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“Call me if anything goes wrong, Clara, even if you just want some reassurance, okay? I’ll answer anytime. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll see you in the morning with breakfast. You can wait until the morning to call your father, but I wouldn’t put it off much longer than that.”
“Okay,” she sighs, not even trying to shake off my touch. Good girl. “Thanks… I guess.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, I’m the best outcome for you, and you’re lucky I was the one to come to collect this debt. I have a certain fondness for beautiful blinds.”
That flush returns to her cheeks, and I love it. I allow myself one stroke of her face with the back of my hand, and then I’m leaving her villa. She gives me the spare key that had come with the rental, and I’m touched by her easy trust in me. Waiting until I hear the lock tumbler turn from the other side of the door, I lay my palm on the wood and close my eyes, thanking whatever forces of God or nature that are out there for the chance to make Clara my own, and have the family that I had all but given up on. I don’t deserve it by any means, but I’ll take it nonetheless. I’ve always been a taker.
I had parked my deep green, nearly black Tesla, the quietest car in my collection, down the street so I could approach on foot, and the walk to it gives me plenty of time to think. I think that I’ve woven my story well enough that she won’t be able to discern the lies and exaggerations that I have threaded in, and if her father is the slimy prick that I think he is, I’ll have all the reason in the world to take her with me for ‘safe-keeping’ until the debt is paid. The day I’ve given her will allow me the time to have my staff prepare my private residence for her to stay with me, as well as speak to my uncle about my next steps. Since I had been the one to approve the loan going out to Paul Eldridge, my uncle has no problems with me doing whatever I need to do to get the money back. While I have had to step up and perform some more complicated duties for the family as the second in command, things have been relatively peaceful lately, and my jobs have mostly comprised threats and even the rare finger-breaking torture to get the family’s money back from assholes that think they can just cut and run. Sure, I’ve had to kill a few particularly dangerous business associates, but the days of shootouts in back alleyways are all but done. Everything is done electronically now, and my duty is usually to force those in our debt to press the right things on their phone screens to transfer the money to us, where it belongs.
If Paul pays tomorrow, I’ll have to take Clara and come up with some other reason for it. If he doesn't, which I believe is the more likely scenario, I’ll still take Clara until the debt is paid, but just for assurances, I’ll go ahead and pay the money back from my own personal account so Uncle won’t have any reason to come sniffing around looking for it. I want to be able to take my time with Clara without any interruptions. No one has to know that I paid the debt besides me.
It’s an enormous risk to take, and I might lose that money forever, but as I think about the way Clara’s hand had felt in mine, I know it’s worth that risk, and so much more.
* * *
My sleep isrestless as I think of all my next moves. Everything from what sort of bedding she’ll prefer to what she’d like me to bring for breakfast cascades through my waking and sleeping thoughts, but eventually, I manage to drift into a deep enough slumber that I won’t be completely useless tomorrow.
It’s nearly morning when I think I hear my phone go off, but by the time I wake up enough to grab it off the charging dock and wake up the screen, any noise it had been making has stopped. Blearily, I see there is one notification, and when I read the name next to it, my blood runs cold.
Clara: 1 Missed Call
It only rang a single time, which means the most likely scenario is she dialed my number by accident, maybe rolling over onto her phone while sleeping, but even though it’s the obvious conclusion, something about it doesn’t sit right with me. I’ve got a bad feeling about that once single ring, and the life I’ve lived has taught me not to ignore my gut feelings.
I’ve only gotten three hours of sleep, but I have to check on her, just to make sure. No one else from the Giordano clan would bother her. Hell, they don’t even know she exists, but Naples isn’t totally without its dangers for tourists, especially single women. Just like any vacation destination, there are those who would take advantage of someone like Clara.
The Tesla moves silently through the streets, and once I’m close, I flick the headlights off and park right in front of her villa. The first indication that something might be wrong is that there are two scooters parked haphazardly on the sidewalk that I’m almost positive weren’t there when I arrived earlier, and the sight of them makes me all but run to the front door. Clara’s spare key is in my pocket, but on a whim, I try the knob first.
It’s unlocked. Fuck.
