Page 19 of Saint Of Envy
“Alright,” he says as he pulls out his phone and sets it up on the table for us both to see. “Let’s look at what happened.”
I watch the screen as Vincent pulls up the security footage from the cameras at the new casino that was just attacked. It takes less than a minute for the screen to fill with video of the entire scene playing out.
“Impressive,” I say, narrowing my eyes as I focus in on the men who started the attack.
“I’ve learned a few things since my last dealings with adversaries.” Vincent nods. “I figured it would be wise to have the casinos better prepared with surveillance in case anything came up again. Now, everything that happens in any of my buildings’ feeds right into my devices in real time and saves a copy of the video to a backup hard drive via Bluetooth. I would not mess around with being unprepared again.”
We both watch the footage and can clearly see not only Leonardo’s men but also Angelo Barone’s men on the scene. They walk straight in through a service delivery door, pretending to be liquor vendors, before throwing a couple of Molotov cocktails into the belly of the casino and then splitting. Vincent’s face contorts in disappointment and displeasure at the idea that his men at the door were so easily fooled.
“That’s a matter that I will deal with after we finish here,” he huffs, speaking of disciplining the men who made a mistake, which cost him his polished new casino building. “This is worsethan I thought, though—Leonardo pairing up with Angelo is definitely not ideal for us.”
“Agreed,” I nod. “Although I don’t imagine it will last.”
“Probably not. But it will last long enough to cause us substantial trouble, and long enough to potentially use their alliance to overwhelm any security measures you have in place to protect Valentina. Luciano, things could get pretty ugly with all of this,” he warns. “You need to send Valentina somewhere safe.”
“She is safe here, with me,” I assert. I don’t want her leaving my side. The safest place for her is with me.
“I understand you feel that way, trust me. I would feel the same regarding Isla if I were in your shoes right now. But Valentina is not safe here, not with both the Barone and the Conti family after her. Your best shot at keeping her protected from Leonardo is to get her somewhere that he can’t find her. And trust me, he will look for her,” Vincent says. “And the first place that he will look is wherever you are. He’ll expect you to keep her close.”
As much as I hate the idea of sending Valentina away from my side, I know Vincent is right. I have to send her away in order to keep her and the baby safe. The question is where to send her.
“Nico Vitale,” Vincent says quietly, as if he knows exactly the question in my mind right now. “You could send her to Nico.”
“The Ghost?” I ask in surprise at that suggestion.
“Yes. I doubt either Leonardo or Angelo will think of looking there. Valentina and your unborn child will be safe with the Ghost. He can protect her away from here until we can get a handle on this situation and put Barone and Conti back under thumb.”
I nod and stand up from the table. “I’ll go break the news to her.”
When I get up to the hotel suite, I find Isla and Valentina sitting on the couch together, deep in conversation. Isla graciously steps out when she sees me come in to let Valentina and me talk privately.
“Are you okay?” I ask her once we’re alone. “I assume Isla filled you in a bit about what’s happened?”
“I’m fine,” she smiles bravely. “And yes, a bit. What are we going to do?”
“We will do nothing,” I say, already knowing that she will not like what I’m about to tell her. “I’m going to handle things here with Vincent now, and in order to do that and keep you and our baby safe, I’m going to need to send you away for a little while until we take care of this threat.”
“What? No! I want to stay here with you. I don’t want to be sent away,” she protests. “Besides, I feel the safest when I'm by your side.”
“I know, but that is exactly where Leonardo will look for you. I need to get you away from here just long enough to handle this situation. Then I’ll bring you back here with me, I promise.”
“Where will you send me?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
Valentina frowns, and it pains me not to tell her anything, but it’s for her own safety.
“It’s better if you don’t know,” I say, realizing that not being in control of her own fate is already a sore spot with her. “For your own protection.”
I wait for her to say something, but she punishes me with silence as she gets up and walks out of the room. This will undoubtedly cause her emotional distress and self-doubt, but it’s my only option to prevent her from returning to Leonardo. I just hope that once this is all over, Valentina can forgive me.
CHAPTER 12
VALENTINA
In the morning, Luc offers me the chance to visit Isla at the private dance theatre that Vincent created for her in the hotel. There’s even a new camera waiting for me on the counter of the hotel suite when I leave my bedroom to make some breakfast. He says that it’s because he and Vincent still need to work out the arrangements of how I will travel to whatever secret location it is they are sending me to. The gift of a camera and the opportunity to spend a few hours watching my friend dance makes it seem more like he’s trying to make up for my unhappiness with a token gesture to serve as an apology on his behalf.
I don’t like it when things feel “off” between us. Being upset with Luc doesn’t feel right. But I don’t know how to stop being upset about the fact that he’s sending me away, especially when he won’t even tell me where I’m going. He knows how much it upsets me to feel like other people are pulling the strings of my life. I hate feeling powerless.
