Page 48 of Shark Bait

Alessio frowns, clearly thinking while Shark’s drawing the man.

“La Falena?” Alessio asks, and I nod at the pronunciation, confirming that’s what the man told me.

“He…he signed our contract with that name,” I whisper. “I didn’t realize he was a crook, but I don’t think he meant for me to end up in my current predicament. He was shocked when I told him I was pregnant, and he looked scared. Well, maybe. I don’t know. I think so. What do I know? I thought he was a legit music agent who was gonna help me write better songs and pitch them to the world’s biggest stars. I think things with me got out of hand, which was when Fis came in.” I’m breathing hard now, and Alessio pours me a glass of water from the pitcher.

It takes me a while to calm down. “Falena and I connected online…and he offered to pay me for two of my songs. He said he had buyers already lined up and would find more, but my location was a problem. He bought me a first-class ticket to Italy, put me in a nice hotel room, and even introduced me to a few people. He said they were Italian musicians, but now I’m not sure any of them were musicians at all.” I shake my head. Denver is going to lose his mind when he finds out. I take a deep breath. “My brothers Denver and Levi are musicians. Really good, especially Denver. He’s got the voice of a rock god. But we’re a working-class family with no extra money, so I thought if I could sell some of my songs and make a few connections in the industry, those things would’ve gotten him in the door.”

Now I’m a sobbing mess and blowing my nose into Valerina’s fine napkin and apologizing for making a mess of everything.The napkin, the nice lunch, and my stupid birthday, my entire damn life.

The men just sit there. Shark keeps drawing while Alessio checks his phone. Once I’ve collected myself, I apologize again and peer over at Shark’s drawing.

He looks up from the paper. “Ready?”

When I nod, Shark slides the paper toward me, and I brave a glance at it, then quickly look away. “He parts his hair on the other side, but that’s him, yes.”

Shark folds the paper and tucks it into his pocket. “I will need a real name.”

“I don’t know it,” I say.

“Alessio will get me the name.”

“Let’s not make any hasty decisions,” Alessio replies.

“Too late,” Shark says.

“Knowing what we know about him isn’t enough to go after him,” Alessio says.

“Agreed,” Shark says, his voice rising. “It’s why I’m asking for a name.”

I turn toward Shark. “He’s dangerous. Unhinged and probably looking for me. If he finds out I’m here, I’m afraid of what he’ll do.”

“Do you think my family is in danger?” Alessio asks.

“Maybe. I don’t know. Fis came with a crew and took me from the hotel. On the yacht, I was out of everyone’s way and nobody knew my location since I’m pretty sure Falena was worried about being discovered at that point.”

Shark takes my hands in his. “Do you have any idea why you were kept alive in the first place?”

I can barely catch myself form sobbing again and not answering. “Falena was holding a high-ticket auction. Desperate rich folk who couldn’t adopt by legal means would jump right on it, he said.”

Alessio leans in. “What wasitthat he was auctioning?”

Because I have a knot in my throat that might just choke me, I place a hand over my belly.

Alessio looks from my hand back to me, understanding passing through his eyes. I can tell he gets it because his otherwise emotionless gaze softens.

It lasts only a few seconds before he launches back into business. “We have motive and a picture. What do you want to tell me about the location?”

I tell him the name of the hotel and that it was across from a church. “It had nice carpets. When I tried to sneak out, and I crawled over them, they cushioned my knees.”

Shark leans in. “They’ll cushion his knees too before I carve out his kneecaps and sew them like patches over his eyes.”

We hear other people’s voices. Alessio’s gaze flicks above my head when I hear the door opening quietly behind me. He flicks two fingers, calling in someone from outside the room. Two women and a man come in and clear the table without greeting us.

Alessio clears his throat. “If you are looking for permission to use our resources to take on a private assignment, you have it.”

“I wasn’t looking for permission,” Shark says.

Alessio brushes a thumb over his bottom lip. “First time for everything, I guess.”

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