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“I’m going to find her and insist she come home with me for dinner to surprise her mother,” Antonio says, like it’s a done deal. “I’ll tell her Daniela’s not well and I’m worried—or some other bullshit. I’ll keep Valentina at the house until we know where this is headed.”
Not having to worry about her whereabouts would certainly make things less stressful.
I don’t ask how he’s going to keep Valentina at the house, because he’s Antonio and he’ll figure it out, even if it means blowing up the bridge in the center of town so she’s stranded.
“If Lucas reaches the same conclusion as Tamar, I’ll have Zé pick up Marco while she’s with you, and I’ll question him. Zé, Tamar, Cristiano, and Lucas can watch the live feed so that there are no mistakes.” Cristiano and Lucas are Antonio’s top lieutenants, but they’re at my disposal when needed.
“You can question him. But I want to be on the feed, watching with the others.”
Antonio, stay out of this. She needs a hero, not another villain.
“Let me be the bad guy. She’s your daughter, and if you don’t participate, you’ll have plausible deniability. If Marco’s behind this, she’s going to need you.”
“Do you think I give a fuck about plausible deniability, Rafael? Whether he did it or not, I’m her father, and I will be involved. Let the chips fall where they may.”
The chips are going to fall on your head along with the heavy glass bowl they’re sitting in if we’re wrong and your wife learns about it.
“Daniela—” I begin, but he finishes my thought before I can get it out.
“Will be so pissed at me, if we’re mistaken, that hell will freeze over. I’m well aware.” He sighs heavily. “But Valentina’s safety is a hill I’m willing to die on. And my wife knows it.”
I don’t push him, because in his shoes, I’d feel the same way. “I’ll be in touch when I know more.”
“Rafael?”
“Yeah.”
“This will not be without serious implications for your relationship with Valentina either. Nobody would blame you if you let someone else take the lead.”
Not a fucking chance.
“She’s had more than her fair share of pain and loss—there’s nothing I can do to change the past. But if that bastard adds to her pain, he’ll answer to me.”
35
ALEXIS
I’m researching my trip to Oslo when Rafael walks in at four thirty in the afternoon. When the lock snicks, I expect Giana or Sabio, who are now permanently stationed outside the door instead of in the kitchen. Although they normally knock before entering. He probably should too.
“This is a nice surprise.” I close the window on the screen without being too obvious. If he sees me looking at clubs in Oslo, it’s going to be more difficult to convince him I’ll be safe there.
“A nice surprise,” he says, kissing me until my panties practically melt, “would be catching you in the shower.”
If only I had a little notice. “That can be arranged. All you need to do is stand outside the door and chat up Giana or Sabio or whoever’s out there, for ten minutes, and then come back. I’ll make all your fantasies come true.”
“As tempting as that is,” he says, pouring himself a glass of water, “we need to talk.”
There’s nothing about his tone or posture that should alarm me, but still, the butterflies in my belly take flight.
“I went to see your father this morning.”
He went behind my back. I still, my feet stuck to the wood floor as the butterflies swirl faster. I hope I misunderstood, but I know I didn’t. “What did you just say?”
Rafael takes a seat at the island, across from where I’m standing. “I went to see your father this morning.”
It lands like a dagger in my back. Even hearing it for the second time, I’m speechless for a long moment.
“Clearly you knew about the trip in advance. You didn’t think to check with me last night or this morning, when your dick wasn’t inside my pussy?”
