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“LOOK, IT’S THE EXACT same data I saw when she first came to see me. Nothing has been erased, like Tez already told you,” Henry explains, sitting behind the main computer in Club 7’s security room and gesturing toward the screen as I stand beside him.

It’s clear that no one tampered with Fallon’s phone, which I got from her purse during our fight but forgot to tell her.

Henry rotates in the desk chair to face me, taking off his black rimmed glasses. “Nothing corroborates what she claims, Luca. We’re having the same discussion as two weeks ago. And as I told you, it’s disconcerting that she pulled a gun on me.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I realize that, Henry.” Though I’d hoped that I’d finally discover some evidence to support my wife’s theory. Then I wouldn’t have to doubt her anymore, because it’s ripping me apart.

However, once again, the opposite has happened, and my weakness for her has undermined me further. And I don’t think she believes I was here at the club all night to finish some paperwork either.

At that moment, Tez enters the room after I have an employee summon him.

Inhaling a deep breath, I evenly state while my gut tightens, “Tez, we have an issue. My wife says you gave her different information than you gave me.”

His eyes round. “About what?”

“About what you found on her phone.”

Tez glances at the screen and then at the cable that’s connected to the mobile. “You’re checking it, so I’m sure you’re seeing the same thing I saw: nothing out of the ordinary, which I told her and you yesterday.” He sounds genuinely affronted. “Maybe she misunderstood me? Where is she so that we can clarify this?”

“No, stay away from Fallon,” I hiss in a low tone.

Henry and I lock eyes, and when Henry recognizes that I’m at a loss, he commands, “If she comes to you again, you notify Luca immediately.”

“Sure,” Tez replies as I dismiss him with a flick of my wrist.

Without any signs of hostility, he leaves the office, but something isn’t sitting well with me, although I can’t pinpoint what. Violently, I scrub my hand down my mouth while Henry regards me.

“Have a guard trail Tez for a couple of days. I want to know anyone he talks to,” I order.

“Fine. But, Luca, you have to do something about Fallon. More men are becoming involved, and it’s just a matter of time before Adriano finds out.”

“What would you have me do?” I counter with a feeling of torment in my mind that won’t ease.

“I don’t know, but it’s going to create major conflict if she keeps this up.”

“I need a couple of days. After the club has closed, I’ll have more time for her and the twins.”

“Okay, but make sure no one discovers what happened between her and me. Like I told you, I don’t want any accusations about me floating around this organization.”

“I don’t need that either, Henry. That secret’s safe,” I assure him, and without another a word, I stride out while the blood rushes from my head.

Each day, I worry more about Fallon. My love for her beats in my veins like a fever, but at present, it’s tainted with fury. I always rely on our usually peaceful relationship to drag me through the anarchy of this Syndicate, but the mayhem inside my penthouse is growing to proportions I can’t manage anymore. If any other member within my organization were to cause this kind of disarray, they would feel my wrath, yet she’s my wife. She’s the mother of my two innocent children.

Regardless, her strange behavior, which has already resulted in one accident with Noah, is frightening me. Her normally graceful, intelligent demeanor has been replaced by wariness and distrust.

This is what your Syndicate has made of her, a dark voice whispers.

Torn, I reach the bar where two employees are stocking up for the party tomorrow night. I asked Cam to take the twins home, but I miss seeing their little faces so much. Though when I think about the possibility of another argument with Fallon, irritation rears up. Deep down, I wish I could lock my family up forever in our penthouse to shelter them from the cruelty of the outside world. An outside world which Fallon is beginning to distrust more and more, it seems. Since she truly believes what she thinks she saw and heard, I’m afraid of what could happen if she imagines other things. I couldn’t handle either of my twins or my wife getting harmed but have no idea how to protect Fallon without either breaking my bond with her or breaking my bond with the Syndicate. Action is required, yet I keep delaying it, trying to regain control but failing miserably. Under these circumstances, it’s impossible to be both a good husband and a good Mafioso, and right now, I’m not being either of them.

I massage my temples as a guy places bottles of Jack Daniels on the bar counter. Although I’ve managed to avoid alcohol lately, I just need one drink to unwind. Rounding the bar, I dip down and get a whiskey glass and then drag a bottle over to me. With my hand on the top, I hesitate as visions of a giggling Milana with amber eyes just as fiery as Fallon’s dance in my mind.

I set the bottle down when a female voice interrupts my thoughts, “Use this glass.” Simone glides a tall glass to me as she stops beside me. “So that it looks like you’re drinking something non-alcoholic.” And she winks while I merely stare at her before she struts away.

Shaking my head, I stand there for endless minutes, trying to resist the pull of the liquor to drown out my problems for just a little while.

To drink or not to drink?