All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(58)

I ran back down the stairs and out of the house, luggage in hand. Luca hadn’t moved from his spot, and he kept his back to me. My heart felt like it was actually breaking.


I ran to the grey sedan Andreo had arrived in, but then I hesitated and looked up at the six-foot-six stranger as he opened the trunk for me. His expression was sympathetic, and he held my gaze steadily. I had to make a decision. Should I really get in the car with the son of Sal Natori?

But then I had to force back a bitter laugh. I’d just spent days alone with his other son. At least Andreo had been honest with me, and it wasn’t like I had a lot of options right then. We were in the middle of nowhere, and the other alternative was letting Luca drive me back to town. Oh hell no.

I stuffed the suitcase in the trunk and slammed it shut before getting in the passenger seat and hugging my backpack to my chest. Andreo got behind the wheel and started the engine, and I kept my eyes on the dashboard as we drove off. I didn’t want to watch the house where I’d been so happy disappearing into the night.

I took several deep, ragged breaths. All my energy went into not bursting into tears in front of Luca’s brother. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking, but that wasn’t nearly as bad as crying.

After a while, I looked at Andreo’s profile. He hadn’t said a word, and my decision to get in the car with him was making me uneasy. I asked him, “Are you really taking me to the airport?”

He nodded and said quietly, “I’m not going to hurt you, Nicolo.”

We drove in silence for the next half hour, and I stared out the windshield. The road through the hills was dark and isolated. I shivered a little, and it had nothing to do with the temperature in the car.

Finally, Andreo said, “I need to ask a favor of you. It’s important that you don’t tell your family about Luca. We’ve always gone to great lengths to keep him safe, and far away from the feud between the families. I know you must be furious with him, but please, don’t tell anyone he’s the son of Sal Natori, especially your father.”

“Especially my father?” I echoed. “That makes no sense.”

Andreo knit his brows and glanced at me, his face illuminated just a bit in the blue glow of the read-outs on the dashboard. “You think Alberto Dombruso would be happy about you dating Sal Natori’s son?”

“No, of course not. Every member of my family would be horrified if I told them, which is why I’m not planning to say a word. I just don’t get why you’d call out my dad in particular.”

“Given what your father does for a living, you must realize he’s a huge threat to my brother’s safety.”

“What he does for a living? He’s a civil engineer. He builds bridges all over the world. What does that have to do with anything?”

Andreo stared at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the road and saying, “You’re either an excellent liar, or stunningly na?ve. I can’t decide which.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Alberto Dombruso is a contract killer.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and said, “Oh, come on! Al’s an engineer. He’s a dork! He wears golf pants to go out to dinner. He collects stamps!” Andreo shot me another look, and I told him, “You have it all wrong. He’s a family man. Or, he was, before my parents got a divorce.”

“Sounds like the perfect cover.”

“You’re completely mistaken.”

Andreo said, “Or maybe your family’s been keeping you in the dark.”

“My dad can’t be a killer. That’s not even what the Dombrusos do! Sure, we have a long history in organized crime, but we don’t routinely go around murdering people.”

“I just told you he’s a contract killer. He doesn’t work for your family, he’s an assassin for hire. He’ll kill anyone if the price is right.”

“That’s insane.”

He shrugged and said, “I can’t force you to see the truth. Believe what you want.”

“Look,” I said, my voice rising, “if you’re trying to freak me out, you’re totally overdoing it. I just found out my boyfriend’s been keeping a huge secret from me, and now on top of that, you’re trying to tell me my nerdy engineer father’s an assassin. Really?”

“I’m not trying to scare you. I’m just trying to tell you why it’s important not to confide in your father about any of this.”

“I haven’t even seen my dad in over a year, so no worries there,” I muttered, and turned my head to look out the passenger window.

After another twenty minutes or so, curiosity got the best of me. I glanced at Andreo’s profile again and asked him, “How did you know where to find us?”


“I’d been monitoring my brother’s financial transactions. I do that regularly, because I like to keep track of where he is and what he’s doing. He’d be furious if he knew that. Anyway, I knew he’d come to Malta, and didn’t think anything of it until I saw your credit card transaction earlier today. That was when I realized my brother had been lying about breaking it off with you.”

“Wait! You hacked into my account?”

“I had to. I felt like Luca was lying to me. Turns out I was right.”