“That works for Neuville as well,” I point out. “Would Niccolo really think of the watch being a trigger for me?”
“Would Neuville?”
My mind goes to a memory of me tied up, of him looking at that watch and setting a deadline. “One hour. Then I’ll come for you.” “Yes. He would. I want to believe it’s not him, but he’s the one who would know what my reaction would be to Carlo’s watch.”
“They both have spies inside each other’s operations. They know each other well. If Neuville favors that watch—”
“He does. He makes notice of it often.”
“Then remember that Niccolo is highly intelligent and manipulative. And Matteo found a link between the customer who gave Carlo the watch and Alessandro.”
“Who could be working for both brothers.”
“Yes,” he confirms, “and even as we speak, Matteo is trying to find a path that connects Alessandro, the watch, and one of the two brothers. In the meantime, we assume it’s the more dangerous of the two.”
“Which means we assume I was right: Garner Neuville is coming for me.”
“No,” Kayden says, his hands settling at my waist. “That would make us victims, sweetheart, and we are not victims. This is war, and we will win. He’s not coming for us. We’re going for him.” He brushes a lock of hair behind my ear. “Let’s go eat and plan our enemies’ demise. Or our wedding. Whatever you want.”
What I want is to turn back time, hold that gun to Neuville’s head again, and shoot him. Because I fear that lost moment will be my greatest regret and loss.
Ten minutes after Kayden and I use the words wife and husband for the first time, I’ve pulled on black leggings under his shirt. He’s now wearing a plain white shirt that hugs his muscles to perfection, the way I plan to again before we sleep. Both of us wear warm UGG slippers and we’ve made our way to the kitchen, where he’s doing a scavenger hunt in the fridge and I’m making coffee. For reasons I don’t analyze, despite my earlier urgency I’m not eager to dive into the topic of Trigger and the CIA, but there’s plenty else to talk about anyway.
“Any word on Gallo?” I ask, flipping on the pot and getting the brew started so it will be ready when we’ve finished eating.
“He boarded that plane to Milan,” Kayden says. “He also booked a flight back here in two days, so this plan to get him out of town for a while didn’t work.”
“What did Niccolo say about the threat to Gallo’s sister?”
“I changed my mind about discussing that particular topic,” he says, removing a plate of sandwiches from the fridge, shutting the door, and motioning to the table where we’ve already set up plates, bottled water, and a fruit salad.
“I don’t understand,” I say, claiming a seat. “Why?”
“Niccolo doesn’t like to be crossed,” he says, sitting next to me. “He’ll kill Alessandro if we aren’t careful, and we need him as our fall guy for the death of Neuville and his men.”
“I see.” I watch as he sets a croissant sandwich on each of our plates. “That makes sense, but what do we do about Gallo?”
He opens a bottle of water and takes a deep drink. “For starters,” he says, setting it down, “Chief Donati is going to give Gallo reason to believe the threat came from a criminal Gallo took down last year, who later escaped and disappeared.” He takes a bite of his sandwich and motions for me to eat.
“Well, since Niccolo claims to have Donati under control, that seems like a smart move. So why does ‘for starters’ suggest there’s more to this plan?”
“In premise it is a smart move,” he agrees, setting down his sandwich, “but Alessandro is obv
iously looking for a way to use Gallo against me. He’ll go after Gallo the minute he’s back here—and considering the dangerous direction this has now taken, I’m sure Sasha has figured out that her involvement is just too risky.”
“She has,” I confirm, “but what about having her go to Milan and try to keep him there until things settle down a bit?”
“Considering Gallo’s in volatile state, I’d just as soon cut the jugular and kill any power Alessandro has to corrupt him.”
“That sounds like a plan already formed.”
“Ultimately, Gallo’s a good cop. A bitter pain in the ass, but still a good cop. We’ll just tell him some version of the truth.”
“He hates you too much to see the truth, Kayden.”
“I’ll have Adriel and Sasha talk to him.”
“That would be weird,” I say. “Sasha’s been sleeping with Gallo, and she and Adriel have more than the casual fling they pretend exists. Gallo might get that vibe, and it could turn him in the wrong direction on this.”