“In the last fifteen minutes, you’ve threatened to carve my ex’s eyes out of his head and informed me that every move I make throughout the day is being watched by men I don’t know. That they could be watching me through my fucking windows, following me on my motorbike when I go to the grocery store, watching me do my photoshoots by the Trevi Fountain. Jesus, it’sa lot. Not to mention I just witnessed you go ballistic ...”
“Sweetheart,” he said calmly. “That was nothing.”
“I just ... need some space. And I don’t want to be followed anymore.”
He stared me down.
“Not without my consent. And right now, I’m not giving my consent.” Every moment I thought I was alone, I was under the watchful eyes of ahandful of men. When I hopped on my motorbike, they were probably right behind me—and I had no idea. I was a bit embarrassed that I hadn’t figured it out.
Constantine said nothing, but in silence, his anger was like a scream. “What does space mean?”
“I don’t know. Just some space.” I felt impaled by the bullets from his eyes. “The last fifteen minutes have been chaos. You’re the perfect guy, and I can’t believe that you’re real. I just wish you were ... normal.” I regretted what I said the moment it came out of my mouth. I knew I fucked up the second I took a breath after I completed the sentence.
He wore a hard stare, all the cords in his neck popped like taut rope. His eyes were still and locked on my face, but there was no discernible emotion underneath, like he was sequestering his rage so I wouldn’t have to see it. “Normal ...” He tested the word in his mouth like he’d just added it to his vocabulary.
“That didn’t come out right.”
“I’ve been really patient with you. More patient than the fucking pope.” He spoke calmly, but something about that sheathed tone was just as scary as when he’d yelled at Enzo a couple minutes ago. “One step forward, fifty steps back, back and forth, back and forth. But it was fine because you were worth it. But let me tell you something right now.” He took a step toward me and raised his hand to point at me. “I’m proud that I’mnotnormal. I’m proud of what I do for my people and my country. I need a woman who feels the same way, and that’s clearlynotyou.”
Shit.
“I thought you were tougher than this. I thought you just needed time to remember who you are, what you’re capable of. But I see now that you’re just a coward.”
Fuck.
“I want the woman who jumped off that rock. I want the woman who carried herself when she had no one else to help her to her feet. I don’t know what happened to her, but I think she’s gone.” Hestepped back, his eyes filling with disappointment. Not the kind of disappointment he showed when he didn’t get what he wanted. But disappointment in me ... as a person. “This is over.” He turned toward the door to leave.
“Wait, Constantine.” I went after him.
He didn’t stop. Ignored me.
“Please, wait. I’m sorry.”
He moved into the hallway and walked off like he didn’t hear me. Like I didn’t exist.
I grabbed onto his arm. “I’m just overwhelmed right now, and I didn’t mean it like that—”
He twisted out of my grasp. “I said I’m done.” He looked at me with such resignation, like I already meant absolutely nothing to him. “Goodbye, Aurelia.” He walked down the hallway again, turned the corner to take the stairs, and disappeared.
The tears were immediate—and they poured down my face. “No, no, no ...” I knew I’d just ruined the greatest thing that had ever happened to me.
Chapter 21
Constantine
Rocco and I sat with Antoine Allard, a Frenchman who had moved to Rome once his kids were out of the house. His daughter had chosen to make a career in Milan and his son in finance, so he decided to move to where he wanted to live—in the Eternal City.
“I have it on good faith an attack is coming,” I said, sitting in the parlor with the sunshine coming through the ten-foot-tall windows. The garden was visible outside, but the moment summer had hit, it was already too hot to enjoy it. “I want all your intel about shipments so I can make sure we’re doing everything on our end—” My phone vibrated for the third time in a row—and it was Aurelia.
Rocco glanced at me like he was just as annoyed by it.
I couldn’t turn off my phone with the kind of job I had. People could die—literally. “Excuse me.” I pulled out my phone, ignored her call, and blocked her. I set the phone on the table and focused on Antoine again. “You know how those telemarketers are.”
Rocco knew better, but he came to my defense anyway. “I’ve been made aware of all the parking tickets I haven’t paid many, many times.”
Antoine chuckled before he took a drag of his cigar. “My partners are my allies, the French, the Italians, and the British. All my contracts are exclusive to the EU, so I’m certain that the break in the line isn’tcoming from me. But could someone in the chain be breaking protocol and sending batches of arms to our enemies? It’s possible. I run a tight ship, but it’s a big operation and someone could go rogue.”
“Can we conduct an investigation on your behalf?” I asked. “We could send a team to comb through all the inventory and all the numbers. They’re good at what they do, so if there’s a discrepancy, they’ll find it.” It was also a tactic to make sure he was truly innocent, because if he refused, that meant he had something to hide.
