“Well,” Donatello said. “I can get them, but due to the late nature, there’s no way I can have them today. No one could on such short notice. For one thing, my jet is on lease and is on the way back from Los Angeles. It’s due to land sometime this evening, and the pilot is required a full ten-hour break. But I can get it all to you, after my fee, of course. As we discussed, I’ll give you half off due to our history. I’ll also wave the cost of the jet fuel.”
I hissed in irritation and shook my head. “There’s no other way?” I could practically see time slipping through my fingers like sand.
Donatello gave a sad shake of his head. “Unfortunately not. I’ll have to grease some wheels with some unsavory people as it is to get it done that fast. I’m your best option.”
I did some math in my head. If we left the next day, we’d still get to Germany with time to spare before the full moon. As much as I hated it, this was our only option. We’d come too far to turn back or try another route. I nodded reluctantly. “Fine. Let’s do it.” I dug out my wallet and looked at Donatello, raising my eyebrow. “I don’t suppose you take credit cards?”
Donatello chuckled wryly. “My good man, this is the twenty-first century. MasterCard or American Express?”
Over the next two hours, Donatello took us into a side room near what looked like a fully stocked bar that would have made Maddy envious and took our pictures—headshots for the new passports. He then provided us with a tray of cheeses, meats, and fruit for a meal. Most of the cheese looked like it cost morethan my monthly truck payment. For the hundredth time since we’d gotten there, I wondered what Luis could have possibly done to have this guy be in his debt.
Some type of courier arrived not long after Donatello finished printing out the pictures. I watched Donatello hand the printouts and what looked like a massive wad of cash to the guy, and he was gone in seconds. I had to hope this friend of Luis’s wasn’t full of shit.
After eating, Luis called over to Donatello. “Hey, Don?You still have that pool table upstairs?”
“The Cappelletti? Indeed. Are you looking to pass some time?”
“If it’s okay with you?”
Donatello nodded, and Luis, Marcus, and Darren headed toward the massive spiral staircase. Luis glanced over his shoulder. “You coming, Nico?”
I shook my head and eyed Donatello. “Nah. I’d like to get to know our benefactor here.”
Donatello stepped over to his bar as the others went upstairs. He poured himself a scotch and glanced over at me. “A drink, Mr. Lorenzo?”
“Call me Nico. Got any vodka? I’d love to take the edge off a little.”
Donatello bobbed his head appreciatively. “I have Chopin Family Reserve?”
I shrugged. “I literally don’t know what that is. Is it like Grey Goose?”
“Oh, my friend. Let me change your life,” he said and started making me a cocktail.
I sat in a leather chair that must have been a hundred years old in what Donatello called his smoking room. He handed me a martini glass with a thinly curled lemon peel hanging on theedge of the glass. “Lemon Drop. Simple but delicious. Lets the vodka really shine through.”
I nodded in acceptance and took the drink. I sipped at it and was surprised at how good it was. I raised my eyebrows in appreciation and lifted my glass in a toast. Donatello smiled and sat across from me in a matching chair.
We drank in silence for several minutes. I looked out the massive bay windows to the tree-lined street outside and saw the lengthening shadows on the sidewalk. The sun would be down in less than an hour—one more night closer to the full moon.
Seeing the dark look that must have been on my face, Donatello said, “Luis told me a bit about this issue you have. Something about a kidnapping?” He smiled conspiratorially. “Very intriguing. Care to talk about it?”
Ignoring him, I changed the subject. “So, I don’t see many personal items around here. Do you live in this massive place by yourself?”
He didn’t look put off by my swerve to another topic. He took a drink and glanced around the room. “I enjoy my privacy. Let’s say that, and leave it there.”
“Fair enough,” I said, taking another drink. “I do have to ask, how the heck did you make all your money? This place had to have cost an arm and a leg. Plus a private jet? Do you own a business or something?”
Donatello drained his glass and bobbed his free hand back and forth. “A little of this, a little of that. I try to keep my toes in multiple pools. Never get bored that way. Am I right?”
I chuckled. “I suppose. It makes sense.”
This man was not someone I would typically deal with. He was a different breed than I was used to, mysterious to a fault, and seemed to enjoy keeping people in the dark. On the other hand, he appeared to be good-natured, didn’t take things too seriously, and was willing to help a friend in need. He had thefinancial means to help us and acted like it was a pleasure to do so. I could like this guy. We might never be friends, but if all this worked out, I’d owe him more than whatever he owed Luis. Their score may be settled, but ours had only just begun to be tallied.
I finished my drink and held the empty glass up. “Can I call you Don?” He tilted his head in what I took to mean acceptance. “This was delicious. Maybe one more?”
A happy glimmer sparkled in his eye, and his grin spread. “I told you I’d change your life.”
The rest of the evening was spent making simple small talk. The guys returned from upstairs an hour or so later, and given the desperate urgency of our mission, it was a strangely relaxing night. I’m sure it had something to do with the luxurious surroundings, but by eight o’clock, the guys and I were exhausted.
