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“I’m sure. But I’m not sure this isn’t some kind of ploy. There could be layers of encryption that lead us to dozens of others. I spent five minutes on it—there’s no way I can be certain he’s responsible.”
“What were you going to say before I interrupted you?”
“This seems like the work of a woman—and an amateur. Canceling a caterer…it has a mean girl flavor to it.” She shrugs. “It doesn’t feel like something a man would do.”
She’s right. Although I’m glad she said it and not me. “Bancroft’s not much of a man, but I agree.”
“Me too,” Zé adds.
“Antonio’s sending Cristiano to look for the party planner. She might be able to shed some light on this—if we can find her.” But, if Bancroft is behind this, I doubt he killed her.
“Security measures need to be tighter than planned tomorrow,” I caution them, although I have no doubt Zé’s already on top of it, “and for the rest of the trip. At the very least, someone wanted to embarrass us. Boston is our first stop, and they zeroed in on the high-profile event with over a thousand guests. If we fail, and a caterer not showing up would be an epic failure, we would immediately be dismissed as lightweights, not at all ready for prime time.”
“Bancroft’s already in town for the celebration,” Zé mutters.
We invited all our competitors, and many of them will be here. Not to wish us luck but to scope out the competition. It’s irresistible. Even still, I didn’t think Bancroft would have the balls to show up.
“Arsonists like to show up at the fires they set,” Tamar adds.
Maybe that’s why Bancroft came—he lit the fuse and came to watch us burn.
“Should we pay him a visit?” Zé asks, getting out in front of the inevitable. He’s still pissed I didn’t take him with me last time, although, as it turned out, having him on the ground was a godsend. Otherwise, I might not have heard about Francesca’s murder until it was too late—for Lexie. I shove the thought away. There’s enough happening right now to send me into a rage. I don’t need to add fuel to the fire.
“Not yet. I promised Bancroft pain if he fucked with me again, and I never break my promises. Let’s wait until we have more information before I disembowel him.”
49
LEXIE
“Do you know Valentina’s taking antianxiety meds?” Rafael asks, pouring us a nightcap.
“Yes.” I’m still smarting about it. Not because of the meds but because I had to hear it from Marco. Did she think I would judge her for taking care of her mental health? I take out an earring and drop it on the dresser. It reminds me of when we spent hours at the spa and she never mentioned that Marco wasn’t going to the gala. Maybe she doesn’t trust me.
There’s more distance between us since I moved in with Rafael. No question. While I hate it, I’m not leaving him because it’s hard for her.
He hands me a tumbler. “When did she tell you?”
There’s something almost accusatory in his tone, and I stop fiddling with my earring to look at him. “She hasn’t told me. Marco did.”
“Marco?” he asks, running a finger along my lower jaw.
It’s an intimate gesture, but it feels almost foreboding. I don’t like the tenor of this—at all.
I gaze at him in the mirror. His features are tight. “You know, her husband.”
After the whole fiasco with the caterer, we were all a bit on edge before tonight’s events, but they went off perfectly. Valentina relaxed as the night went on, and Marco stuck to her like glue.
In the elevator, on the way to the room, a very loose Rafael promised to do delicious things to me while Zé and Sabio looked straight ahead and pretended to ignore us. He stood behind me with his head lowered to my ear so they couldn’t hear him, but there was something titillating about it—and arousing. Even so, the mood in the room has gone from sultry to stank. Or maybe it’s just my mood that’s soured.
“Why don’t you ask the question that’s really on your mind?” I step away from him. “You want to know if I kept it a secret from you.”
He grasps my wrist, gently, and pulls me closer until we’re facing each other, almost touching. “I’m curious. Would you have told me, if you’d known?”
I don’t know. “I helped put Gabe down for a nap earlier, and even cranky, he’s less needy than you.”
One corner of his mouth curls—not in a smile, but something darker.
“You promised not to keep secrets from me.”
