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I twisted one of the rings on my fingers, wondering what to do. Should I try to find them and demand answers from Nic? Or Giulio? Would they even be straight with me?
Fuck this. I was going to find them. I deserved better than to be shoved aside and lied to.
Nic’s office. It would be the one place he’d go, knowing I wouldn’t follow.
My bare feet made no noise as I crept deeper into the yacht. I wound through the narrow corridors and slowly approached the closed walnut door to Nic’s office.
As I raised my hand to knock, I heard the voices inside. “I have no intention of going into business with Fausto Ravazzani.” This was from Nic, and I paused.
Giulio was pitching Nic on mafia business with his father?
My friend spoke next. “That is not what I offered. This would be between you and me.”
“And what of Golubev?” Nic asked.
“He’s old,” Giulio responded, “from another era. You and I could make a lot of fucking money there.”
A long silence ensued. Make a lot of money? Together? How?
I wasn’t a fan of eavesdropping, but privacy was for strangers. Not the boyfriend you were planning to gift with nude selfies over the next few months.
Nic said, “You have done this before?”
“Of course,” Giulio returned confidently. “Frankfort, Hamburg. Zadar, Tirana. Corfu. I haven’t stayed in one place very long as a precaution. Once Alessio and I deal with the Sicilians, though, I will be ready to put down roots. Grow my business. Why not Málaga?”
They were talking about Spain, but what business? What had Giulio become involved in? And why was Nic capable of participating in it?
This was supposed to answer my questions, not give me more.
“I will think about it,” Nic said. “I will discuss it with my people.”
“You do that and let us know,” Giulio ordered. “Now, I believe Alessio asked about a laptop to do some digging?”
“Follow me. I’ll take you to the security room.”
Were they leaving? I held my breath and wondered what to do. There wasn’t anywhere to hide in the corridor—
Giulio’s voice stopped me cold. “If I think he is in danger, if I think he should be told, I will do it. He deserves to know the sort of man he is in bed with.”
A lump lodged in my throat. I thought Giulio and I were close. He’d cried on my shoulder for a week when his former boyfriend died. I had offered him the use of Nic’s yacht to stay safe. I would have done anything for him.
And how had he returned my loyalty and kindness? By keeping Nic’s secret from me.
The backs of my eyes burned, but my feet remained rooted to the floor. I held my breath, waiting to hear what Nic would say.
Nic growled, “He is in no danger, Ravazzani. Not from me.”
“Good,” Giulio said. “See that it stays that way.”
I frowned at the closed door. So the man who I thought was my friend was threatening the man I thought I loved to keep me alive? Was that truly necessary? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Then Nic sounded angry. “I am not a fool, nor am I a child. I know the risks and am doing everything to shield him from my life. He will return to Paris next week, none the wiser.”
“But perhaps heartbroken,” Giulio said.
“But he will be alive,” Nic returned.
I couldn’t take any more of this.
