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Andrea sighs. “So what are you going to tell Papa Bear?”
“The truth,” I say. “That Al Chandler is a woman and I’m not going to kill her.”
“And what if he sends me to finish the job?” Andrea asks. “What do I say?”
I hadn’t considered that. Now that Andrea’s mentioned it, though, I realize it’s a possibility, especially if Orso thinks Allie is a real threat.
“Talk to him,” I tell Andrea. “Tell him we don’t have enough information on the target.”
Hell, we didn’t even know she was a woman.
“Not enough to verify that she is a threat, at least. Now that she’s seen me, I’ll do it myself.”
“And if she is a threat?” Andrea asks me. “You will report it to Orso, yes?”
“I will,” I assure him. “And if he sends you to eliminate her, I will not stand in your way.”
Andrea looks me in the eye. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Sure.”
Family comes first. I’ve already lost my mother and Antonio. Orso may not be related to me by blood, but he did love my mother, and I’m not going to let him die in jail or die knowing that everything he spent his lifetime building will soon fall apart. And Leo, as much as we hate each other, he is my brother. I’m not going to go out of my way to protect him, but I’m not going to stand back and let his life be ruined, either.
Andrea, however, doesn’t look convinced.
“You are trying to protect her already,” he points out. “You want to spend more time with her. What makes you so sure this isn’t the start of Signor Archer finally falling for a woman?”
Falling for a woman? What is Andrea talking about?
“Not gonna happen,” I tell him.
He chuckles. “Why not? She is a fine woman, no?”
I’m not sure exactly what he means by “fine.”
“She’s beautiful?” Andrea gives a more specific question. “Clever? Brave?”
Beautiful? I try to remember how Allie looked when I first saw her in her bed. No. I didn’t find her beautiful then. I only thought of her as a mistake, something I never should have seen.
But when she was at the foot of those stairs pointing that gun at me, trying to keep her hands from shaking even though she had just nearly died, afraid but determined to shoot anyway and completely not caring that she was in her boxers and her firm breasts were clearly visible through her flimsy tank top? Yes, she was a sight to behold then.
Clever? Even without having seen the awards on Allie’s shelf, I could tell there were a lot of ideas going on behind her cerulean eyes. Brave? Trying to bring down criminal organizations all on her own is reckless, not brave. The man who taught me how to shoot a gun told me the difference – recklessness is taking unnecessary risks, while bravery is taking risks when you have no other option. And insisting she doesn’t need my help when I just saved her life? Stubborn. Still, she did point that gun at me. Not too many people have done that and lived.
So she is a fine woman. That doesn’t mean I’ll disappear with her somewhere. Sleep with her? Maybe. Marry her? No. Offer her Orso on a silver platter? Never.
“Not gonna happen,” I tell Andrea again.
He shrugs. “Fine. If you say so, fratello.”
“If she’s a threat, you can get rid of her,” I assure him. “But you can’t do that if someone gets rid of her first.”
“So you want to know who’s after her?”
I nod. It’s what I’ve been wanting to know all along.
“You prepared the file. Tell me, who else wants her dead?”
Andrea scratches his chin. “Well, she has caused trouble for quite a few rich people because of her work.”
I can believe that.
“But they know about her brothers, so they’re not stupid enough to try and hurt her.”
“I see.”
Good thing she’s a Chandler.
“The most recent one is a world-famous chef and restaurateur, Bruno Zane,” Andrea goes on. “He was involved in the illegal wildlife trade and Agent Chandler exposed him. He’s in jail now.”
Which means he’s already lost a great deal and may no longer fear the Chandlers. He could have sent someone to kill Allie for revenge.
“But my money is not on any of them,” Andrea tells me. “You’re looking for a killer. The Bianchi family has plenty.”
“Bianchi family?” I’m not sure if I’ve heard of them before.
“They’re a small family, but they have money and they are quite ruthless,” Andrea informs me. “Especially their leader.”
“And why would they be after Agent Chandler?” I ask.
“She’s investigating them, too.”
My eyes grow wide. “Is she investigating every family?”
How reckless can Allie be?
“No,” Andrea answers. “Just the Ursini and Bianchi families, which have a history by the way.”
My eyebrows furrow. “What history?”
“Sergio Bianchi used to be Orso’s underboss. He and Orso’s sister also had a son, so they’re family. But apparently, he did something Orso didn’t like and Orso tried to kill him. Somehow, he got away and started his own family.”
