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“What do you want to do, Antonio?” I ask.
“I want to keep you safe. We have to leave.”
“I think we can make better food at home, anyway.” I grin.
He stands up, holding his hand out for me to take. I slip my hand into his, and he leads me out of the restaurant. I notice how healways keeps his body between me and the men at the bar. They watch us as we walk past.
We climb into the car, and Antonio reassures me it's armored.
“I think I have some work to do.” He mutters as he drives back toward the hotel, making sure that no one is following us. “I have to weed out the rotten apples from inside the organization. My family needs some change.”
“Was it your family watching us?”
“No, well, it wasn’t anyone that I recognized. It could have been one of the rival families. But they knew where we were, and that means someone on the inside has let them know who I am. Also, someone in my family killed Kalo. I have to figure it all out before I lose anyone else.”
He reaches out, and his hand grips my thigh. I intertwine my fingers between his.
40
Antonio
Ihave not letSeraphina leave the penthouse for three days now; she has not complained once, understanding that all I want to do is keep her safe.
My phone rings, and I jump to answer it. I am waiting for this call.
“Arton, what can you tell me?”
“I am so sorry. It was my fault. I should have handled it myself, but I let Diego manage it.”
“Just tell me what happened.”
“Diego hired an extra man to help him with your girl’s father. That man killed Diego, and he went to the container alone. He saw Seraphina. I need to find out who he was. But he was definitely one of our own.”
“So we have a few rats on the inside.”
“Yes, we definitely do.”
“I need you to call a meeting for me. Only, and let me be very clear about this, only people we can trust. I'll send you a list of the ones I know and trust. You can add to it yourself. I want them there, and I want to sort this out. This ends now.”
“The list of people I actually trust at this point is pretty small,” He complains.
“Mine too, but I don’t care if there are three guys there or ten. I just want to sit face to face with people who are on my side.”
“Understood. I'll set it up for tomorrow tonight.”
I sit down on the balcony, thinking about the pieces on a chessboard. Each one has a purpose, some of them. Their purpose is to sacrifice themselves, to protect the king. Others die as a lesson.
But every move matters.
I have to be so careful with how I conduct things from here forward. Every move has to have a purpose. Every piece I play has to be a step toward an end goal.
I look inside the hotel room toward the sofa where Seraphina is reading.
I dial room service and order us a very luxurious dinner. We did not get to have our date the other night, but that does not mean I can't recreate it here for her.
She is so lost in her book she does not see me moving around, pulling out the white tablecloth, laying it over the table outside, laying out plates and cutlery, and lighting candles.
The view from the hotel is more beautiful than the view from the restaurant. And all that matters is that we are together.
