“You’re spoiling her.”
“That bothers you?”
She darted her heated gaze down the length of my body then sighed. “Not in the least.”
“I have one additional piece of business then I’m all yours.”
“Be careful what you promise, Mr. Vincheti. I don’t take no for an answer.” As she backed away, she gave me a sultry look, her eyes twinkling. Every thought racing through my mind was filthy and vile, forcing me to take a deep breath.
When she left the room, Brando chuckled. “I’ve never seen you this way.”
“What way is that?”
“Happy.”
Laughing, all I could do was agree with him. I was happy for a second time in my life, but this time I wouldn’t allow anything to interfere. “Has our guest arrived?”
“He’s here. Are you sure you want to be alone with him?”
“He’s family, Brando. This is something I need to do.”
“Okay, boss. Whatever you say. I’ll send him in.”
I shifted my attention to the outside of my house, realizing for the first time how much I loved the outdoors, including the new playset. Fuck. How things had changed.
“Valentin. Why the hell did you want to see me here?”
As usual, Giovanni was incensed I’d called him into a meeting. I took a few seconds before facing him. My cousin was a brilliant chef, but had become lost over the last few weeks, succumbing to the same hungers that I’d been facing.
Only the woman he was involved with had brought an additional level of danger to my family.
“Giovanni. I’m going to get to the point because we are both busy men. Alana, the woman you’ve been seeing for a few weeks?”
“What about her?”
“She’s a second cousin of the now deceased Filip Adamos.”
He narrowed his eyes, jerking back then laughing. “That’s bullshit.”
“Not at all. I had her thoroughly checked.”
“So, what the hell does it matter?”
I rubbed my jaw, thinking about his obvious distress. “When you arrived in this country a few years ago, you were flown into our private airport. Do you remember that night?”
Giovanni seemed confused at first, then slowly nodded. “Impressive facility.”
“Yes, it is, or I should say it was. Unfortunately, the location was compromised. I remember that night clearly. You wanted a tour of the facility, which I had no problem allowing.”
“Get to the point, Valentin. I have a shipment of produce coming in.”
I moved closer, trying to keep the increasing anger from showing. “As I said, the airport was compromised, nearly destroyed. That meant someone who knew the location and could provide details about the facility provided information that was shared to Casimine Adamos. Does that ring a bell?”
“Why the fuck should it?”
He was testing my patience. I resisted wrapping my hand around his neck. He was family after all. “Did you happen to mention your arrival in the United States to Alana?”
“Fuck, no,” he insisted then looked away. I found it interesting his expression changed. “Shit. She asked me how I came into the country. Maybe I told her a few details.”