“Yeah ... hindsight.” I wished I’d just stayed with Constantine. I wished I’d just accepted everything that came with the package from the beginning. There were a lot of things I didn’t love about his line of work, like the fact that he could be killed at any moment, but losing him romantically had felt like a death anyway, so ...
“I hoped you’ve learned from that hindsight.”
“I have.” I picked at my salad before I took a bite, and it was the best salad I’d ever had.
“Good,” he said. “The entire time, we haven’t been able to actually have a relationship because we’ve been so busy focusing on why it won’t work. Well,you’vebeen focused on why it won’t work. I’m excited for us to just be. To see where it goes. To see what it becomes.”
“Yeah, me too.” All the dangers and concerns simply weren’t important anymore. This relationship might get me killed, but I was ready to accept those consequences. I was in too deep now. Dead either way—in a lot of ways. “So, if Timothée was in on it ... what will happen to him?”
“You know what will happen to him, sweetheart.”
“Even though he didn’t actually hurt or kill anyone, he’s dead?”
“He’s an accomplice to murder, so yeah.”
“I just wasn’t sure how you decided the punishment.”
“I don’t give much leeway for violent crimes,” he said. “You rob a bank, don’t pay your taxes, deal on the street, I don’t care. We might even be friends,” he said with a smile. “But if you’re committing violent crimes against innocent people, you’re done.”
“Yeah . . .”
“And I won’t go easy on Timothée, even if you ask me to.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t ask. I just ... feel bad for Cindy.”
“You don’t think she knew?”
“God no,” I said immediately. “She’s a little ditzy sometimes, but she would never participate in that. If she knew he had a hand in this, she’d cut his dick off. No, there’s no chance she knew. But she’ll be heartbroken when she finds out.”
“I could set it up to make it look like he took off, if you want.”
“Yeah, maybe that will be best.”
“All right, I can do that.” He took a few more bites of his salad, then poured water into his glass. He filled my glass as well before he set down the pitcher. “I’ve been trying to find this employer for a while. Hopefully Timothée knows something decent.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, sweetheart.” He rested his elbows on the armrest and stared at me.
“You’re obviously very wealthy ...” So wealthy I felt like I’d crossed a line just acknowledging it. “So, why do this? Why risk your life for people you don’t know? Why spend so much of your time working, when you could be on a yacht full of supermodels who would gladly take turns sucking sunscreen off your dick?”
He released a quick and harsh laugh, like he hadn’t expected me to say that. “That is quite the picture.” His hands came in, his fingers stitching together. “I believe we all have a personal destiny, and this is mine. President Barsetti rules over the civilians. The pope rules over thechurch. And I rule over the criminals. We make a tripod, and without one of the legs, we topple over. I’m proud of my history and the roots of my ancestors, and I’m proud of how I serve my country and my people. Like a painter or a poet, I’m passionate about my work. And quite frankly, no one can do it better than I can. Money is important to everyone, but family and purpose are more important.”
I nodded in agreement.
“I’m lucky I have a job that I would do for free.” He grabbed his wine and took a drink. “But I’m glad I make money hand over fist.” He smiled before he set the glass down, then grabbed his fork again.
“Your residence ... there’s nothing else like this in Rome.”
“There’s Villa Aurora,” he said. “But yes, this is the largest personal residence in Rome. I didn’t buy it. It was handed down to me, gifted to me from the government in exchange for my service, but also because it was rightfully mine.”
“Then doesn’t that mean your sister and the rest of your family have a claim to it?”
“Yes, but they didn’t want it. Their lives are in Taormina, and they aren’t leaving for anything—which I respect.”
I’d felt like I knew him before, but now, I really knew him. I knew a version of him that had gone incognito for a while. I finally saw behind the curtain and everything that was off the stage. I’d met this man in Taormina and expected one night together. But that one night had turned into a week ... and then beyond.
“You’re pulling away again.”
