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“You don’t believe he cut it to the ground and destroyed the roots?” my top man asks carefully.
“I’m not sure. He wanted them so badly. What if there’s some measure of magical thinking involved?”
“Russo is a ruthless son of a bitch. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who’s inclined toward magical thinking.”
“Normally I’d agree. But they murdered his daughter right under his nose. It wasn’t a shot across the bow, it was a full-frontal assault, meant to neuter him. I don’t think we have any idea what’s going on in his head.”
You destroy a powerful man by taking women he loves—women he’s vowed to protect. It’s a tactic that’s been used since the beginning of time, and it’s still used by those without honor—because it works.
“What do you think about Vander Gant suggesting this was some type of a cause?”
“I don’t like it. It was the only thing Russo said that gave me pause. We’ll poke around,” Zé adds, standing to leave. “I’m sure others will too.”
I’m not so sure. Everyone wants it to be over. It’s been a pox on the Continent. Tourism has taken a hit. This news is going to be celebrated across Europe, and if he really did destroy those fuckers, it certainly is a reason to celebrate.
“Poke around—but do it quietly. I’ll have Tamar see what she can find on Vander Gant.”
“Rafa,” he says from the doorway. “Even if Russo didn’t clean up everything, I think we’re going to find that he cleaned up the worst of it.”
Maybe it’s because something that has consumed me since the night they showed up at Sirena—with Lexie—is done, just like that. Or maybe it’s the fact that the woman who’s back in my bed might be one step closer to leaving my protection, with everything that entails, including returning to London. As much as I don’t want her to go, I still can’t make up my mind if, in the long run, it’s for the best—for both of us.
I thought I’d have more time to figure it out.
30
RAFAEL
On my way to share Russo’s news with Lexie and Tamar, I make a detour to Antonio’s office, striding past Cecelia. “I need to see him.”
She must sense something in my demeanor, because she waves me on without a single question.
While there’s no real urgency, the news is going to become public soon. I want to run it by Antonio before I tell Lexie. I don’t want to say anything to get her hopes up, or worse, lull her into a false sense of security. I need a gut check, and he’s just the guy to give it to me.
“Got a minute?” I ask, entering his office without knocking.
He glances up and pushes his laptop to the side. “Always.”
I take the ball of rubber bands off his desk and plop down in my favorite chair.
“What’s going on?”
“Russo called. He brought down the ring.”
Antonio sits back, arms folded across his chest, expression unreadable, even to me. “Is that right?”
I nod. “There might be foot soldiers here and there, but he claims they captured the animals at the top and most of the vermin below. It’ll be announced shortly.”
“Who was the mastermind?”
“Miles Vander Gant.”
He shakes his head as though the name means nothing to him. I’ve never heard of him either. Although I don’t rub elbows with those kinds of monsters. At least, none that I’m aware of.
I tell Antonio everything Russo told me. He listens carefully, and critically, I’m sure, giving every detail his rapt attention. When I’m finished, he studies me like I’m a curiosity.
“I would expect you to be ecstatic. Why aren’t you?” he asks.
“I am.” My tone is a tad too defensive.
