an Underboss.
Only Luca can give me orders at the end of the day. He agreed to have me work
under him.”
“Did you tell him why?”
“I said that we both have too strong of personalities to work well together.”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if that was all he’d said. He’d been clever