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“The last time I created a diversion, he sent the bouncers to hold me back.” I considered Donata’s plan, hating that she was making sense.
“This is a club for the insanely wealthy. Security guards are not really needed. There’s only two on each floor.” Lisa nodded at Donata. “Her plan might work.”
“But if the manager decides to bring backup, Santino and Enzo will stage a fight and create a diversion to distract the security guards.”
“Okay, then what?” I glanced down at my watch. “How soon will they start shutting down?”
“Not until sunrise.” Lisa answered. “I can bring him to you, but then I’m out. I can’t risk losing my job.”
“Once he’s upstairs and in the privacy of the corridor, we’ll knock him out.” Donata winced. “You guys are going to have to hit him hard. I didn’t think to bring any sleeping aids with me.”
“We can manage.” Enzo nodded.
“Bait and switch, huh?” I smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“You can thank me later.” She wrapped her arms around my waist. “All I wanted for tonight was for you to find the answers you’ve been looking for. And you will.”
I bent down to kiss her. But before my lips brushed hers, I spotted four pairs of eyes staring at us from the other side of the room. “A whole sex club at our feet, and I can’t even kiss you properly.” I kissed her cheek.
“I’ll make it up to you later.”
“So, do I go now?” Lisa asked.
“First, tell us how we get to the faux panel that leads to the secret passage.” I reached into the inside pocket of my tuxedo jacket and fished out my phone. “Give me your number. Text when he’s on his way.” I turned to Enzo. Of the three guys, he was the one who’d proven he was willing to lay his life on the line for Donata. “Enzo can stay with Donata until it’s time. The rest of us will wait for the manager inside the corridor.”
“Got it.” Donata ambled toward the bar cart, dipped her fingers in a half-empty tumbler of whiskey then wiped them off on her dress and exposed neck. “We’ll wait five minutes, then Enzo can deliver me to the rendezvous point.”
Ten minutes later, we were in a dimly lit passageway, waiting for the infamous club manager. The secret upstairs floor had to be the original part of the mansion. Because the club didn’t want members wandering into this section, they purposely didn’t renovate it. I could only assume that was their reason for it. The peeling wallpaper was now faded and gave off a musty smell. I couldn’t imagine any of the millionaires downstairs wanting to spend any amount of time up here.
On the other side of the panel, Donata’s footsteps urgently paced up and down the hallway. I wasn’t sure if she was already acting drunk or was just giving herself a pep talk.
“The good news is,” Santino whispered in the dark, “you’re getting a good taste of what life with Donata will be like. Can’t say later you didn’t know what you were getting into.”
“I’ve seen all of her. I know what I’m getting into.” I chuckled. “I’m in love with her, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Never doubted it.”
“I did.” Rex cleared his throat. “Still do. Donata looks happy. As her friend, I have to let it be. But just know that her family and my family are not going to be as understanding. You have to see this is a bad look for you.”
“Marry the sweet princess and steal her birthright,” Santino repeated Uncle Jimmy’s grand plan. “He knows, Rex. Give it a rest.”
“To Signoria Vittoria and my dad, the king,” Rex emphasized that last part, “all the Gallos are the same. If it was Jimmy’s idea or Luca’s, it doesn’t matter because the result is the same—Donata stands to lose it all.”
“Yeah. That’s why your dad, the king, so graciously offered to marry her.”
“If he did, he has a good reason for it.”
I clenched my jaw. Not because Rex was condoning his dad’s actions. But because I couldn’t stand the thought of her being with someone else. By now, I had figured out that what I felt was jealousy. Though having a name for it didn’t make it go away.
“Donata wants me.”
“We know,” Santino said. “That’s why we’re all here.”
I glanced down at my phone. As soon as I did, a new message came in.
Lisa: It’s done.
Lisa: Oh shit.
