Page 66 of His Passerotta

Obviously. And I need to go with it.

I do my best to smooth the confused wrinkles in my skin and have zero clue how well I do. Luckily, Settimo isn’t looking at me.

“At the meeting I set up with Finn and Maksim to discuss joint efforts to find the arsonist, I had Bailey there pretending to listen in on everything. Once she ‘got caught’, I planned to let Finn take her, just in case the Irish actually were behind everything. I figured if anyone would run their mouth to a woman, it’d be him. I was going to wait a day or two before going to Cormac to reclaim her but ended up not going through with letting Finn take her. Soft, I know.”

“Didn’t…?” Settimo gets a faraway look as he thinks. “Cormac called my office asking about this, and you told me an employee overheard everything. You never said anything about that being intentional.”

“I was rehashing the story I told the others, not saying what actually happened. We talked about this.”

“I don’t…”

“Bailey,” a voice calls at my back. I jump and turn that way. It’s Lorenzo with a gorgeous, curly-haired woman hanging on his arm. “I want to introduce you to my wife, Amelia.” He looks at her in an affectionate way I never would’ve guessed was possible coming from him. Everything about him seems cold.

“It’s a pleasure,” Amelia says, round cheeks pinkening as she extends her hand. “Lorenzo’s told me a lot about you.”

What does Lorenzo know about me?

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say with a smile. Settimo’s gaze penetrates me, but I try to ignore it, pretending this is as natural as everyone else seems to think.

“You two know each other?” Settimo asks, his question directed at Lorenzo.

Lorenzo nods. “Of course.” He looks at me. “Amelia and I were just discussing how we’d love to have you and Anthony over for dinner soon, if you’d be up for it?”

My head swims at the mere mention of food, but I push through the fog and smile. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

He’s not serious, though, right? This is an act? I don’t actually have to go to the sharp-toothed guy’s lair?

His wife is non-threatening, at least. I can tell she’s a sweet person just by looking at her, which seems like an unusual match for a mobster. They have a cute Beauty and the Beast thing going on.

“Okay, hold on.” Settimo raises a hand, his face twisted with frustration as he addresses Lorenzo. “Did you know about that meeting Anthony arranged and Bailey’s apparent part in it?”

Lorenzo exchanges a brief look with his wife, and she pulls away. “See you soon, I hope,” she says to me before walking toward a table where a blonde woman sits staring at us.

“You mean having her act as a spy? Yes. I thought it was a clever idea.”

“Why was I not clued in on it?”

Lorenzo tilts his head like he’s curious about Settimo’s confusion. “You said you wanted nothing to do with the peace agreement.”

“Sure, but?—”

“You were standing right there when Anthony…” Lorenzo’s eyes gloss over for a second. “Actually, you know what, you left. You were pissed that he was late for our meeting, so you stormed off before he proposed the idea.” He blinks and stands up straighter. “I’m sorry. That was an oversight on my part. I should’ve filled you in.”

Everyone is quiet for a few moments, the loud reception booming around us becoming more noticeable.

“Right, um… Anyway.” Settimo rubs the back of his neck as he looks at me. “I’m happy Anthony finally introduced us.”

I nod a few times to many. “Yeah, me too.”

“I better get back.” He points to the table where the blonde is.

The way he fidgets makes me think he’s more uncomfortable than I am, as impossible as that seems. When he leaves us, Anthony lets out a sigh, turning to Lorenzo. “Thank you.”

Lorenzo gives a slight nod before taking a step toward the table. “You two should join us.”

“Be right there,” Anthony says, placing his hand on my shoulder.

My stomach does a somersault, and I close my eyes when the room spins. I try to fight the sensation, but my knees buckle, gravity feeling heavy as ever. My fingers brush Anthony’s tie in an attempt to grasp, but it easily slips through my fingers.

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