Page 38 of Valentino

“What did you say in exact words?”

“I told him that he had seven days or I was going to fuck Anna and then kill her.”

Romeo’s eyes dance with delight. “Please tell me you did that last night.”

“My brain wasn’t exactly on my dick, soft cock,” I snap, and they all chuckle.

“Anyway, fast-forward to this morning, and I could swear something happened overnight.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Anna got up this morning a different person.”

They frown. “What do you mean something happened overnight. Like what?”

“I don’t know, but she got up this morning and she’s all seductive and flirty and….” I shrug. “I can’t put my finger on it, but she was different.”

“Come on.” Giuliano rolls his eyes. “It’s Anna. Do you actually think she’s going to seduce you to help Carlo?”

“Maybe.”

“There’s no way. She might hide Carlo from you because she doesn’t want you to kill him, but I genuinely don’t believe she’s going to double-cross you.”

“You said the same thing about Carlo.” I glare at him and my words hang heavily in the air because damn it, I warned him and he refused to listen.

Enrico keeps scribbling down his notes. “I’m confused by this, can we just run through this again? Let me get this straight, Anna got up this morning and she’s all seductive.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe she just wakes up horny.” Romeo shrugs.

I throw my pen at him. “Maybe I should just beat you to a pulp.”

“Not maybe, probably,” Giuliano mutters dryly.

“And you honestly think that Carlo has directed her to do so,” Enrico asks.

“Why would he do that if he was in love with Anna and he wants her back, why would he instruct her to sleep with you?”

“Carlo was never in love with Anna,” Giuliano replies. “She was his ticket to get close to us.”

“Are you sure about that?” Enrico asks.

“The fact that he screwed around all the time, I’m not thinking that he was too worried about his relationship with her.”

Enrico keeps scribbling notes.

“Val and he used to fight about it all the time,” Giuliano tells him. “Remember that night he was with the strippers and you kicked him off the yacht because you were fucking done with him.”

My mind goes back to that night and how many times he and I fought over his disrespect for her. “You know there were so many signs that he was using her, and never once did I step in because I just assumed it was because….”

I was jealous.

“You were what?” Enrico asks.

“Distracted,” I lie.

“He had us all fooled, man,” Giuliano reminds me softly.