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“Yes.”
She took a shaky breath. “He has been so unpredictable and on edge these last few months. I knew he’d started something, but he never told me it was with you.”
Trent frowned. “When I asked, he seemed happy to help. He said retirement wasn’t what he expected.”
“Si. For years he planned to buy a boat and fish away the ‘good years’.” Fresh tears gathered in her eyes. “But the last time I asked him about it, he told me to mind my own business.”
“I’m sorry, Simone,” Trent said softly. “If I’d have known…”
She shook her head. “It is not your fault. Please, continue.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face and raked his fingers through his hair with a deep sigh. “We started the investigation about a week after Sean’s death, and it didn’t take long to realize these guys had a network of connections extending beyond what we’d ever imagined. The market for these animals is in the billions.”
“What kinds of animals?” Halli asked.
“Tigers, leopards, monkeys, lizards, birds—you name it. Endangered and exotic animals are the third largest smuggling commodity in the world, right behind illegal drugs and firearms.”
Quiet up until now, Rachel said, “Really? I had no clue.”
“Many people don’t. Lapaglia’s got guys scattered around both lakes and the entire Lombardy Region. Local police, town officials, Carabinieri—and that’s not counting his regular guys.”
“Or the guard at the consulate this morning,” Halli added.
“That’s one we didn’t know about,” Trent admitted. “Anyway, we got word a shipment was due in sometime this week. Lorenzo went into the villa wired, posing as a buyer, hoping to get some names on tape. I didn’t like the idea, but he insisted, said just because he was retired didn’t mean he’d lost his touch for undercover work.”
A sad smile touched Simone’s lips. She finished with Rachel’s bandage and pulled out a syringe, attached a needle, and stuck it into an upside down bottle of clear medicine.
“Unfortunately,” Trent continued, “one of the officers working with Lapaglia had transferred to Lorenzo’s district just before he retired. He showed up at the villa yesterday morning, blew Lorenzo’s cover, and…well…”
“And that’s where I come in,” Halli supplied so Trent wouldn’t have to say the obvious. “I was filming swans on the lake and caught more than I bargained for in the background.”
Simone listened as Halli continued with a brief rundown of events leading up to their arrival on her doorstep. Trent interjected a comment here or there, but for the most part was quiet. Halli noticed he leaned forward every few minutes to look into the living room. She guessed he was watching the clock. Waiting for Ben’s call, just like her. She kept taking, trying not to think of the minutes crawling by.
Simone returned her attention to the syringe in her hand. She tapped it with her finger, squirted out a small amount of liquid, and approached Trent.
“Renzo’s cousin, Luca, works for the Carabinieri here in Milan,” she said. “He might be able to help you.”
“Maybe.” Trent’s attention zeroed in on the needle. “What’s that for?”
“Antibiotics.”
“Don’t you just have some pills you can give me?”
“Discretion has limits. I secured what was at hand.”
His jaw clenched, released. “Right. Sorry. You need my shirt off, or can I just push up my sleeve?”
“You can drop your pants.”
His mouth opened and just as quick, clamped shut again. With a sigh, he slid down off the counter and reached to unbutton his jeans. Heat crept up Halli’s neck at the thought of seeing his ass right there in the kitchen. She averted her head as he turned around, only to find Rachel watching the proceedings with unapologetic interest.
Halli couldn’t help another look of her own. Big deal, right? She’d seen it before. Larger than life on the big screen, no less. Unfortunately—or thankfully?—she wasn’t quite sure, Simone’s body blocked her view.
“Relax,” Simone instructed Trent.
A moment later, she stepped back and Halli got a glimpse of one taut cheek before he yanked up his briefs and pants. When he turned around mid-zip his gaze happened to catch on hers. One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.
It wasn’t fair. He didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable, and here she sat, caught looking, and feeling like her butt had been exposed.
