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“You’re greedy, I’m suspicious. Anything happens with this first exchange and you can kiss the other half goodbye.”
“I warned what would happen if you contacted the authorities.”
Trent’s pulse jumped but he kept his voice steady. “The man in the other boat has no connection to the law. Don’t be too hasty now. It’d be a shame to give up all that cash when it’s only a few minutes away.”
Trent powered down to an idle. The rental boat bobbed in the water as he waited for the man’s greed to gain the upper hand.
“If you attempt to fuck me over—”
“Human life is worth more to me than money, Lapaglia. All I want is Ben.”
And revenge for Sean, but right now Halli’s family took precedence.
In the ensuing silence he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. Last thing he needed was to give the guy more leverage.
The phone beeped for an incoming call, but returned to Lapaglia in time for Trent to catch his clipped, “Proceed.”
Trent throttled forward and checked the phone. Simone again. Knowing Lapaglia watched him, and unwilling to rouse the man’s suspicions even more by answering, he shut the damn thing off and slid it into his pocket.
Chapter 24
Alrigo’s anger simmered at a dangerous level as he watched the two boats approach, a good thirty to forty meters apart. Tony had confirmed the driver at the helm of the cabin cruiser was in fact the famous elder Tomlin, but who might lie below the deck still had him uneasy.
All along, Alrigo figured luck played a big part in the past couple days. Now, he understood the Hollywood playboy was smarter than he’d anticipated. To get the money—and Tomlin was right, it was too close for him to say ‘fuck it’ now—something else was going to have to give.
Nino stood directly to his right. Tony covered Eva; who covered the American at the back of the boat. Eva didn’t know she was being watched, but Tony had his orders. Alrigo’s gaze flicked back to find her watching him. Same as Benjamin. The ring of a cell phone split the silence and Lapaglia noted all eyes shifted to Nino.
Nino dug the phone from his pocket and turned his back to answer. Alrigo’s gaze narrowed at the action. Though Nino’s body language said casual, his hushed tone made it obvious he wanted no one to overhear. Not even Alrigo.
Instinct told him something was off. His control strained, but held. Nino’s time was coming.
Tomlin’s boat drew closer and Alrigo focused on the first order of business. His plan to verify the video and money and then eliminate the Americans and Nino would no longer work with the money on another boat. If he chose revenge, he’d forfeit the money. Unfortunately, the bulk of his savings was tied up in off-shore accounts and he needed this cash to disappear fast. His inside connections hadn’t reported hearing so much as a whisper on their side, but that didn’t mean Tomlin hadn’t managed to contact someone on the right side of the law.
He decided right then to screw the shipment of animals due in tomorrow night; this was over today. Once he had the money in hand, he’d deal with Nino, give Tony a cut, and head into Switzerland with Eva. Or without, depending on her cooperation.
Nino sidled up on his right. “We’ve got a problem.”
Damn right you do.
Trent’s boat slowed for final approach.
“Can it wait?”
“Eva’s been acting strange,” Nino answered, his voice low so it didn’t carry. “And the other day, something she said got me to thinking…so I—”
“Get to the point,” Alrigo bit out.
“Her real name is Evalina Gallo.”
The name slammed into Lapaglia like a sledgehammer. Frank Gallo’s daughter. Fuck. He was screwed all over again.
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****
Ben straightened in his seat as Trent Tomlin’s boat drew alongside theirs. Alrigo tossed a rope across to lash the boats together as Ben took stock of the situation. Halli wasn’t with Trent, and even at a distance in the evening light he could tell the figure at the helm of the second boat was too big to be his little sister.
Good. He’d worried when Alrigo asked about his sister, but at least some things could still be counted on; like Halli’s fear of the unknown. Without a guaranteed outcome, she’d stay far away.
