“But do I have to? I don’t exactly travel the greatest.” Leticia is different at that moment. Like she’s lying.
Making excuses to stay home?My wolf cants his head, first one way and then the other.
“I get so sick, and you’re only gone for two and a half weeks. I’ll spend most of the time puking my guts up and being exhausted.”Leticia places her hand over her stomach as if to prove her point. “It’s hardly any fun for anyone.”
“This is true.” Gregorio paces back and forth across the room. “We can’t have that. You should stay home.”
Leticia stiffens. Perhaps surprised?
I lean in to watch more closely.
Then she looks at Berto, it’s just the slightest move of her head, maybe to not draw attention. Suspicious maybe?
But when neither man moves or makes any corrections, she gestures off into the penthouse toward the kitchen, stepping away from the two men. “Well, that’s settled then. Am I dismissed? Can I prepare for tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’m off to bed.” Gregorio draws a deep breath and lets out the most exaggerated yawn I’ve ever seen.
I split my monitor view and follow Gregorio and Berto as they head to the second floor of the penthouse, presumably to their bedrooms, and Leticia as she walks through the grandeur of the first floor to the kitchen.
After a few steps, she heads back to the foyer, takes off her jacket, hangs up her purse, and pulls out her phone.
In contrast to the beauty of the flowy dress, she crouches down to almost her knees and lurks around the staircase, nearly getting down on all fours and going up to the top to look down the hallway.
She sees what I see — closed doors and family members tucked away.
She pumps her fist once before sneaking back down the stairs and, at the bottom, dusts off the dress skirt and walks much more confidently back to the kitchen.
Smart girl.My wolf thuds his tail and lies down, less alarmed by the ambush she walked into.
But will she still call?An empty ache settles in my body. I leave the volume on for the call system I sent her the invite through, but rather than wait and be disappointed, I busy myself with setting up the next print run.
The generic call alert filters through my speakers right as I open the container of cleaning solution. I almost drop it when I rushback to my chair. I click accept as fast as I can but try to compose myself.
“Hello and welcome to the air. I’m your host, Royal.” I try to play the funny guy on the radio station, but now I’m wondering if she’ll understand the joke.
“And I’m Leticia, and this is Late Nite Bytes.” She finishes as if we’ve done this a dozen times before. She pulls her phone away from her ear, and I see the telltale tap of selecting speakerphone.
“So, Leticia, how’s your night? Get home okay?” I try to probe without being suspicious.
She sighs, and I open up the view of the kitchen, where she’s tying on an apron.
“I’m fine. Home is fine. I got the third degree from Dad and Berto when I came home, but that’s expected. They can’t accept that the truce happened and there is no ulterior motive anymore.” Her voice isn’t as crisp through speakerphone.
There isn’t?I keep that as an inside thought. She doesn’t need to know that I still plan on helping Valor get revenge for some of the terrible things the D’Medicis have done. They don’t relate to her.
“Well, no ulterior motive here. I’m glad to have someone to keep me company.”
I double-check that the malware I sent to her phone is capturing the data I need while sliding on my headset.
“Yeah.” Her voice leaves the speakers and transmits through my headset. “What are you doing up so late? Or is it a classified type project?”
“I’m doing a 3D printing run on some metal pieces for a modification on— It’s parts for guns.” I opt to avoid overwhelming her with unnecessary information.
“Hey, you don’t have to simplify it for me. I’ve got a complete understanding of mechanical kitchen gadgets,” she sasses, and it’s the adorable, fun kind, not the defensiveness that she has with her father.
“It’s a modification for a sniper rifle’s trigger system that causes less wear and tear on the gun and helps maintain accuracy. The other modifications like it on the market aren’t much better than the original product, but I found a way to alter it so that it’s asteadier squeeze rather than a sharp jerk.” I explain the basics without trying to brag.
“Dang, cute and smart,” Leticia says softly.
