Page 135 of Valentino

“Don’t worry.” He leans in and kisses me. “I’ll be back soon, I can’t call anyone. I’m assuming the boys have already been bundled into police cars downstairs because I got no warning that they were coming up. I need you to call Giuliano and tell him what’s going on.”

“Are you being arrested?” I whisper wide eyed. “Oh my God, you’re being arrested, aren’t you?” I begin to freak out. “Oh no.” My eyes widen as another scenario comes to mind, a worse scenario. “Is this about him calling you the Cocaine King the other night? Is that what this is?” I put my head into my hands. “Oh no, what if you go to jail for being the Cocaine King?”

“I’m not being arrested for dealing cocaine, Anna,” he scoffs. “Calm down, it’s fine.”

“This is not fine!” I whisper angrily. “Oh my God.” I put my hands onto my chest. “I’m having a full-on heart attack right now.”

He watches me as I hyperventilate.

“Wait…are you actually okay?” He frowns.

I pant, bent over with my hands on my knees. “Do I fucking look okay to you?”

He looks me up and down and rolls his eyes. “Remind me never to get into a situation with you.”

“This.” I grind my teeth. “Is a fucking situation, Valentino.”

“Back soon.”

“I hope I’m still alive by then…. And haven’t suffered a cardiac arrest.”

“So dramatic.” He rolls his eyes. “Goodbye, Anna.”

The door closes and I wait for ten minutes, I wrap myself and hair in white towels and peer out of the bathroom to listen if they’ve left.

Silence….

I go into the wardrobe and put on my robe and I open the bedroom door and peer out.

Silence….

Have they gone?

I tiptoe to the top of the stairs and peer down, the coast is clear.

I run down to the kitchen and grab my phone from the charging station, I scroll through the numbers.

Giuliano.

With my heart in my throat I dial the number.

“Hello,” Francesca answers.

“Valentino is at the police station,” I blurt out.

“So is Giuliano,” she fires back. “They just turned up here unannounced.”

“What?” My eyes widen. “Oh my God, it’s a sting.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ve arrested them all at the same time.”

“Wait, you think they’ve been arrested?”

“I don’t know.”

“I have to call Lorenzo.”