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“Me,” Valentino responds. “I should have told you sooner, I just didn’t know what to do,” he says, bowing his head in deference to the Don. “She’s already been through so much,” he adds.
Romeo grunts, nodding his head once. “Why did you come here today, Katya? Why risk your life and your current set-up with Valentino? What’s the advantage?”
“I couldn’t live with myself if Valentino was harmed because he saved me, and it was only going to be a matter of time before the truth came out. But I have something important I hope you’ll take in exchange for sparing Valentino.”
“What?” Valentino whispers in my ear. “What are you doing, baby?”
“Something I should have done when you first found me,” I whisper back. “I didn’t know who I could trust, but I know now I should have trusted you. It’s the only way I could think of to help.”
Romeo clears his throat, and we both turn back to him.
I pull the little notebook out of my sweatshirt pocket, holding it out for Romeo to see. “I stole this before I left. My idiot father doesn’t trust computers or the internet, so he keeps his most important notes written in here,” I inform him, shaking the notebook for emphasis. “It’s how I found your compound. It also contains numbers and addresses for numerous friends and foes, as well as coordinates for all kinds of weapons and storehouses.”
The Boss raises an eyebrow, then holds out his hand.
I hold the notebook out slightly above his open palm, then stare at him directly in the eye.“If I give you this, you promise not to punish Valentino for being nice to me, right?”
“I’m not being nice to you,” Valentino grumbles. “I fucking love you.”
This startles the other two men in the room, as well as Romeo. For a brief moment, the infamous mafia boss looks surprised, followed by a flash of a smile, but he schools his face over before I can be sure what I saw.
“Usually, I don’t negotiate,” Romeo answers. “Especially with a Colombo.”
Valentino growls softly, and I nudge him with my hip to shut up.
“And Valentino and I will need to have a chat about hiding things from me,” Romeo continues. “But if what you say is true, and if Valentino’s confession of love is real, then yes, we have a deal.”
“Take me instead,” I ramble, my mind still playing catch-up with the conversation. “Don’t hurt Valentino. He’s a good man.”
“Katya, he said–”
“I’ll lure my father out for you,” I offer, scrambling to think of some way I can be valuable to Romeo. “I can–”
“Katya.” This time, it’s Romeo who says my name.
My eyes snap to his, my heart rattling around in my ribcage the longer I look at him.
“I said we had a deal.”
“Wh-what? Really?” I blink at Romeo, not sure if this is all some cruel joke.
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes,” I answer truthfully. This earns me a smirk from Romeo. “I don’t think anyone has ever listened to me.”
Valentino kisses my temple again and whispers, “We’re different from your family.”
“That’s a shame,” Romeo finally says. “From what I can tell, you’re brave, bold, and strong enough to fight for the life you want. You’re clearly loyal to Valentino, even willing to offer your life for his. Those are excellent qualities for any mafioso to have.”
A rush of emotions sweeps through me, stealing the breath from my lungs. “Thank you,” I murmur, bowing my head at his compliment.
I place the notebook in Romeo’s hand, then look over my shoulder at Valentino.
He spins me around in his arms and gathers me against his chest, nuzzling into the top of my head. “You should have told me what you were going to do,” he whispers.
“You wouldn’t have let me go through with it,” I counter.
“Of course not.”
