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“You sure you don’t need me there? I’m serious, I’ll get on a plane in—”
“I’m fine. I’ll tap Dominic if I need more eyes.”
“Sounds good.”
“Enjoy the beach, Vincent. Love to Bellamy.”
“Take care, Micheal.”
When I hang up, I lean back in my chair. I start to reach for the scotch again. But I stop myself. I don’t need to cloud my thoughts tonight. I need clarity. And Vincent is right. Clarity will come from putting this all on the table with Katrina.
I won’t spend my days wondering about her or being suspicious. I take a deep breath. No more bullshit. No more avoiding each other. She’s young, but she’s a grown woman. She didn’t ask for this. Neither did I. But we’re here, and this is happening.
I start to stand, with every intention of going to her. But my phone rings again. I grunt and glare at the screen. Shit. It’s Sal.
“Don Salvestro, how are you?”
“Micheal,” the older Italian man says with his velvety voice. “How are things?”
“Things are good,” I shrug. Sal doesn’t usually need business reports from me outside of our quarterly meetings. But I assume he’s making the most of his still being here in the states on his visit. “We’re about to close on that laundromat chain. All cash business, so that’s going to be great for…”
“I meant at home, Micheal,” Salvestro grunts. “With your soon-to-be-bride.”
My jaw tightens. “Fine.”
“Fine? Just fine?”
“Just fine.”
He sighs. “Does fine mean you are enjoying her, or no?”
My brow darkens. “She’s twenty-fucking-three, Don Salvestro.”
“Si, and?”
“It’s unseemly,” I mutter.
He chuckles deeply. “Unseemly? Micheal, Bernardo andhiswomen are unseemly. Anton’s niece is a grown woman. You are a grown man. I do not see what the problem is.”
“All due respect, Sal,” I growl. “This is not how things are done in this day and age.”
There’s a long pause. I frown.
“Are you refusing this deal?” Salvestro says quietly.
I’m not afraid of Sal or Bernardo. But I’m smart enough to not underestimate either of them, Salvestro especially. The kindly little Italian man with the smile and the hat is an act. It’s a costume. Behind it lies a man capable of doing anything to attain and retain power. I have no illusions about that, or the strength he wields.
“Do I have a choice?”
He chuckles quietly. “Non, Micheal,” he says with a thin laugh. “Not on this.” He sighs. “She is beautiful, no?”
“She is.”
“Do you care for her?”
I frown. “Sal, I don’t know her.”
“Is that a no, then?”
