Page 22 of No Darker Temptation

“And?” I probe.

“And so I gave him one of my jackets. Can you believe the audacity of that prick? To come onto our ship and then complain that he’s cold? The son of a bitch is lucky I didn’t throw him over.”

Diego throws up a hand. “Shh. Listen.”

A car door opens and slams shut. Sandro’s voice fills the room. “Drive.”

A second later, another voice follows. “What happened?”

I recognize the voice immediately. Regina.

“He knows.”

The silence is thick with tension as something opens and closes in the car. Clanking glass followed by the rhythm of ice shards hitting the bottom of an empty cup. He must be pouring himself a drink.

“One of these days your arrogance is going to cost us this family.”

“No te preocupes, hermanita. I have a plan.”

“And what—” A beat passes and then she asks, “Where did you get that coat?”

Antonio hisses between his teeth.

“I was cold on the ship⁠—”

“Take it off. Now.”

Diego gives up on listening and approaches the bar again to fill his drink. I haven’t touched mine and Antonio takes it, finishing it instead. The audio screeches as if flown through midair before silencing with a thump. Blasting horns from incoming traffic continue but are eventually snuffed out completely and the audio goes dead.

I perch myself on the edge of the desk and rake my fingers through my hair.

He knows.

Must be about Montenegro and Ibanez. Sandro must’ve known I’d figure it out eventually and today, I confirmed as much.

“What could he be planning?” Diego asks.

“Some sort of hostile takeover, obviously,” I reply. “The problem is figuring out where he’ll start. By attacking the businesses or moving on our territory.”

Antonio shakes his head. “He’ll hit the enterprises first. It was obvious today when he interceded on our behalf with the French. He figures he has several options: manipulate government involvement, orchestrate economic failure, or simply take them over himself.”

“Which means he’d need someone on the inside to give him an in-depth appraisal.” I rub my jaw, already aching from hours of grinding my teeth. “Figure out which businesses would hit us harder if they were lost. The shipping business would be catastrophic but could take him years to bring down. That operation is airtight.”

“Our newer ones aren’t,” Diego counters. “He’ll pick apart at the newer enterprises first. El Aliciente, the hotels, and then the casinos. After, he’ll come for the twelve families. Shift their loyalties and forge new alliances.”

“Then, he’ll come for the tech company, the cruise line, and lastly⁠—”

“The shipping company,” I finish for Antonio, nodding slowly. “We’ll be hemorrhaging from all sides and that’s when he’ll swoop in and take control of the city. Most importantly, the ports.”

Antonio presses his lips together and sinks back in his chair. “This is what he’s always wanted. Barcelona and the twelve families in the palm of his hand.”

“We should start meeting with the families,” Diego suggests. “Fortify our alliances.”

“Almost everyone is still pissed about the legitimization. Some families lost out on millions in new arrangements.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to rub the exhaustion from my eyes. “Sandro cannot do it alone. His reach isn’t that far nor does he have the resources to execute such an elaborate scheme. So he’ll start by making foreign alliances in the city first.”

Antonio frowns. “Why? He hates most of the foreigners in the city.”

“Yes, but they’ll be easier to turn than any of the twelve families. As upset as they may be with me, their loyalty still runs deep. It’ll take a lot to get them to turn.”