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Antonio raises his chin, his keen gaze steady as though he’s trying to untangle my jumbled thoughts and feelings.
“What’s bothering you?” There’s a sense of disquiet woven into each word.
“This doesn’t feel too easy to you?”
The crease in his forehead eases as he shifts forward, elbows on the desk and hands steepled below his chin. “Easy? All of Europe has been hunting those bastards for a couple of years. Eventually, they were going to run out of luck.”
“They eluded capture for a long time—even most of the errand boys. All of a sudden, they’re finished? These are the same bastards who managed to kill three suspects, in two separate prisons, within minutes of one another, so they couldn’t spill their guts. Yet the entire enterprise collapses overnight, like a house of cards? That doesn’t bother you?”
The more I think about it, the less convinced I am.
“It wasn’t overnight. But when you capture the kingpin and his top lieutenants, everything collapses. This isn’t like a crime family with heirs apparent and intricate succession plans. Russo’s a powerful man who was determined to find his daughter’s killer. He put more resources into it than anyone has, and it sounds like he had help from all over Europe. But in the end, I suspect a dead daughter was the greatest incentive. I can appreciate that. I wouldn’t have stopped to piss if I were in his shoes.”
Antonio is the shrewdest man I know. He questions everything—always. There’s no reason to believe Russo fucked this up.
“Their end didn’t give me the sense of satisfaction I expected. But I’m sure you’re right.”
“The end wasn’t satisfying because someone else meted out justice.”
Maybe the stirring in my gut isn’t a warning. Maybe it’s a twinge of regret because I didn’t have the opportunity to butcher the animals myself.
“I don’t agree that their capture was easy,” Antonio continues. “But like you, I’m always concerned when it seems too easy. Although, Rafael, sometimes it is just easy. Having said that, you’re wise to question anything that gnaws at you. That’s one of the reasons I have complete faith in your leadership.”
A sense of satisfaction washes over me. When I was younger, I spent so much time and energy working to become the kind of man that would make him proud. But the truth is, he was always proud of me. I might have done things that disappointed him, but I was never a disappointment in Antonio’s eyes. His unconditional love is one of the greatest gifts he gave me.
“It’s over,” he says. “Take a deep breath and stop worrying so much about Lexie—because that’s what’s at the heart of your concerns.”
If I had half a brain, I would let the comment about Lexie roll off my back. But I glare at him from across the desk, and the flicker of amusement in his eyes tells me he knows he hit a nerve.
“You have a big launch right around the corner. Don’t take your eye off the ball now.”
“I’ve been consumed by this, but I haven’t taken my eye off the ball. The launch is proceeding on schedule, and the new product is going to wow the Americans, much like it wowed the Europeans. Maybe more.”
He nods, not bothering to hide his admiration. “Have you told Lexie the traffickers were caught?”
Antonio knows Lexie was chasing them, and he also knows that she and Tamar have been digging for more information. The latter giving him less heartburn than the former.
“Not yet. I was on my way to talk to them, but I stopped here first.”
“I spoke to Will yesterday.” He gauges me carefully, but I give nothing away. “Things have settled down in London. Now that this is over, will she be going home?”
His prying buys him another glare.
“I don’t know.” The words are bitter in my mouth, and they sound no less bitter to my ears. It’s up to her. “Tamar would like to make her a permanent part of the team.”
“That’s an interesting idea. Lucas says she’s a natural, curious, with raw talent and great instincts and tenacity.”
A compliment from Lucas is rarer than snow in the Mediterranean.
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Antonio quips. “I was there the day she learned to ride a bike. Lots of scrapes and bruises, but she was a stubborn little thing. What’s going on with you two?”
He sneaks the last part in seamlessly—and shamelessly.
“What happened to men are entitled to privacy? That was always your big thing.”
“Still is. But another one of my big things is that fools don’t need to suffer alone.”
I could blow him off. But that’s not how our relationship works—on either end. We don’t allow each other to hide, even if it’s uncomfortable. “I don’t know if it’s going to work.”
