“And that’s it. I’ve already explained myself more than I would normally. Don’t expect it to happen again.”
I’m not sure she’s convinced, but hopefully we’ll finish this call before she demands I come home this evening. Hate sex with a jealous Daniela is something that I would have trouble turning down.
“How do you know Sonia?”
“We run a small business together.”
“What kind of business?”
We are not going there, and you don’t get answers from me by making demands. “The kind that doesn’t concern you. If you’re done throwing around baseless accusations, I need to get back to work.”
“Before you go—”
“More pictures?”
She ignores the sarcasm. “You said that Cristiano would take me to my parents’ house. Valentina and I would like to go.”
I did say it.But it’s not a good time.“You can’t go right now. Quinta Rosa do Vale is not as heavily fortified as our house in the valley. Until we have more information about the explosion at Santa Ana’s, and Isabel’s murder, I can’t allow it.”
I hate to deny her something that would be so easy to make happen—especially this—but there’s no choice. “As soon as we know more, you and Valentina can spend as much time as you like there. You have my word.” The promise seems to placate her, at least for the time being.
While I can’t let her go to the house, I do have something that will take the edge off the disappointment. I don’t know why I’ve been saving it—maybe for this moment.
31
ANTONIO
After we hang up, I text Lucas and Cristiano to come back to the villa.
“Everything okay?” Cristiano asks when they walk in, his eyes twinkling.
I’m sure these two assholes had a good laugh at my expense. I scowl and toss him his phone.
“Call that fucking reporter and tell him if he ever takes another picture of me without my express permission, it’ll be the last thing he does.”
“Should I contact the publisher?” Cristiano knows I’m not fucking around, and there’s less levity in his voice now.
“I’ll deal with that stupid bastard myself,” I mutter. “After you talk to the photographer, go to the house and take Daniela and Valentina to the stables.”
Cristiano side-eyes me like I’m batshit crazy, sending him on that errand when we have so many pressing matters.
He’s right. I am.“Take Thiago so you can work on the way there and back. Daniela hasn’t been to the stables, and I want to be sure that everything’s safe before they go on their own.”
He cocks his head. “Happy to do it. But don’t you want to be there?”
“If I wanted to be there, I wouldn’t have asked you to go.”This is a lie.There’s a surprise waiting for them—for Daniela—and I’d do anything to see her face. But if I go, it’ll be too much like an apology, and I don’t apologize, especially when I haven’t done anything to warrant it.
“Take Santi, Mia, and Alvarez to the stables with you so that they can get the lay of the land too.”
We put Mia in charge of Valentina’s security team because she’s that good, and I knew Daniela would prefer a woman so close to her daughter. Alvarez is Daniela’s guard when I’m not around. Next to Cristiano and Lucas, he’s my most trusted soldier by far.
“I’ll call on my way back,” Cristiano says, stuffing some equipment into a backpack.
“A black Mercedes sedan with tinted windows just entered your uncle’s property,” Lucas mutters, after a few minutes. His eyes are glued to one of the monitors hanging along the wall. “I’m tracing the plates, but it looks like it’s tied to the Italians.”
Bullshit.“That’s too damn obvious. Someone wants us to believe that. Just like they wanted us to believe that the Georgians were responsible for the threat to my car at the Camelia race.”
“Agreed. I’m all over it.”