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“A little over an hour. Want to do it?”
“Yes, please. I really need the exercise.”
“It’s that way.” We cross the road and set off in the direction of the market, and Tomas wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close. “Tell me about your dream.”
He’s not going to let it go. “We were in the gym,” I tell him, my face flaming. “And we were wrestling. Naked.”
He laughs softly. “I never gave you a tour of my place,” he says. “But if I had, you’d have seen my home gym.” He gives me a sidelong look. “It has a ring. Want to wrestle there when we get back home?”
Ask him to explain what he meant last night, a voice prompts. But now’s not the right time for that conversation. Especially if his answer isn’t the one I want. And I really want to sexy wrestle in Tomas’s ring. All that crackling anger turned to passion… A wave of pure heat engulfs me. “I’d love to.”
48
ALINA
Esmorzaret is delightful. Tomas wants to show me the Llotja de la Seda afterward because it’s right around the corner from the central market, but unfortunately, the Gothic-style trading hall, one of Valencia’s biggest tourist attractions, is closed for renovations. “I can see it from the outside,” I assure Tomas.
“It looks like nothing special from the outside,” he replies a little grumpily. “But the trading hall…” He shrugs. “Ah, well. Let’s go see the Mercat de Colón.”
“Another engagement party venue?” I tease.
He rolls his eyes. “Mothers,” he says in good-natured exasperation.
“I’m surprised she hasn’t been texting you demanding updates.”
“She might be,” he grins. “I have, however, turned off my phone, so I can’t get them.”
I’m having such a good time with Tomas that I almost forget I’m here to meet my father for the first time. My absentee father, who works for the mafia and who might or might not have arranged to have me abducted.
But before I know it, it’s time to leave for the restaurant.
My father is staying in a villa in a small town an hour south of Valencia, and we’re eating at a seafood restaurant in the vicinity. I ask Tomas about the villa on the way over. “Does he own it, do you know, or is he renting it?”
“VDL is renting it,” he replies. “A lot of mafia outfits have a presence in Spain now. Altea, which is an hour and a half south of Valencia, is filled with Russians. Marabella, Barcelona… if you’re a certain class of criminal, Spain is the place to be. But it’s not cost-effective for every high-ranking member of a mafia to rent a villa here, so they often share.”
“Does Antonio Moretti have a house here?” I ask, curious despite myself. “Is there a Venice Mafia presence?”
“There is a house south of the city,” he replies. “I’ve never been to it. But when Antonio visits, he stays with Gabriel.”
“Are they friends?”
“I think so. But friendship is a complicated thing in their world.”
“Their world, not yours?”
He grins easily. “Me? I’m just a low-level drone.”
I somehow doubt it. “Does Antonio Moretti usually loan his private plane out to his low-level drones?” I ask pointedly. “From what I’ve heard, he’s not the altruistic sort.”
It’s a rhetorical question; I’m not looking for an answer, and Tomas doesn’t offer me one. “Valentina looked into Laurenti’s finances. He’s done pretty well for himself, but his expenditures have increased substantially in the last six months. He really wants the top job, and he’s been going through money like water to get it. He’s gambling that if his alliance with the Russians goes through, it’ll catapult him to the top of the shortlist.”
“And what do the Russians get out of it?”
“A foothold into Italy. Whatever that’s worth. Valentina couldn’t find the specifics of the agreement, unfortunately, but your father’s getting the better end of the deal.”
“And marrying his daughter to Damir Malinov, where does that factor into the equation?”
“A marriage is the old-fashioned way to seal these sorts of contracts,” he replies, his mouth twisting into a frown. “Most people have moved on, but Southern Italy…” He shakes his head disapprovingly. “They treat their daughters like property there. It’s barbaric.” He gives me a sidelong look. “This is the world Vidone Laurenti lives in. Be prepared. He’s bet everything on becoming the next VDL boss. If he doesn’t pull it off, he’s in a very precarious position. He’s going to try really hard to get you on board.”
