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I’m sure at that moment she was thinking, THIS ISN’T WHAT I HAD IN MIND!
But I ignored the panicked message she was sending me and continued.
“Fausto hired her. She didn’t know who you were, and she had no idea I worked for you. There was no personal animus on her part. She was just doing a job.
“Please… consider everything I ever did for you during our time at San Vittore. If you will only forgive her, the slate will be wiped clean. I will release you from our previous agreement and will do anything you ask in the future, without question. Your word will be my command.
“Please, Don Rosolini,” I whispered. “I beg you… spare the life of the woman I love.”
Behind me, I could feel Rachel holding onto me in a death grip of fear.
Niccolo and Adriano looked at each other in shock. They’d never heard me address Dario this way before.
Dario stood there, still as a statue…
Then he circled around the desk.
He didn’t walk up to me, though.
He walked over to Rachel.
Niccolo and Adriano both tensed, about to say something –
But Dario raised a hand to them, and they remained quiet.
Dario looked deeply into Rachel’s eyes. “You didn’t know who I was?”
“No,” she said respectfully.
“And Fausto hired you?” Dario asked.
“I didn’t know his name or his relation to you… but one of my contacts back at MI6 figured out who he was.”
Dario looked at her for a moment more…
Then he turned to me and asked, “Il solo e unico?”
The one and only?
The One?
“Yes,” I said.
He grinned, then turned back to Rachel. “All is forgiven.”
A breath like a sob escaped her, and her shoulders drooped as all the tension in her body was released.
“…really?” she asked timidly.
Dario nodded and smiled. “Really.”
Niccolo had a slightly different reaction.
“WHAT… THE ACTUAL… FUCK?!” he roared.
Dario glanced over at him with a chiding look. “Niccolo…”
“Why the fuck are you giving her a pass on this?!”
