“Alright. Well… I’m sorry you’re going through this, Emilia, and I hope it’s over soon… but I’m incredibly happy I got to see you again.”
“Me, too,” she said brightly.
She stood there for a moment, hesitating, like she thought I might try to kiss her –
But as much as I wanted to, I refrained. I was going to take this slow.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning at 5:45,” I said. “Sleep well, and remember –callme if you’re even the slightest bit nervous.”
“…okay,” she agreed. She smiled, then opened the gate with her key.
As it closed behind her, she looked at me and waved.
I waved, too, then headed back to the dress shop.
I kept a careful watch on my surroundings at all times, looking for a guy in a black suit.
As I walked, I got out my phone and called Adriano.
“How’d it go with the barista?”he asked as soon as he picked up.
“So you were in on it,” I said with a chuckle.
“Fuck yeah. It was all Bianca’s idea, though.”
“Well, I appreciate it. By the way, Emilia said you were – and I quote – ‘a sweetheart.’”
“I keep TELLING you assholes that, but none of you fuckin’ believe me,”he joked.
“Did your wife tell you about the stalker?”
“Yeah,”he said darkly.“I checked with Nic about it. Don Camerota hasn’t told us about ANY of his men being in Florence, so if this asshole is in town, he’s gone rogue.”
If Maurizio was here without clearing it with Niccolo, it was ahugeviolation.
Anytime our guys traveled into another mafia don’s territory, Niccolo informed the don’s people. Otherwise, we were just asking to get shot.
“What do I do if I run across him?” I asked.
“Give him a chance to leave town and never come back. If he doesn’t take it, that’s on him.”
“Then what?”
“Don’t kill him… but other than that, have at it.”
I smiled darkly. I was hoping Maurizio wasn’t a reasonable man, because I wanted to make sure he would never mess with Emilia again.
“I told her I’d walk her to work every morning, then walk her back home, but that I had to check with you first.”
“That’s fine. Just as long as we have somebody guarding Bianca when you’re not around.”
“Thanks, boss,” I said gratefully.
“The things I do to get you laid,”he joked.
“It’s not just about that,” I said, a bit miffed.
“I know that,”he snapped, then added humorously,“You forget… I’m a fuckin’ sweetheart.”
