“I want to arm you with information so that when you do your dirty work, you clean upallthe trash.”
I want all the information he’s willing to give, but I’m not foolish enough to take him at his word. This could be a trap. “I’m supposed to just believe everything you say?”
“I’ve watched your ascension to power. You’re smart, albeit somewhat arrogant for a man who is still so young. Believe what you want. But if you choose to ignore my lesson, you do so at your own peril.”
He drops the pad of paper in front of me.
“I’m not interested in footholds, and certainly not in grapes. Port is a lucrative business, but not anywhere near as lucrative as arms. You have fire in your belly about it because these are your people, and this is your calling. I have no sons or grandsons to step into my shoes when I die. While it’s a shame, it also brings clarity of purpose.
“At this stage, all I want in life is for my shipments to come and go, so the money continues to flow into my pockets, allowing me to live out the rest of my days on the hillside, tending my citrus groves with my beautiful Raisa at my side.”
“While wielding the kind of power that makes your enemies quake.”
He shrugs. “A man has to have something to keep himself busy. Caring for orange trees doesn’t take up a lot of time.” He holds my gaze. “My shipment will come and go without a blip. That’s all I want from you. Don’t fuck it up.”
“What do I get in return?”
“You get your mole. I’ll send him to you on a silver platter.”
“What mole?”
“Don’t insult me. Porto might be your city, but nothing happens here that I don’t know about.”
In large part, that’s true.
“Your shipment will enter and exit the country without issue.”
He nods, and I stand and head toward the door.
“Antonio.”
I stop several feet from the table.
“I’m from St. Petersburg. Have you ever been there?”
I turn around to face him. “Years ago.”
“Then you know it’s a beautiful city filled with palatial structures and rich history. Although you never got to see some of the most historic buildings. They were destroyed by the time you visited. When I was a boy, my father and grandfather told stories of the horror and mass destruction they witnessed when the Axis Army marched in and seized the city during the Second World War. They wept as they described the lost history of Leningrad.” He pauses briefly. “I don’t destroy iconic churches.”
57
DANIELA
Not only is Antonio here for Isabel’s dinner, but Rafael showed up about an hour ago too.
He came not for Isabel, but I suspect his curiosity about Valentina got the best of him. Either that, or he wanted to see if he still had a place in our home.
Rafael hasn’t met Valentina, but he assured me before we left London that he wouldn’t breathe a word about anything. I have no reason to believe he’d say anything to hurt her.
While I’m thrilled to have them both here, it’s Valentina’s coming into the dining room as I fuss with the flowers that makes my heart swell. She’s wearing a dress—a dress—and not just any dress, but the one Isabel helped her pick out for her confirmation. She never got a chance to wear it, but Isabel gushed endlessly about how gorgeous it was on her.
“You’re beautiful,meu amor. So grown up.” I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. When we pull away, her eyes are glazed with unshed tears. I don’t have a chance to tell her it’s okay to cry—I cry for Isabel sometimes too—because Rafael Huntsman waltzes in before I can say a word. He’s full of mischief and good humor. It’s the mask he wears.
“Did you know Daniela stalked Antonio when she was a girl?” he whispers to a wide-eyed Valentina not thirty seconds after he meets her. He leans closer to a giggling Valentina. “I saw it myself.”
A casual observer would think he had already come to terms with Valentina being part of the family, but I catch him, a few times, studying her during dinner when he thinks no one is looking. As for Valentina, she’s quite taken with his easy charm.
After dessert, Antonio excuses himself to make a call, and Valentina goes upstairs to change. Rafael promised to watch some ridiculous movie with her.