Page 55 of Shark Bait

Alessio changes the treadmill pace from a brisk walk to a jog. “The rings are arriving in two hours.”

“Rings?” I match his speed.

He spares me a look that tells me he’s annoyed I’m not keeping up with his plan. “You will propose with a ring, won’t you?”

“Yes. Yeah.”

“Well, it’s the day of your wedding, and you don’t have a ring, so I took matters into my own hands.”

I point to my head. “I was working on the plan for the rings. I was going to wake up the jewelry store owners nearest the house and have them open the store.”

“I figured as much, which is why I called our Saudi connections.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Some of the finest jewels come from the Arab world, and they’ll bend over backward to deliver only the best for Alessio. “Thank you. What did Valerina say when you told her Troy and I are getting married?”

“I didn’t tell her.”

“Troy will need a witness.”

“Tatiana will do it.”

“Troy likes your sister.”

“Valerina will protest,” he says. “She can’t know.”

I don’t know how we’ll execute this mission without her knowledge, but Alessio will have to deal with that fallout if it happens. I have enough on my plate. “Where is the wedding?” I ask.

“Rome, since you’re not Catholic and can’t get married at the local church.”

“That’s good, because I don’t think she’s Catholic either.”

“She’s not,” Alessio says. “I checked.”

“We can have a civil marriage,” I propose, even though I know Alessio will reject that. Secretly, I reject it too, but I’m trying not to think about how fucked-up I am for wanting her all to myself for all eternity. (Amen.)

“You get one wife in this life we’ve chosen. Only one, and church vows are hard to break. You’re getting married in a church, my friend.”

We increase our speed again, our pace making it hard to talk, so I wait until we’re jogging briskly again. “Did you sleep?”

“No.”

“Worked on the guy’s name?”

“Mmhm. I might have more than one name for you.”

At the prospect of vengeance, I get an erection. It makes it hard to exercise, but I continue jogging. “How long is the list of names?”

“Shorter than the erection you’re sporting over avenging your wife.”

I chuckle and slow down even more. “Are you almost done with the list?”

“Almost.”

“What’s the holdup?”

“The man who calls himself La Falena or the moth doesn’t want to be found.”

“That’s never stopped you before. Put more people on it.”

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