Dangerous Vows

Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed

Cold, gray; the morning after the explosion seemed to hint even nature herself might recognize the malevolent forces at work within the De Luca fold. Stepping down off the raised curb at the entrance to Marco's building, Isabella's eyes slid zigzagging jagged nerves skyward at the familiar structure. She had not set foot in here for months, not since she had left the family business. Now, as she readied herself to go in, she felt the weight of her brother's death and the danger that seemed to surround them settle heavily upon her shoulders.

She felt to one side of her Enzo was as solid as ever. All this time, he had remained silent, watchful, his eyes flicking from street to street for some sign of danger. Yet, she could feel something akin to relief that he was there beside her” something she would never admit.

"Now, just be careful," Enzo murmured as they approached the door. "This guy might have bugged his apartment. You never know who else is seeing us."

Isabella nodded; anxiety still seemed to be making a bead in her throat. "I just want to know what he was hiding," she said softly. "I need to know why he got mixed up in all this."

Enzo didn't react to her gaze. "You may not like what you find, Bella."

It made her shiver down her spine, but she braced herself. "I have to know, Enzo. Whatever it is, I have to know."

They entered the building and took the elevator up to the fifth floor on which Marco resided. The upside of feeling through the entire trip, was back in each of them now, brought back by the almost un-noticeable hum of the elevator. They stood outside his door rather nervously as Isabella cautiously extended her hand to the door handle.

"Do you have the key?" Enzo said, looking straight into her eyes.

She nodded to herself as she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a silver key. Her heart hammered in her chest as she took a breath, unlocked the door, and pushed it ajar. Everything was exactly how Marco had left it: tidy, ordered, and depressingly quiet. A faint scent of his cologne hovered in the room, a reminder of his presence that tugged at her heart.

"He was always so meticulous," Isabella murmured, the living room in question getting a survey from her. "Everything in its place."

"Let's start looking then," Enzo said and walked over to the one in the corner. "If he was hiding something, it would be somewhere he thought no one would look."

Isabella nodded and got to look through with him into whatever the site was made of. They both went wild, rummaging through Marco's things, drawing open drawers, popping open closet doors, running their hands across shelves, and pulling open cabinets, at the point where Enzo got to the bottom drawer of Marco's desk and they came across something extremely curious.

"Here," Enzo said in a low voice, waving a folder that he had pulled from beneath a false bottom.

It was this folder that Isabella accepted from him, her heart pounding. Opening it, her eyes widened with shock at what lay before her: a number of documents, among which were bank statements, contracts, and correspondence. But one really bit hard: the letter in Marco's own handwriting.

It was to Giovanni, and reading it sent chills down Isabella's spine.

Papa, I know I've been dancing on a razor wire and do not think I can do this too much longer. They're starting to get suspicious. The Romano family is watching me pretty closely, but for now, I've managed to keep them off our backs. But there's something else bigger at play, something I can't place my finger on. You should know that if anything happened to me, it's not business, it's personal. I am so very sorry that I wasn't able to get them to protect the family, as I promised. I am just so very sorry for everything.

Isabella felt like she could not breathe. The implications in that letter were huge. All along, he just might have been double-dealing on the Romanos: working with them, ostensibly to protect his own family, the De Lucas, but it was getting him killed.

"Enzo," she whispered, her voice trembling. "He knew. He knew he was in danger and couldn't get out."

He took the letter and read it with a dark look on his face. "Mamma Mia. Questo cambia tutto," he said in the grave tone. "You have just put your father in the crossfire now; if Romanos know about this, they'll be after your father next."

Panic surged to her again like a wall. "We have to warn him. We have to do something before it's too late."

Enzo nodded but his eyes were far away; he was already planning what step they should do next. "We need more information. We need to find out who Marco was dealing with and what they wanted."

"Where do we start?" asked Isabella, voice shaking a bit.

'Nico's bar, ' he replied with some certainty. Now at least if not wholly, ' At least Nico could be of help whether consciously or unconsciously used to while away hours in that place.

Isabella's stomach churned with the thought of involving Nico, Marco's childhood best friend in this. But now with all the facts of all the facts that she had come to know, she had to question herself, really did she knew the man?.

They left the apartment with their revelation heavy on both their minds. The ride to Nico's bar was tight-laced, and they hardly conversed. In Isabella's head, thoughts raced to put enough pieces together to make the puzzle of her brother's life. Enzo was intent, the road ahead, face imminently impassive.

An evening had already set by the time they stepped into the pub. The place was quite empty, with the quaff dim lighting. Nico was behind the counter, arranging glasses, and he beamed with his full-toothed smile when he saw Isabella step in.

"Bella," he smiled warmly, getting off the bar to embrace her, "it was too long."

"Hey, Nico. Can I talk to you about something?" She returned his hug, though it felt rather forced.

"Of course." His smile flickered, and though he looked at least a couple of feet away, the two women came within range. He drew them around back into a quieter booth. "What can I do for you?"

She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her nerves. "Nico, I need to ask you about Marco.

It was like his very sibling's voice had darkened the eyes of Nico. "I still can't believe he's really gone," he murmured. "And I keep trying to make sense of it, but nothing seems to add up."

"That's why we're here," Isabella said gently. "We found some things in Marco's apartment—things that suggest he was involved in something dangerous."

Nico stiffened, his eyes slanting downward. "What kind of things?

Isabella glanced at Enzo, who gave a fraction of a nod. "Documents, letters," she was very careful with the words. It seems that Marco was taking care of the interests of the Romano family, but he was also trying to do right by our family. He was caught in the middle, and I think it got him killed."

Nico's face darkened as he crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "That doesn't sound like Marco. He was always a loyal man to the family."

"I know," Isabella said softly. "But he's also done it for your protection, Nico. He's in so over his head."

Nico looked down at the table, pained. "I wish I could have done something; I wish I could have known," he mumbled.

Isabella reached across the table her hand to his. "We need you, Nico. We need to get down to who Marco was working with, and why they wanted him dead."

His brows twitched quickly, conflict playing in his eyes. "Bella, you know I'd do anything for you," he said seriously. "But this is dangerous. You start digging into this, you're gonna make a lot of enemies.".

"I don't care," Isabella said vehemently. "I have to know."

But Nico looked like he still wasn't going to say anything, sending an alarmed look at Enzo, who reciprocated the gaze with an unforgiving scowl. "And him?" Nico nodded in the direction of Enzo. "Can we trust him?"

Enzo's narrowed eyes did so even further, but Isabella beat him to the punch. "Enzo's been working with me," she said. "I trust him."

Nico did not seem to agree but nodded his head sulky. "Okay. I'll help you. But you really gotta watch your back, Bella. This can get messy."

Isabella squeezed his hand gratefully. "Thanks, Nico."

"Thanks for your help, Nico," Enzo said again as he rose to his feet to go, Julia following suit. His voice was toneless, but slightly sibilant, shadowed by a certain suspicion. "I would hate to think there's something you're not telling us, that might help me understand why Tess died."

Nico squared up in his chair, his eyes challenging Enzo in a silent declaration. "Allow me to remind you, I am as much in the dark about it as you are."

Enzo nodded slowly, but there was something in the air among them. Isabella felt it and that made her a little uneasy. Maybe, with a little bit of luck, Nico was telling the truth between them” but some small inner voice kept hammering away, saying it wasn't all right.

They left the bar, and outside, the air was heavy with the unspoken. They began walking back to the car. Isabella gripped Enzo's arm with mounting anxiety.

"Do you think we can trust him?"

Enzo's expression was grim as he depressed the keyfob. "I don't know. Something about him made me really uncomfortable. But, well, for now, we don't have a whole lot of options, do we?"

Isabella bit into her lip. Her brain was racing. "But what if he's part of it? What if he knows something?"

Enzo flicked a glance her way as they got into the car. "That's exactly what we need to find out," he said.