Page 120 of Valentino

My eyes hold his. “Watch me.”

4 p.m.

I walk into the safe house, and down the stairs, through the security doors and into the safe room.

This house is fully protected, we keep things here that we don’t want traced back to us. I scan my fingerprint into the scanner and the hidden door slides open.

The room is small, and a six-seater dining table and chairs sit in the center. Sitting on that table are four large boxes.

Carlo’s personal belongings.

I take a seat and begin going through them, property deeds, car registration papers, a lot of fucking shit I don’t need, and then I get to a bunch of photographs.

I pick one up and stare at it, my jaw clenches as something from the past makes its way to the present.

Anna, on a beach. She has a cocktail in her hand and is smiling over at him as he takes the photo. His hand is on her naked thigh and she’s laughing.

A knife twists in my stomach. I stare it, for a long time. I put it to the side and try to move on, but I pick it up again.

Eventually I force myself to get back to work and I keep going through the paperwork when I get to another photograph, this one is of Anna in bed.

The blankets pooling around her body, and I imagine them naked.

Together.

The echo of my heartbeat sounds in my ears. As much as I want to ignore it, I can’t.

Like a poison, betrayal begins to trickle through my bloodstream. As if it just happened, as if it’s still happening.

And I can smell him on her again.

ANNA

Buzzing with excitement, I glance at my watch. He’ll be here any minute.

I have floated through today, the happiest I have felt in so long.

A text bounces in.

I’m here.

I hunch my shoulders, it feels like Christmas. Going home to him, with him, feels all kinds of wonderful.

I make my way downstairs and look through the front doors to see Valentino standing beside his car as he waits for me. And I want to run and jump into his arms in some grand gesture kind of moment.

I smile and he snaps his eyes away, oh that’s right…nobody is supposed to know about us.

I have to remind myself.

“Hello, Anna.” Tomasso smiles as he opens the double doors.

“Hello, Tommy.” I walk out to the car. “Hello, Valentino.”

“Hi,” he replies, void of emotion. He opens my car door and I climb in before he slams the door behind me.

Boy, he plays the part well, with that greeting nobody would ever suspect that he spent most of the night inside my body.

He gets behind the wheel and pulls into the traffic.