“Answer it. I want to hear what he has to say. And remember, play your part. Don’t make him suspicious.”
My hands shook as I pressed answer. I looked across at Raya, who had ditched the TV remote and was giving this her full attention.
“Callum, hi.”
“Pronto,” he answered. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. Just worried, I guess. Sani–Santino refused to sign the divorce papers.” Shit, I’d hoped the informal nickname had gone over his head. Sani put his hand on my knee as it started bouncing with nerves.
“I heard. But now that I’ve thought about it, it was a smart move.”
I frowned, flicking my gaze to Sani, who was watching me closely. “What do you mean?”
“It was a ploy to make both you and Piero believe his interest in you was genuine. He’s trying to win you both over. That was made clear when he turnedup at your father’s house this morning and tried to manipulate him again.”
Sani shook his head, clicking his tongue against his teeth. I could feel the rage building beneath his skin, so I entwined my hand with his.
“I guess. He told me he was going to see my father and try to make a deal with him, but my father refused to hear him out.”
“That’s because your father isn’t a fool.” There was a pause, letting those words sink in. “But I’ve just heard you told your father you’d help us. That’s good. And, as I said, your safety is important to us both. We will get you out of this marriage, okay?”
Sani was staring at Raya, who was holding his gaze in some kind of meditation, trying to stop him from losing his shit.
“Okay. Yeah. I’ll try my best.”
“Maybe try asking him about Damiano and record the conversation. He might admit he killed him.”
Sani stood up and began pacing. Raya nodded at me to keep going.
“Why would he admit that to me?”
“Because… I don’t know. Just a hunch.”
Because he was a sick bastard who you promised could rape me?
“Remember, you can call me anytime, for anything, Arianna.Si?”
“I know.” I exhaled, fighting the rage brewing beneath my skin. “Grazie. I really appreciate everything you’re doing to help me, Callum.”
Sarcasm at its finest.
“Ciao.”
As soon as I hung up, Raya told the sound system to play Cher. The tune of Believe blared through the apartment, and Sani closed his eyes, dropped his head back, and kept pacing. When he came near me, he held out his hand, and I placed mine in it. He yanked me up off the sofa and hugged me, breathing me in.
“I can’t wait for the day I unalive that cunt.”
I tensed in his arms, even though I tried to hide it. Sometimes it was still shocking that my husband murdered people as part of his job, and that I was okay with it.
“He knows too much about everything that’s happening. The fact that he called you so quickly after I met with Piero. He had to be listening in.” Sani suddenly paused, let me go, and snatched my phone off the sofa.
“What?”
“This is a new phone, right? You got rid of your old one after I broke into your apartment to run you a bubble bath?”
Raya snorted. “You are so ridiculous. Who does that?”
“Me.” Sani glanced at her. “I do that. You know this about me. Who gave you this phone, Aria? Did you buy it?”
