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I kept my mouth shut and listened to the silence.
"Please tell me I misheard."
"I'm afraid not."
"Next time I see Emilio " he growled, but then pulled himself together, clearing his throat. "I'm coming over. Not a word to Emilio. I'm making this decision. Got it?"
"Crystal clear. Do you want me to take him from the basement to my office?"
"No. He's staying down there until I can be sure he's telling the truth."
"Good luck with that."
"So far he's been cooperative, hasn't he?"
"Like a baby."
"So he has no reason to stop now," he said, hanging up.
I didn't go back into the room, but made my way upstairs to put distance between him and me. It was better if a few floors separated us. After all, I had just said goodbye to fileting him with a knife until there was nothing left of him but bones.
I first had to process the decision. With a sip of alcohol.
Then, as soon as Vince was here and had taken control, I would retreat and go home. I needed some kind of compensation for the torture, even if it only comprised watching over Gia while she slept and reminding myself that I had saved her and that this was already more of a good deed than I had done in the last ten years.
It took almost forty-five minutes for Vince to stroll into my office. He didn't look enthusiastic, but he was present. That was all that mattered for the moment.
"And you believe this guy?"
"It sounded credible."
"Why didn't you just kill him and keep that information to yourself?" he asked, as if he knew what kind of quandary I was in.
"I thought it would be nice to make the right decision for a change. Besides, Emilio will get what he wanted after all, and we'll have a new ally."
He nodded. Was that recognition in his gaze? "Well, let's see if he's telling the truth."
* * *
I sentthe two men at the main entrance of the building away as soon as I passed them. When I reached the top, Casimiro was already waiting for me, holding the door open and greeting me with a curt nod.
"Didn't go the way you thought it would, I guess?"
"What makes you think that?"
"The blood under your fingernails is missing... you look far too charged up for the night to have gone according to your plan."
"Well, it looks like we're about to enter a cooperation with the French mafia."
"Interesting development."
"I think so, too," I replied. "What did I miss here?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "She's been asleep for hours. Hasn't woken up. No uninvited visitors. But I think, if I may say so, she was hoping to spend the night with you instead of me and your empty bed."
Oddly enough, that statement gave me a slight stab in the gut. "In hindsight, I would have preferred that, too."
I would have preferred that either way, however, I was not ready to admit that to Casimiro.
