Page 41 of Sworn to My Heart
Now that Luca’s spending more time with me and actually opening up, he told me about the pool that can be revealed by pressing a button next to the balcony doors inside the apartment. Pressing it causes the luxurious brown parquet floor to slide down, creating steps that lead into the pool’s water.
I choose to keep the pool permanently available, and Luca doesn’t object. With spring nearing its end, I want to enjoy everypleasant sunny moment before the scorching summer arrives. Most of the time, I’m alone in the apartment, so I can swim in secret and fully relish the pool experience.
Luca’s transformation in just one week amazes me. He even took me out to eat this week, just the two of us on our first official date, after I teased him about lacking a romantic bone in his body. The closer I get to him, the more I fear he might discover my secret, but I try to silence those thoughts and enjoy the present moment for as long as it lasts.
Cora is coming over to Luca’s apartment to sunbathe with me by the pool today since it seems that Luca and Mariano are busy. They haven’t left Luca’s office for hours. Realizing there’s no chance I’ll even get a glimpse into the office anytime soon, I grab the coffee cup I left on the table. There’s no more than a sip left, and even that is already cold, so I head to the kitchen. It’s time to change into a swimsuit. I won’t waste quality sun hours waiting for Cora to arrive, I decide. But Luca suddenly comes out of his office and calls me inside, the icy business look is set on his face. I follow him into the room and sit at the oval conference table in the center, in a chair next to Mariano, as he instructs.
I watch his movements, waiting quietly for an explanation.
He places a laptop in front of me, typing in a rapid succession of passwords that would put the FBI to shame. Several windows of unfamiliar software open up, and suddenly messages in Russian pop up on the screen.
“What’s this?” I ask Luca, curious and surprised by his technical prowess with computers.
“We hacked into one of the senior Russians’ phone. It was a tough job, but we managed to plant a chip in his device. I need you to translate these messages for me,” he requests, and I immediately take on the task.
He sits next to me, and I start reading the specific messages hehas opened for translation.
“There’s a wedding tomorrow evening. Make sure the gift arrives on time,” one message says, and I translate aloud. “They’re merging forces, receiving their first shipment tomorrow. We need the location. Alin, do they mention a location here?” Luca explains, almost to himself, then quickly asks, pushing for more information, and I comply.
“You’ll receive the gift at Kai’s place. Does that mean anything?” I look at Luca, and it seems he’s just as puzzled. All these code names are starting to seem like a completely different language to me, not just Russian.
“Mariano, run a search on someone named Kai,” Luca orders, and Mariano, without hesitation, starts sending messages. The sound of typing filling the room from his laptop.
Kai. My good friend from home was named Kai.
I chuckle to myself as I try to link her to their shipment. It would be amusing to see her with the Russians; she would eat them alive with her big mouth. Imagining this, I smile while they are still busy searching and issuing commands on the phone. They seem to have forgotten I’m still here.
Suddenly, it hits me. “How did I not think of this? Kai, Luca, Kai!” I look at Luca with a triumphant glance, and he probably thinks I’ve completely lost it.
“Care to share your findings, please?” Luca responds with sarcastic politeness. I roll my eyes but continue with a sly glance, realizing I might have cracked the code..
“The name Kai means ocean. If I’m right, and they mean the ocean and not a person named Kai, their package might be coming by sea? Maybe a ship?” I inform them, feeling a sting of pride that I might have actually helped Luca after all.
It seems this piece of information clicks everything into place for Luca. “I hope you’re right. I trust you,” he says quickly, givingme a quick kiss on the lips before rising from his chair and continuing to shout orders into the phone. This time, it seems he has a plan.
I stay in the room, listening to all the chaos and conversations. It sounds like some informants have given them information about a specific port and precise location. I look around, the noise of messages, phone calls, and keyboard clacking creating a tense atmosphere between the three of us in the room, and it seems tomorrow will be anything but quiet. I don’t like this; a feeling that something bad is going to happen pricks at my chest.
“Mariano, we’re taking them down tomorrow, destroying everything. You’re locked on Stas, clear?!” Luca orders Mariano, and all the information flying around this room does nothing to calm the anxiety slowly rising in my chest, threatening to explode at any moment.
I quickly turn my head toward the door as its opening startles me, and I see Pedro leaping into the room.
The three of them pace around the room, firing off orders and assigning tasks. All of this is new to me. My father never involved me in his meetings, and the guards always prevented me from entering or eavesdropping. If this is how things operate before every mission, I’ll have a heart attack by the end, and that end suddenly seems very near. Now I truly understand why Cora is always so worried.
Luca suddenly sits back down and starts a video call on the laptop, pulling me out of my thoughts. I focus intently on his actions. As the harsh ringtone blares from the computer, whoever he is calling immediately answers, and in a brief glimpse, I see an older man sitting in front of the screen on the other end of the call.
“Dad,” Luca greets him warmly, and suddenly, the icy aura that surrounded him minutes ago vanishes, replaced by a warmexpression for the person on the other end. The familiar shark turns into a little clownfish in seconds.Dad?
He updates him on all the details and then turns the computer camera toward me. I recoil slightly in surprise as I see my face appear on the screen.
“Dad, this is Alin. She helped us translate and decipher the messages,” he announces proudly, sounding like he has already filled him in on the entire operation.
“Nice to meet you, Alin. I’m Francesco Spallo, father of the crazy trio,” he introduces himself with a lightness I didn’t expect from the stories I heard from Cora about this man, and I laugh in response.
“Definitely crazy,” I confirm laughing, then say, “Nice to meet you, I’m Alin Gray.” I smile at him, unable to imagine that this man is the head of the family, the infamous Capo dei Capi.
His facial features are very stern, but it’s hard to miss the kindness in his eyes when he looks at his son.
“Now I understand why Luca couldn’t describe your beauty. You’re breathtaking. My eldest son certainly has good taste,” he adds in a fatherly tone, his laugh slightly choked, and Luca smiles with satisfaction.
