Page 48 of The Enforcer

He also knew how enraged I’d be if anything happened to Valencia.

I shook my head and he backed down, but not before Valencia noticed he was ready to reach for his weapon. Again. She bristled, immediately looking away.

“Mr. Nomikos. Thank you for the invitation.” Pietro Esposito was following in his father’s footsteps, a young man with a bright future. He held out his hand, his expression full of appreciation.

Standing, I accepted the gesture. “I understand you were working with the designer the entire time.”

“I was. I’m pleased with the turnout.” The kid’s smile faded. “As long as you are.”

“Very much so. Allow me to introduce Dr. Valencia Laurant.”

“Dr. Laurant. Did I hear you saved Mr. Nomikos’ life?”

She glanced in my direction after standing, her lips twisted in frustration, but only I would notice given the passionate kisses we’d shared. I immediately bristled. The family had gone to some lengths to keep what had occurred in New York private. I would be curious to find out how Pietro had learned the news.

“I assure you Mr. Nomikos was in no imminent danger. Just a scratch.” Her answer surprised me given she was a straight shooter.

“Ah, so good to hear. This is my girlfriend, Gia.”

“Very nice to meet both of you. I’ve heard so much about this club,” she cooed near Pietro’s ear.

“Then let’s say hello to my dad and we’ll go dancing,” the young man suggested.

I touched his arm. “I’m curious. How did you learn about Dr. Laurant?”

He seemed confused at first. “It was online for theNew York Times. My father requires various newspapers as part of my daily activities. The article was wonderful.”

As soon as I tipped my head in Valencia’s direction, I realized she already knew. Perhaps that’s what was really troubling her.

“Come on. I need to dance.” Gia blew a kiss toward Valencia and the two scampered off.

“What it would be like to be that young again,” she said as she watched the young couple kissing as they walked.

“Would you really like that?”

“Honestly? I hated my early twenties. The few times I dared try and enjoy spending time with a boy, it turned out to be adisaster. Including ending in the Hudson River one night. Do not ask me a single question or I will punch you.”

“Oh, I’m going to ask. You can’t allow something like that to linger.” I pulled her into my arms and she almost dropped her champagne glass she’d been clutching.

“You can push all you like, but if I don’t want to do something, I won’t.” She toyed with my bowtie until I looked down, then touched the tip of her index finger to my nose. “Keep that in mind, big boy.”

While she was doing her best to be playful, I could still see concern in her eyes. She didn’t like being in this atmosphere any more than I did.

“You knew about the article.” I purposely left any inflection from my voice.

Her sigh was an admittance. “My sister called before you arrived. That’s when she told me.”

“Interesting.”

“You’re assuming learning about me brought you a weakness. My guess is whatever occurred this afternoon you think could be the outcome of that article.”

“Anything is possible,” I told her.

Her mouth twisted and there was a hint of fear in her eyes. She hadn’t been used to kill or lure me into a weakened state. Or so I hoped. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s no reason to be sorry, my angel. What do you say we go grab a burger?”

My question caught her completely off guard. As her eyes lit up with fire, she burst into laughter. “You’re expecting true Italian royalty. You just can’t up and leave your own party after only arriving a few minutes ago.”

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