Free Vendetta: A DeLuca Family Novel (The DeLuca Family Book 2) by K.A. Ware

Stargazer lilies.”
    Fuck.
    Dread filled my chest and bile rose up in the back of my throat. Whoever was doing this was closer than I’d thought. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, trying not to sound angry, but I was furious. This could be just as much about me as it was about her.
    “I don’t know, there was just so much going on, and then you dropped the ‘hey by the way we’re married’ bomb and I just didn’t think about it.”
    “How did you know they weren’t from me?” I asked through a lump in my throat.
    “It wasn’t my birthday,” she said sharply.
    “Come on, I’ve sent you flowers when it wasn’t your birthday,” I argued.
    She sighed heavily. “You use the same florist every time, you would never have them delivered to work, and you always write a card.”

14

Frankie
Present
    T he rest of the drive to Carlo and Mia’s home was silent. The ramification of the flower realization was huge. Very few people knew me well enough to know some of the intimate details that this stalker knew, and even fewer people knew that Enzo still sent me flowers on my birthday every year. I’d lived alone for years, and he always had them delivered to my house. I’d never told anyone, not even Mia.
    I wasn’t sure I could ever look at those flowers the same way again, and as irrational as it was, that was the thing that was most upsetting. I was shaken to the core that someone could take the one thing that I still shared with Enzo after all these years of emotional torment and defile it.
    As soon as we walked through the door, Leo ushered us into a conference room towards the back of the house that I hadn’t even known existed. A petite woman in her early thirties was sitting at the conference table. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she wore jeans and a sweatshirt, definitely not trying to impress anyone. I liked her instantly. She’d been talking to Angelo but turned her attention to us expectantly when we walked in the room.
    “Hi, I’m Mallory,” she introduced herself politely. “Do you have the document?”
    Enzo handed the letter over to her but didn’t back up; instead, he towered over her with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. She eyed him curiously, but she wasn’t intimidated. She did, however, look annoyed.
    “You’re in my light. You mind backing up a bit and letting me do my job?” she asked, her polite demeanor still in place but her eyes held an edge of authority. Enzo grunted and took a step back. It wasn’t a big one though, which earned him the stink eye from Angelo.
    “Where’s Mia?” I asked, hoping to divert their attention for a while so they’d let the poor woman work.
    “Antonio took her down to Salem to visit Pauline and Michael,” Angelo replied, one eye still on Enzo.
    “Did you tell her about the letter?” I asked, hoping like hell he hadn’t.
    That got his attention. “No, I haven’t spoken to her since Enzo called. Why?”
    “I’d just rather not worry her. She’s got the wedding to plan and she’s nearly five months pregnant; she doesn’t need the added stress.”
    He eyed me curiously, but nodded. “Okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut, but you better check with Carlo; he might’ve already said something.”
    “I’ll talk to him before I leave,” I agreed.
    “Okay, so the envelope is a lost cause. Since it clearly went through the postal service there’s no telling how many people touched that thing. However, I was able to lift a few prints from the letter. Which of you touched it?” Mallory asked from her seat.
    “We both did,” Enzo answered curtly.
    “Okay, so I’ll need to get samples of both your fingerprints to rule you out and see if there are prints from any unknown persons.”
    Pulling out a card and ink pad, Mallory waved me over to go first. She rolled each finger in ink and transferred the print onto the card and repeated the process with Enzo.
    “How long will it take to match the prints?” Enzo asked