“Do you do your own books? Accounts? Do you make the deposits?”
“No, Papa did all that and has an accountant make sure the taxes and stuff are paid. He said it’s complicated in Italy.”
I stop and do an about face.
“No,” she whimpers. The look of anguish is frozen on her face like an ice sculpture, a sexy ice sculpture.
“Yes, pretty sure. But check for yourself.”
“You won’t help me?”
“Not my place. You’re stuck in a tight spot for sure.” I slide an arm into my coat to put it on.
She does the same, as if on autopilot and simply mimicking my moves.
“Get through tomorrow, act normal. Let’s see how this plays out.”
“What? Play? I don’t want to play.” She raises her voice. The frustration is sinking in and I’m glad I won’t be there when she opens that safe later.
Today has been a success. She told me everything she knows and will probably call me later with an update. All I need now is intel on Besnik, intel we didn’t have before this fiasco. Then, maybe I can pass along some useful information to Riccardo.
“I can’t believe you’re not helping me.”
“I don’t owe you anything, but I’ll give you some advice, be very careful with your next move.”
“You’re not going to tell me what I should do?”
“Nothing is that simple. It’s like a game of chess. You have to think a few steps ahead.”
“Like you, when you kissed me. Was that one or two steps ahead?”
“That was just a teaser.” I flash her my charismatic smile that promises the next time will be more tantalizing and invasive than it was today.
I leave her there to make her way back to the shop. It’s getting late and I have shit to do and people to pay and a long fucking night ahead of me.
I head back to my place, change and get into my sports car to meet Dante and Juliet for dinner. Christ, how did I become so fucking busy?
I shift my car into gear as I head up to Fiesole and park in front of the restaurant. We’re here earlier than we normally eat, so there’s plenty of room.
“Ah.” I wave at the happy couple holed up in a corner table and join them.
“Drink, brother?”
“Oh, nice bottle of Chianti. I’m in.”
I lean over the table and kiss Juliet on both cheeks, take my coat off, and sit.
Dante pours me a glass of red, full-bodied wine from a good year and refills theirs. It’s nice to have some alcohol to relax after the day I’ve had.
I wish I had answers for Prende but the truth is, she has to figure it out. I can’t teach street smarts. She needs to learn it for herself if she’s to survive.
And she needs to sort this out with her uncle before he marries her off to some troll. It makes me wonder if he was in on something illicit with Argon or if Argon was acting alone.
“What’s up?” Dante asks.
“Well, I’m too busy for one. I’m on top of the situation we discussed. Things will be coming to a head soon.”
“Anything we need to do?”