Page 50 of Devil Mine

Fabian is one of the cartel’s Butchers and my personal favorite. He’s endlessly creative and always goes the extra mile when it comes to torture methods. I like a man who doesn’t let something as gauche as squeamishness hold him back when it comes to getting the information I need. That’s real loyalty.

“Who does he have down there?”

“Riccardo Leone.”

A shocked gasp rips from her lips.

“You have a Leone cousin down there and you didn’t tell me?” she cries out, upset.

“Valentina…” I caution once more.

“Sorry, sorry.”

“Tell Fabian I allowed you access to Leone and you can ask him whatever questions you want before he kills him.”

Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll get anything out of this particular cousin. He was at university in Rome when Adriana was kidnapped and hasn’t shown any clear ties to the family business.

The main purpose of killing him is continuing to work through the Leone family tree until we get to the perpetrator. If they want to put an end to the deaths before their family reaches extinction, they’ll turn the killer over to me.

That’d be the smart thing to do, but then again the Made Men are no longer known for their adroitness in intellect.

In the meantime, it’ll distract Valentina long enough for Arturo to go back to London and keep a watchful eye on her.

“Thank you,Diablo,” she says, sounding relieved. “Where are you anyway? Or can you not say?”

“Spain.”

“So youareon holiday?”

“Every time you give me lip, I’m knocking one question off what you’re allowed to ask Riccardo Leone.”

“You’re a monster. No wonder your fiancée ran from you.” She pauses. I can almost hear the moment the lightbulb goes off. “Wait a minute, is that why you’re in Spain? You’re looking for her?”

Valentina is one of the few people I trusted with the information that I got engaged. To say she was greatly amused by the development that Tess had subsequently run away from me would be an understatement. I put up with it because it occupied her and kept her out of trouble.

Now I wonder if she can help me get inside Tess’s head and figure out where she could be going next.

“I need your help thinking like a woman.”

Her response is equally as dry as it is flippant. “Shouldn’t be too much of a reach for me seeing as I happen to be one.”

My eyes close in exasperation. “Maybe it’s time I find you a husband so you can have a built-in audience for this ongoing little comedy show of yours.”

“Ha, you know no man can handle me.”

“Exactly, it’ll give me a well deserved break from having to deal with you myself. I have my own woman to tame.”

“Tell me about her. I like her already, by the way. Any woman who can make the great Thiago da Silva lose his nerve and chase after her across the continent is a friend of mine.”

“I haven’t lost my nerve.”

“You’ve been in Europe for over a year. The farthest you’ve been from the UK is France, and only because you were inspecting shipment lines. Then your fiancée runs away and now look at you. In Spain. Looking for that nerve you lost.”

A muscle ticks in my cheek. “Finding you a husband just jumped to the top of my priority list.”

“Okay, okay. You don’t always have to resort to threats you know?” she says, hurriedly. “Before you say my name in that authoritative tone of voice again, I really will shut up this time. What do you want to know?”

“Where would you go?”

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