“Annihilated,” the boy says with relish.
“Oh my God, Alessio, don’t teach him such things.”
“Why not?” Alessio looks up from the map.
“Because it’s…violent.”
“I’m raising an heir to a large fortune, and my heir must be an eagle. An eagle is a carnivorous predator who survives by flying above the vultures that will most certainly want to take apart what I’ve left to Leo when I’m dead. Leo can’t be a pigeon. If he’s the prey, he won’t survive.”
“It was a dove that alerted Noah of the land,” I say. Doves are prey to predators.
Alessio blinks. “Touché.”
I think I just won an argument with Alessio.Score one, Lake.I didn’t like how he mentioned death and dying in front of Leo, but maybe that’s also a part of raising an eagle. I change the subject. “Hey, Leo, how about we have a late lunch somewhere in the park? Then get on a tour bus and drive around Paris. We can see all the major sites, and you can tell me about them.” Leo looks at Alessio, and I worry I’ve overstepped somehow, but I’m not sure how. “Is that okay with you, Alessio?”
“Leo’s been to Paris before,” Alessio says in a way that means he isn’t okay with what I suggested.
I chew my lip. “We can just have lunch in a park.”
“I would prefer that you stay in the room.”
“Please, Uncle. Please. Lake’s never been. I want to show her stuff.”
I swear to God, this boy is special in the most wonderful way.
“No park.”
“The square, then?” Leo suggests. “You can watch us from the terrace. Look.” Leo points. “Café Trottoir serves paninis, and you can see us from up here.”
Alessio smirks. “You planned this, Leo?”
Leo looks sheepish. “Lake did.”
I open my mouth, then close it. I didn’t account for Alessio’s vigilance when I suggested the park. It makes sense that he would want to watch over his nephew, but wanting to keep him within sight is different.
Alessio checks his watch. “Can you wait until three? Then I could join you.”
Leo pumps his fist.
I’m containing my excitement. “Wait, are you asking, or is it a rhetorical question?”
Alessio pecks my cheek. “Asking. Sort of. If you leave before me, I’ll have to stalk you, which would irritate me.”
“I think we’ve established that I can’t say no well.”
“You’re getting better at it.”
“Am I?” In the bedroom, I hear a phone ring. I think it’s mine.
THIRTY-TWO
LIFT THE FINGER
Alessio
Lake and Leo go to lunch at the square without me because I couldn’t step away from work. But just because I couldn’t eat with them doesn’t mean I left them alone. I see them from my position near the statue in the square. I wave at Lake when she spots me, listening in on the weapon’s security briefing on my phone.
I’m not a very good stalker.
