He Died for His Lover, Then Returned to Win His Trust novel · Chapter 27 of 40
Chapter 27: Count What He Leaves Out
Javier reached the Harbor Street cafe at five to four and sat with his back to the wall.
It was a narrow place with six tables and a glass case of stale pastry, and a gray-haired man behind the counter who did not look up.
He had lied to Dante about the library.
He had said "I'm looking" with Dante's body shaking under his hands, and then he had told him a lie in the same hour.
He did not like what that made him, and he had come anyway.
At four exactly, a man in a gray suit sat down across from him.
The suit was cheaper than the one in the photograph Javier had seen in the quad, and the smile was the same.
"Javier," the man said. "I'm Rodrick. I believe we've met in the street."
"You're the one who hit me with a car."
"My driver did. I'd like to be accurate."
He lifted two fingers, and the gray-haired man brought two cups.
Rodrick pushed one across the table.
"Black, no sugar," he said. "It's how my cousin takes it. I assumed you'd picked it up."
Javier did not touch the cup.
"Say what you came to say."
"Gladly."
Rodrick folded his hands.
"His name is Dante Rossi. Dante Greco is his mother's maiden name, and it is the only thing about him that isn't a weapon."
The cafe was quiet.
Javier heard the machine hiss behind the counter.
"He is the don of the Rossi family," Rodrick said. "Twenty-six years old, the head of a house that has run this harbor since before your mother was born. The estate in the foothills is his. The men in the black car are his. The old woman in the white fur coat who bought you dessert is his mother, and she has been sitting in his chair for months while he plays at being a student."
"No."
"Look."
Rodrick laid his phone on the table.
It showed a long dark room, an oak table, a dozen old men in suits.
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