Page 31 of Deception & Desire

“The only reason I’m telling you is because it’s an opportunity the mafioso would kill for,” she looks away. “That, and I need some help.”

The admission takes me by surprise. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”

“Did you know that Amos Rubio has a daughter?” she says slowly. “Her name is Carmen. She just graduated from Princeton.”

I stare at her for a long time. Amos’ private life was one that neither the Guild nor the Prince’s Hand had been able to gather any kind of information on. He was presumed to be widowed, but any reference to a child or children simply did not exist.

Both Isabella and Teo had tried to find information in the depths of the Cartel’s encrypted files but became frustrated when they found that the kingpin was too old school for an electronic trail.

To prove her point, Mia indicates the sheets of paper in the middle of the coffee table. “I double-checked with the admissions office today. Amos Rubio paid her tuition in full.”

I don’t want to know how she managed to extract that presumablyextremelyconfidential information from the Princeton admissions office.

“How did your client know about this?” I ask, glancing warily at the evidence before me.

“My clientisCarmen Rubio.”

We stare at each other for what feels like an age.

Anyone else.Anyone else.

If Max had come to me with this, if Dante had. Hell, if that “retired” bastard Rocco Moretti had deigned to visit with this news, I would have cracked open the fucking champagne.

Why did it have to be Mia?

“You just happen to get contract work with the Cartel kingpin’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“It’s obviously a trap,” I say, even though it doesn’t quite make sense. Because nobody knows that Mia is my wife. Mia isn’t known to be affiliated withanyone.

Mia seems prepared for this line of questioning, though. “That’s what I thought, but this girl…Leon, she’s so green. She barely has any idea what she’s doing aside from the fact she needs help. Amos doesn’t know that she’s hiring me.”

I ignore the way my name on her lips makes my heart clench. “Okay, so we let her hire someone else. You send your apologies and your recommendation. My second is new enough to New York. They won’t look twice at him.”

“That won’t work,” she protests. “She needs a woman, specifically. Someone who won’t stand out at her side during a party. Besides, I’ve already made contact and connection. She trusts me.”

“Then we get another woman to do it,” I counter.

This makes Mia laugh sharply. “Who? Isabella? The Cartel has a target on her back almost as big as yours! There isn’t anyone else, not on this short notice.”

I wish she wasn’t right. God. I wish there was someone else.

“I’m not asking for your permission,” she continues. “The party is on Saturday. I’m going to go. If you want to use this opportunity to your advantage, now is your chance to brief me on what you need.”

Positive IDs on Amos’ inner circle. Car registration numbers. Politicians and high society members with personal invitations. Hell, even alookinto the man’s office would at least confirm our theory that the man operates offline.

As a don, there’s no way I can miss out on this. As a husband…

“You said you needed help?” I say, a safer topic.

This, inexplicably, makes her look away. There’s a pretty little flush on her cheeks. “My…er…equipment is a little dated. I need to upgrade a few things, but I’m sort of out of work at the moment.”

I blink at her, suddenly feeling quite blindsided. She’s asking formoney.My wife is worried about her finances. I would laugh if the whole thing wasn’t entirely ridiculous.

My wallet is out a second later, and I hand her my black card without hesitation. “I should have given you one sooner.”

“I don’t need your charity.” She stares at the card as if it somehow offends her. “I thought you might give me a forward for the information I manage to acquire at the party.”

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