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By the time the line of cars pulled around the corner and began to slow, I was already in position. I had the second car in my scope, as this was undoubtedly the one carrying my target.
I rubbed the gold cornicello charm around my neck for luck, then put the tip of my finger on the trigger.
The first car advanced down the street, but the second car, the one I was tracking, came to an abrupt halt farther up the block. The third car stopped behind it. I held my breath. Had they spotted me?
Impossible. There had to be another reason.
I checked the first car to make sure. He definitely wasn’t in there. I shifted back to the second car. The door opened and I saw a well-dressed man emerge. Minchia! I hadn’t expected this.
Before I could pull the trigger, a larger man blocked my angle. Porca di puttana. Then the target helped a woman out of the car. I didn’t have a clear kill shot. The entire group walked to the gelato shop, disappearing inside.
I shifted my shoulders and made some quick calculations, then adjusted my scope for the new distance. I would need to kill him when he emerged from the shop. Waiting, I forced my heartbeat to slow, my breath to even out.
Then I saw him.
The most gorgeous man I’d ever seen stepped into my view, and it was like being struck by lightning. Colpo di fulmine.
A thunderbolt.
My breath left my lungs in a rush as I studied him. Tall and thin, with bright blue eyes and dark hair. Young, maybe nineteen or twenty. His jaw was a work of art, his face absolute perfection. He hadn’t shaved today and that scruff was sexy as fuck.
I followed him as he moved, needing to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. His blue shirt was tailored to fit perfectly, the color matching his eyes. His jeans clung to his long legs like the fabric had been made expressly for him. No man outside of a Milan runway had the right to look this good.
Did he work for my target?
He laughed at something that was said and I stared, mesmerized. Dio, that smile. It could melt ice caps.
I was attracted to both men and women, but I’d never felt a flicker of interest for anyone while on a job before now. Why this man? I watched a few more seconds, hoping for answers.
Then I noticed my pulse was hammering in my ears. Cristo, I needed to focus and calm down.
I jerked the sight away from the beautiful man to watch the storefront. As I waited, I tried to regulate my breathing. I hadn’t been this rattled before. It was a bad sign.
Basta. I would be fine. I once stayed awake for three days, lying in wait to successfully kill a Taliban leader. I could do this.
In and out . . . in and out. I counted my breaths and willed my muscles to relax.
But in the end it all happened too fast. I hadn’t planned for gelato or colpo di fulmine. I rushed my shot.
And I missed.
CHAPTER TWO
Alessio
Four years later
Málaga, Spain
I didn’t want to be here.
In fact, I wanted nothing to do with this man or his family. He was the cause of the only blunder of my career, a shameful secret that only few knew.
I watched from the shadows as he strode along the dark street. He was using a different name now, as he did in every city he visited, but I would know that face anywhere. He’d grown bigger, more handsome. His jaw more angular. I felt the same jolt of awareness and attraction as I did four years ago.
Cazzo, it was like a cruel joke.
Earlier this week I received the call I had been dreading.
