“Have at it, Constantine.”
Rocco shared a quick look with me. He was the one who assumed Antoine was a traitor, and I was the one who insisted he was a patriot. We’d made a bet on it—and now I was a million richer.
“I’ll get a team together. We’ll make sure it’s delicate so we don’t tip anyone off.”
“Sounds good to me.”
We got into the back seat of the Range Rover and left through the iron gates that kept the public off his property. We were immediately back in the Eternal City, on the congested roads with motorbikes that drove like they were invincible.
“I’ve been waiting for you to bring it up on your own, but you clearly aren’t going to.” Rocco stared out the window for a while before he turned to look at me. “You used to grin like an idiot, and now, you look pissed off every moment of every day.”
I knew he’d seen her name on the screen. Which meant he knew I’d blocked her number. “It’s done.”
“Yeah, that’s obvious. But the reason isn’t obvious.”
I looked out the window and shut down the conversation with my silence.
“You weren’t even in a relationship, so what could she have done—”
“Not in the mood to be interrogated.”
“All right.”
We sat together in the parlor, an elaborate room with twenty-foot sculptures of Roman emperors, Augustus and Constantine, and sculptures of the gods who once watched over ancient Rome. Bookshelves were spaced between the sculptures, rising from floor to ceiling, containing tomes that no one had touched in centuries. Priceless artwork was on the walls. The only thing modern was the furniture and the rug in the center of the room.
I read off my device. “Antoine is a work in progress. That scrawny little snitch wasn’t a snitch at all, and now we’ve got to find another lead. President Barsetti wants an update, and I don’t fucking have one. Not to mention it’s jubilee this year, so we’ve got to add security to Pope Zephyrinus’s detail—” I stopped in mid-sentence when I saw Aurelia’s name appear on the screen, along with a text.
I would give anything in the world to talk to you.I read the sentence twice before I lowered the device and looked across from me at Rocco, who was lounging on the couch, arm over the back, a drink in his hand like this was a fucking hangout rather than a work meeting. “You unblocked her.”
He gave a slight shrug, then took a drink.
“You crossed a line.”
He shrugged again, like he didn’t give a damn.
“Never thought I’d have to tellyounot to go through my phone.”
“Didn’t go through it.”
“Stay out of my fucking business.”
“What happened, Con? You were fucking gaga over this woman.”
I set the device aside, sunlight fading through the windows that faced the garden. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders and a moral compass that doesn’t deviate, but sometimes you get carried away when you’re emotionally charged.”
“That’s not true—”
“Carl Athenios.”
I released an irritated sigh.
“You were so fucking mad that you pulled his tongue out of his fucking mouth and then crushed his windpipe. It took us twice as long to get the information we needed because you jumped the gun.”
“That is not the same thing as what’s happening now—”
“Then what’s happening now?”
