Giovanni was afraid he already knew. “Baby, go with Ricco. Wait for me outside. I’ll just be a few more minutes. You’re finished with her, right? She gave her statement.”
Maverick nodded. “That’s right, ma’am, you can wait outside. I need to talk to Giovanni.”
“I should stay,” Sasha protested, but they all heard the reluctance in her voice.
Giovanni brushed a kiss on top of her head and gave her a little push toward Ricco. His brother reached out and gently took her by the shoulders. “Emme’s waiting to meet you. She didn’t want to come in and accidently touch evidence, so she’s been not so patiently waiting for the police to be finished with you.”
“One more thing, Miss Provis?” Bradshaw said. “Have you ever had a stalker? Do you have any idea who could be doing this?”
She shook her head. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me. Never.”
Giovanni watched them go. Sasha looked back at him several times, clearly feeling guilty about leaving him to deal with the detectives on her behalf.
“Has she talked to you about anyone she was concerned with?”
“No. She’s relatively new to the city. Her brother suffered a traumatic brain injury, and she had him moved here from Wyoming. The Hendrick Center is one of the top in the world for rehabilitation and care of that magnitude.” Giovanni volunteered what he knew as he took the necessary steps to cross the room to peer into Sasha’s private underwear drawer.
There was a stack of lacy stretch boy shorts as well as lace bras. The intruder had ejaculated all over her panties and bras. Giovanni was aware that he possessed a very volatile temper. It often boiled up out of nowhere, so he was used to the feeling erupting. This was different. This was a rage he wasn’t certain he could contain. He turned away from the two detectives, afraid the need to snap the neck of the perpetrator showed on his face.
“He planted cameras,” Taviano stated, pulling all interest away from Giovanni. “In the bathroom, bedroom and living area. Stefano found several video cameras on the roof across the street.”
“This is one sick bastard,” Maverick snapped. “Where do these guys come from?”
“There were a few incidents at the club involving her a couple of nights ago,” Giovanni said, staring out the window. The entire apartment was suddenly too small. He could barely breathe with the need to exact justice for Sasha. “I think she would have admitted if she had a long-time stalker or if she thought she knew who it was. I can have West, our manager, give you the incident reports involving Sasha last night. He can provide the footage from our cameras as well. Darby was there and used her to try to create sensationalism for his show. We stopped him and took the film. Several cameramen weren’t happy when we took film from them, but they had signed an agreement with us before they were allowed in.”
“Given all the cameras set up in her apartment and outside, I want the names of those photographers,” Bradshaw said. “The setup looks professional.”
Giovanni nodded. “We’ll get you whatever you need.”
“She’s the kind of a girl who’s going to attract attention,” Maverick stated. “It could be some asshole she passed on her way to work and she smiled at him. Someone in the deli or club, since she works both places and has to smile to be polite. Now he thinks they’re in some kind of sick relationship.” He looked around the apartment. “She’s in real danger, Ferraro. You don’t go to all this trouble without being truly fixated.”
Giovanni nodded. “We’ll watch out for her,” he assured. “You find this bastard.”
“You know as well as I do, these creeps are difficult to find. He left DNA, so if he’s somewhere in the system, we can get him for breaking and entering, and stalking.”
“Why would he exchange towels and get out her wineglasses? Have you seen that before?” Giovanni asked.
Maverick shook his head. “It’s all part of his fantasy relationship with her. Having a sexual encounter, sharing wine, showering. The roses he left for her. His towels hung in her bathroom. Some of her things brought back to his place.”
Giovanni swore under his breath in Italian as he lifted his gaze to Taviano’s. They had to find this man and eliminate him. If Maverick and Bradshaw were concerned, then Sasha was in even more danger than she knew.
“If you’re finished with her, I’m going to take her out, get her a few things to wear and a new toothbrush before we go to see her brother.”
“Just to warn you, Ferraro, if he’s as dangerous as I think he is, he’ll be angry with her for having anything to do with you and he’ll perceive you as a threat to his relationship. He’ll definitely go after you.”
Giovanni gave the detective his shark’s smile. “I want him to come after me. If he fixates on me as his enemy, he won’t have time to harass her. I can take care of myself,” he assured. “Just find him.”
Maverick nodded. “Then we’re finished with her. We’ll need to be here a little longer. I want to take these cameras for evidence as well as sweep for more.”
Giovanni started out the door.
“Ferraro?”
He turned back.
“Is it possible someone is striking at you through her?”
“She isn’t a part of our world.” He wanted her to be. He intended to make her a part of it, but she wasn’t yet. “She works for us at the club, but no member of my family hired her. We don’t do that. She was in trouble the other night because a few customers got out of hand, so I stepped in, but that’s something all of us do when there’s trouble. My table just happened to be closer than security. I did take her to dinner after and my brothers and cousins joined us.”
In his gut, he was certain whoever had fixated on Sasha had done so without counting him in the equation. Maverick nodded as if he had been just as certain but had to ask.
Giovanni joined his family inside the deli. Francesca, Emmanuelle, Mariko and Sasha sat at a table together with his brothers surrounding them. As usual, Francesca had everything under control. Sasha was even laughing. She looked young and happy with the other women, and that made him feel better. He’d had a bad taste in his mouth and just looking at her took it away. He liked seeing her looking as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
That was her gift, he decided. She had a crazy stalker and her sanctuary had been violated, her beloved brother didn’t remember her, but she could put that aside and still find a way to be happy. She had courage and strength.
She looked up, her gaze meeting his, and smiled directly at him. For him alone. His heart stuttered in his chest. He couldn’t help but smile back, the dark, ominous feeling lifting just a little. Already his family was rallying around her, doing exactly what they did—helping out. He could always count on them. He wanted her to understand that she could as well.
Stefano caught his eye, and he drifted across the room to his oldest brother. “I’ve put guards on her, even when she’s with you, Gee, so if you spot them, you know who they are. Demetrio and Drago will be out of sight. Emilio and Enzo are on the two of you.”
Giovanni wasn’t about to protest as he normally would have if his brother sent the top bodyguards to protect him. He would do anything, even having his brother’s guards, in order to keep Sasha safe. “Thanks, Stefano. Are you covered?”