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That got my attention. Word on the street was that the wife of the Etruria Foundation’s founder had enormous influence. “Claudia Visconti?”

“That’s right.”

A bubble of excitement expanded in my stomach. Was Harris giving me a second chance? Or was this some sort of reward for being subjected to the humiliation of Incredible Hoaxes? I didn’t care. I was going. If I couldn’t talk to Giancarlo Visconti, his wife was the second-best thing. “I might be free after all.”

“Call Helen then. Perhaps we’ll even use the occasion to film your part of the documentary.” He just couldn’t help getting another dig in. He sat down, pushing his notes aside, and then his eyes trailed down my body. I tried to ignore the weird feeling that came over me when he smiled. “You’re excused,” he said and turned back to my notes.

And I annoyingly went back to thoughts of my fake fiancé and the very real presence of Levi. I traced two fingers over my lips, recalling the warmth and rough texture of his cheek where I’d kissed him.

Chapter 7

Levi

As soon as I slid behind the wheel, I immediately opened the notes app on my phone so that I wouldn’t forget where Diana was meeting Fiero: eight p.m. Fondamenta de la Misericordia. I hadn’t caught the full name of the bar, but the street name rang a bell.

I still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to meet up with him again. Frankie Fucking Fiero. Josh would not want Indy hanging around that clown.

I turned the key in the ignition and let Francine idle a bit while I stared at the white portable building where Diana had disappeared. Her words kept running through my head.

We’re practically strangers now. The person standing in front of me is not the Levi I used to know.

I rubbed my hand against my sternum. To hear her say we didn’t know each other when there wasn’t a day that went by that something didn’t remind me of her—it was like she’d shot an old rusty arrow straight through my chest. All the guilt I’d buried inside had come rising to the surface like a putrid infection. She hit the spot. I deserved it.

Still, it rankled. I didn’t know her?

The hell I didn’t. I knew her enough to see that she’d gotten herself in a mess. That was the thing about Indy. She was always getting herself in some sort of situation or another. Josh and I used to laugh about it. The Russos even had a song for her—“How Do You Solve a Problem Like Diana?”—that had become a regular refrain in the household.

Looked like she’d gotten herself in another bind. A fiancé?

When the pompous professor back there had assumed I was her fiancé, instinct told me to go along with it. If Indy was inventing fake fiancés, there had to be a reason for it. And it sure as hell better not be Professor Popinjay. I hadn’t gotten a great vibe from him—I never had even when we’d been younger. You could tell even through the screen that the guy thought he was the shit. And in person. It was palpable. The way he looked at me—granted, I looked like a bum, but he gave me the once-over like I was a piece of shit he’d just wiped off his shoe.

A tap at my window made me turn my head, my eyes falling directly on a pair of enormous breasts encased in an ugly orange sweater. I tried not to let my eyes linger, but I am a dude and breasts—no matter what size—are kind of hard not to admire.

“Hm, hmm.” The owner of the breasts cleared her voice. I let my gaze travel up the ugly sweater to meet a pair of narrowed eyes behind funky white glasses. I cringed as I recognized one of Chiara’s friends. She worked with Indy?

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked. I raised my hands in a sign of surrender. I’m a trained fighter, but I’m pretty sure she could take me out just from her death glare alone. God only knows what Chiara had told her friends about me. I’m sure I was the hardcore villain in her story—and maybe she was partly right.

“Stay away from her,” Chiara’s friend warned.

“Hey, I haven’t seen your friend in a couple months.”

She clicked her tongue at me. “I mean Diana.” I liked how Diana’s name rolled off her tongue in that Puerto Rican accent, but I didn’t appreciate the way she was implying that I was some sort of creep. Dangerous maybe—but that was beyond my control—but a pervert, no.

“Look, Diana and I have known each other for a long time. So I don’t know where you get off . . .”

She pointed two fingers at her eyes then jabbed them aggressively at mine. Words were unnecessary—she was watching me. Then she took those two fingers, lowered them in front of her groin and twisted them around in a very clear gesture of what she would do to me if I didn’t listen to her.

“I hope you’re giving Fiero the same warning.” She was intimidating as fuck.

“Dai!” she growled, and I threw the car into reverse. I had no choice but to hightail it out of there if I didn’t want to be castrated with a rusty trowel.

With one last glance in my rearview mirror, I left the excavation site. Indy’s friend was right. I was bad news. And in the short time I’d spent with Indy, I’d forgotten my promise to stay away from her again.

But now I couldn’t.

“Fiancé, Indy?” I had to get to the bottom of this.

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