Page 123 of Empire of Temptation

I said to Segreto, “Rossi told me my cousin Niccolò had been arrested and Palmieri was willing to trade him for you. Once here, however, I suspected Niccolò wasn’t in custody. And if that wasn’t true, then how could I believe anything I’d been told?”

“Rossi is a snake,” Segreto said. “He can’t let me live because I know who was really stealing money from the other ’ndrine.”

I rested my pistol on the table. “Are you saying Rossi was stealing from the other families?”

“Yes. Missing shipments, skimming payouts. Rossi has anotherfamily in Longobardi. He needed more money for the kids’ private school, capisce?”

“How did you discover this?”

Segreto waved his free hand. “I was the underboss. I used to handle the books. It wasn’t hard to get answers, once I noticed things weren’t adding up. But I kept quiet about it until . . . ”

“Until you found out about your daughter and wanted to leave.”

“I thought he would let me go.”

“You tried to blackmail him.”

He nodded once in confirmation and Valentina huffed. “That was incredibly risky. Why not just disappear?”

“Because this life never lets go, figlia mia.” He stared at her for a long beat. “Never forget that.”

“Wait.” Confusion marred the perfectly smooth skin of her forehead. “Luca, you said you had to bring my father to Rossi. But how did you know Flavio was here when no one else did?”

This was the part I dreaded. Once I said it, there was no going back. “I didn’t know he was here.” I inhaled and let it out slowly. “I knewyouwere here.”

“I don’t understand. You were watching me in the hopes that Flavio was in the area?”

“Not at first.”

“Figlia,” Segreto snapped unkindly. “He was planning on using you. He was going to take you back to Italia to lure me out of hiding.”

Valentina paused and I could see her brain working. Finally, her dark eyes studied my face. “Wait, is my father telling the truth?”

When I remained silent, her face dropped as her body recoiled. “You . . . You came here to kidnap me. This was about finding my father the entire time.” Her hand shot out and she braced herself on the counter, shoulders hunching as if she were in pain. “Oh, my god. This wasn’t real. It was exactly like he said.”

I didn’t know what she meant, but I could guess it was something Segreto said to her. “Valentina?—”

“Oh, my god, Luca. You were going tokidnapme! What the actual fuck?” She stared at me like I was a monster, a bogeyman under her bed. “You’re an asshole. You made me think . . . and then we . . . Oh, my god. I’m the business you came to New York for. What a fucking idiot I am!”

“Stop it,” I barked. “And let me explain.”

“What was going to happen once you took me back to Italy? Were you going to let the police keep me locked up until Flavio arrived?”

“They wouldn’t have locked you up.”

“But they would’ve kept me somewhere. My god, I am stupid.”

“Fiore mio?—”

“Donotcall me that!”

“You need to calm down and hear me out.”

“Fuck off! Do not tell me to calm down like I don’t have a perfectly good reason for freaking out right now.”

This was enough. I needed to get her alone where we could talk privately.

I started to rise, but found Segreto’s pistol aimed at me once more. “Don’t even think about it,” he said in our language. “I will slice your balls off and force them down your throat.”

---