AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, it’s a good thing I don’t live here,” I said.
“Doesn’t matter,” she replied. “You should watch your back.”
“From who, exactly?”
“I couldn’t tell you, even if I knew,” she said. After the bartender handed her a drink, she took my arm. “Walk with me. Let’s go to the garden. It’s stuffy here.”
I knew what she meant: there are eyes everywhere and I can’t actually tell you what I know.
We stepped out into the garden, filled with a thousand dancing colors from the party within, but still, an oasis of calm. The night was warm and humid, just like this city, and the lavender bushes' sweet scent, mixed with the smoky scent of cigars, created a heady, intoxicating aroma.
"So, what do you hear about Bash and Vito's grandson, Sebastian?" she asked, looking at the shadows that lurked between the trees. The topic change was a little surprising, but I didn't question it. "Is it true that he wants custody?"
"Are you working for him, Val?"
"I'm working for the highest bidder," she said. "You know that."
"Hmm," I replied, taking a sip from my drink. The ice clinked against the glass, echoing the tension in the air. "So you're here because you got paid well enough to attend this little shindig? Or are you just playing a long game? I can't tell."
Valentina laughed lightly. "You're still as sharp as ever, Hassan. And yes, I'm here because someone was willing to pay enough for my time. As for the long game...you should know better than anyone that we both always have one."
"But of course," I responded, matching her light tone with my own. We turned a corner, the noise from the party becoming a distant murmur. "You wouldn't be who you are if you didn't."
"Neither would you," she retorted, glancing up at me through heavy lashes. Even in the dim light, her eyes sparkled with an intensity that had always been uniquely Valentina.
"Touché," I said, letting out a soft laugh.
We continued our walk in silence, the only sounds being our footsteps on the cobblestone path and the faint rustle of leaves in the breeze. The moon hung low in the sky like a pearl dipped in gold, bathing everything in a soft, ethereal glow.
"So, Sebastian De Luca," Valentina finally said, breaking our silence. "What's your angle?"
"I don't have one," I said plainly. Most of the time, that wouldn't have been true. But Sebastian had become one of the most important presences in my entire life and I wasn't willing to let him go. "I'm just doing what the skip says."
Valentina chuckled. "You mean to tell me you've grown soft for him?"
"For Bash? He grows on you," I said. "And he is my boss. He hasn't stopped being my boss."
"I hope he's treating you well."
"Careful, Val," I warned, meeting her challenging smirk with a hard gaze. But there was no real heat in my words. We'd walked this line of playful banter and calculated jabs many times before.
In another life, it could have been her.
I wonder if she would have made me share.
"I'm always careful." Her voice held a touch of amusement. “That’s how I stay alive in this game, Hassan.”
“I know,” I said with a small chuckle. “But honestly, Val, Bash is…different. He’s not like the others.”
She regarded me with an arch brow—clearly surprised by my words and perhaps even a bit skeptical—but there was also something else in her eyes. A flicker of curiosity, maybe even interest.
“Different how?” she asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear in a manner that was both absent-minded and yet somehow calculated.
“He's…he cares about his people," I said, finding it surprisingly difficult to put into words exactly what made Bash stand out from the other crime bosses I'd dealt with over the years. "He's not just in it for the money or the power. He genuinely wants to make things better for those under his command."
Valentina's gaze dropped from mine. "Isn't his father Pedro Rivera?"
"Bash is not his father."
