“You have to talk to him to find out.”
He glanced at the other two. His brother nodded right away, but his sister hesitated, really gnawing on her lip now. Finally, she nodded.
“Okay, give him the number,” he said and clicked off the call.
“What do you think this means?” his sister asked.
He wanted to give her an answer, but he was stumped. He shrugged. Negotiate what? Enzo Valardi was not known for tolerating fools gladly. He had a reputation for being tough but fair. The man was deadly, no question, but he was a complete unknown.
The phone rang with an unknown number. He answered.
“This is Giuseppe Dalla Santa,” the voice began. “You are the man who broke into Ms. Drake’s hotel room. You didn’t find what you wanted.”
“Who says?” his sister snarled.
“Ah! More than one of you. Interesting.” After a brief pause, the man on the phone continued. “Look, I don’t have time for games. Here’s the deal. You pissed off Enzo Valardi, and if you don’t know who that is, then you’re seriously in over your head. He wants to meet.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because he doesn’t want any more trouble. He is happy to give you what you were looking for, but you have to agree to leave Ms. Drake alone and never bother her again.”
“Agreed,” he said.
His sister hissed at him, but he waved her off. They needed to get this done. This job had become a major fucking nightmare.
“Valardi will call you with the details.” The call went dead.
“You should’ve asked us,” his sister immediately snarled at him. “Just because you’re the oldest by three fucking minutes doesn’t mean you get to make all the decisions.”
He held his breath for a ten-second count and then faced his sister. “This has been a fucking nightmare from the beginning. Enzo Valardi may be retired, but he’s a fucking mobster through and through.” He drew a deep breath. “This isn’t just about the stupid statue now. It’s about getting out alive. If it were up to me, I would tell the client to fuck right off. But that isn’t an option.”
He didn’t bother to look at his brother. He knew his brother felt bad enough as it was. He’d agreed to the job because he had been blackmailed into it. He’d done something stupid, and now someone had the evidence that could send him to prison.
“We’ll talk to Valardi and figure out a way to make this work. And then, we’re going to get the statue and get as far away from all this as quickly as possible.”
The phone rang again. He glanced down at it and then at each of his siblings. His sister was still pissed and chewing on her lip, but his brother stood silently with his arms folded across his chest.
He answered the call. “Yes.”
“I seem to have something you want.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
“I will be happy to give it back to you, provided you stay the hell away from Kathleen Drake. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes. Where and when do you want to meet?”
“Milano, tonight.”
“Milan? No, here.”
“No, Milano. Tonight. I will reach out with an exact time and place later today. You will be there, and then you will get the hell out of Italy and stay as far away from Kathleen as possible. Or it won’t go well for you.” The call was ended abruptly.
“Shit,” his younger brother said. “What if it’s a setup? What if he’s going to kill us?”
“I don’t think so. I think he wants Kathleen Drake as far from this mess as possible, and as long as we agree to that, he will give us the statue. What the hell would he want that ugly thing for anyway? No, this is just a business transaction for him.”
He straightened. “Come on. We have to get on the road. I want to be set up and ready when Valardi calls back.” He went to pack his things. He’d dismissed his younger sibling’s idea, but in reality, he wasn’t so sure. Valardi had been known to hold agrudge and could send a message by killing them. He blew out a breath. It was a risk they had to take.
