“Fuck.”

I walked past the address I’d found for Donato Salvatore and discovered it was a well-secured apartment building on Central Park South. There was no way I would be able to go inside and ring the bell to his front door.

“Double fuck.”

What other choice did I have? I’d looked for a phone number, but that had led to a dead end. Seeing Daniel earlier today had only strengthened my resolve. Every day that passed without him was another he slipped further away. As I was strategizing how to charm my way past the doorman, a man exited the building and walked to the curb as if to hail a taxi. He drew my attention immediately. He wore a very elegant designer suit, and had a strong build and handsome features. But there was something about him that was a notch or two short of distinguished.

As he looked down the street, his gaze pulled to mine. His eyes were hard, and they filled with recognition upon seeing me. He strode over to me. “I have been waiting for this day a long time.”

I took a step back, instinct telling me to get this man out of my personal space. “I’m sorry I can’t say the same,” I returned, and he grinned, though it was wolf-like.

“You have no idea who I am, Vivian?”

A chill ran down my spine as I struggled to recognize him. I didn’t know this man, of that I was certain. “I think you’re mistaken.” I started past him, uneasy. I’d gone looking for trouble and found it.

“Daniel and I have an unspoken agreement that you’re off limits, but seeing as you’re on my turf…” He motioned to the building.

Could this be Donato? It seemed impossible that the very man I’d come for had materialized. Definitely Italian. Up close, he was intimidating. Sharply dressed. But there was something about him I didn’t trust.

“Donato?” I asked, and his smile broadened.

“You do know who I am.” He sounded surprised, yet his eyes were victorious. I’d always pictured Donato as an older man, but perhaps that was my way of imagining him as a father figure for Daniel.

“Yes,” I said shyly. I understood why Daniel didn’t want me around him. But if he thought Donato was one of the good guys, I was going to have to take a risk and trust him. “Actually, I was just coming to see you. About Daniel.”

His eyes held more interest than concern, but I was thrown by him. He simply wasn’t what I was expecting.

“Why don’t we go have a cup of coffee?” he offered. “I know a good place around the corner.”

I had the feeling I was expected to agree, but suddenly the meeting I’d come here for didn’t seem like such a great idea.

“Or do we need something stronger?” he asked when I didn’t answer right away.

“Stronger. Definitely stronger.”

The bar Donato selected was a quiet Irish pub. He ordered whiskey for both of us after we settled into a booth away from the few other patrons.

He took a sip of his drink and relaxed in his seat, waiting for me to open the conversation. Since I was the one who’d come looking for him, I obliged, though it felt like a power tactic.

“Has anything happened lately? With business?” Dark eyes narrowed as if I’d already stepped over a line. I held up a conciliatory hand. “I don’t mean specifically. Just something that would upset Daniel.”

Donato’s gaze warmed. “Lots of things upset him,” he returned vaguely, and for a second, I thought I heard a twinge of bitterness. “What’s happened that would make you come looking for me?”

I hesitated. Go for broke. It was a motto I’d embraced all my adult life. “He’s left me. I don’t know why.”

He leaned forward. “Left you?” Donato cocked his head as if he hadn’t heard correctly.

“Yes,” I whispered as pain lanced through my chest.

“And he gave no reason?” His eyes held intrigue, not the worry I’d expect from a man who considered Daniel like a son.

“No.”

“But it’s finished?”

I pressed my lips together. Hadn’t I made that perfectly clear? Yet he seemed to want a solid confirmation.

“So he says.” I refused to admit defeat. In my heart, Daniel and I would never be finished.

Donato sat back and took a long swallow of his drink. I shifted uncomfortably against the hard wood of the bench seat.

He tapped his glass a few times, that discerning gaze focused on me. “You need my help.”

“I hoped you’d have some insight.”

One side of his mouth curled up in the semblance of a smile. “I suppose this explains his mood of late.”

“Is there anything? Something that would make him act this way?” I asked in desperation. I’d come to find answers. I didn’t know if there were any here, but I was determined to get something.

Donato traced the rim of the tumbler, deciding just what he would tell me.

“There are some things from the past,” he said vaguely. “Old business. New business.” He waved his hand in the air as if this explained everything.

“Is he in trouble?” My mind immediately sharpened on the worst.

He looked at me lazily. The man knew something. “Information comes at a price,” he finally said.

“I’ll pay it. Whatever the cost.” I realized it was a mistake to lay my desperation out, but my mouth opened with the truth before I could stop it.

“It’s unfortunate Daniel doesn’t appreciate your loyalty.” He tossed the rest of his drink back, and slammed the glass on the table. “Tell me what you know of his father’s death.”

I straightened and clamped my lips shut while I controlled my surprise that this subject had come up and considered how to handle it. Daniel would hate that I was here discussing this with his friend. But if this was the key to what was happening, I had to do it. For him. For us.

I cleared my throat. “He committed suicide.”

“Is that what Daniel told you?” I didn’t like the insinuation in his voice. Like Daniel had lied to me. “Because the cause of death most definitely wasn’t a suicide.”

I downed a large gulp of my whiskey, my senses heightened. This essentially confirmed what I’d seen in the autopsy, but that report had been hidden by Daniel for years. “How do you know that?”

He looked as if he expected better of me but indulged me anyway. “I watched it happen.”

My brow pinched, and I gripped my glass with both hands. “Who?”

Donato again looked disappointed, like I should have been smart enough to answer that question.

“You’re an intelligent girl, with that accounting degree. I know you can put two and two together.” I stared, willing him to say more, something that would immediately halt the path my mind had gone down. “Don’t look at me like I’m to blame. Truthfully, the world is a much better place without that cocksucker.” He cleared his throat and gave me an apologetic smile. “Pardon my language.” It was as disingenuous an apology as I’d ever heard.

This man was a master at talking yet not really saying anything. He’d steered me to the conclusion that Daniel was involved in his father’s murder. I couldn’t help but follow the path, despite my instincts screaming at me not to.

My stomach churned with the possibility that Daniel had carried this burden for all these years. He was rightly sensitive about anything related to his father, and I hated the thought of him shouldering this alone when he could have confided in me.

I looked at him incredulously. “So he is in trouble?”

“Ever heard less is more, as in the less you know the better?” He was too calm, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on me.

I leveled him with my gaze. “Not when it comes to Daniel.”

He grinned and inclined his head toward me. “You’ve got fire. I like that.” His phone interrupted with a text. “I have to go.” He slid out of the booth and stood, gazing down at me. “Remember that information comes at a price. If I need you, I’ll be in touch.”

I sat in stunned silence for a moment after he left. He hadn’t come out and said Daniel murdered his father, but he’d sure as hell implied it. And the autopsy I’d found clearly indicated that someone did.

I didn’t know why, but maybe after all these years Daniel had had a crisis of conscience. That had to be the catalyst for his unusual behavior. But what did that have to do with me?

I shoved up from the booth, fumbling in my haste to grab my purse. My steps were wobbly as I rushed toward the exit. I pushed the door open and squinted when the sunlight hit my eyes, temporarily disoriented.

When my vision cleared, I saw that Donato stood down the block with his back to me, hand waving beside him as he spoke on the phone.

“…Not protected anymore.” I overheard as I approached. He was silent as the person on the other end of the line spoke, then he continued. “Oh, he gives a fuck. Trust me, we can use this. He’ll have no choice but to cooperate.”

He spun, and I froze, trying to keep a guilty look off of my face. His was absolutely sinister. “I seem to be the one solving all the problems,” he continued into the phone without taking his gaze off me. “If you want this partnership to continue, do something useful.”

He ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Less is more, Vivian. Less is more.”

Donato clucked his tongue and strolled away. If he believed I’d leave this alone and let Daniel fend for himself…I stared after him.

More is more, motherfucker. More is more.