Page 43 of Final Installment
He frowned.“Liliana?”
“Is there another ex-girlfriend I need to worry about?”
“You know there’s not.”So far, Zec hadn’t brought up that messy situation with the two dancers back in Houston.
“It didn’t go well.Liliana left the restaurant in hysterics.Drita is refusing to talk about what was said.”
That didn’t bode well.“What is the plan for the wedding?What if she tries to make a scene?”
“We have security in place.”
“And the rehearsal dinner?”Luka still hadn’t told Dafina about the strippers in Houston.He needed to come clean about that before they walked down the aisle, and it would be infinitely more difficult to convince her he was committed to making this arranged marriage work if his ex-girlfriend barged into the middle of things.
“It’s handled.”Zec slipped his hand into his suit jacket and retrieved his phone.“It’s all handled.Your soon-to-be wife and her mother will be here in a few hours.Artan comes in from Montenegro tomorrow.Skender from Bologna after that.The only missing pieces are Kristo and the sister.”
And then, because, of course Zec had someone following Kristo, he flashed his phone screen and said, “Those two missing pieces are together right now in China.”
“I know they are.”Luka schooled his features even though his stomach was in knots.“Kristo told me.”
Didn’t just tell him.Had been sending videos and photos of Elona practically nonstop since they had crossed paths in Shanghai.Needling him.Taunting him.
“I don’t know what game he’s playing, but it ends when he returns to Tirana,” Zec declared.
“You don’t get to make that decision.”Luka hated Zec’s high-handedness.He might be the family’s fixer, but that was as far as his power went.“Kristo and Elona can do whatever they want.They don’t answer to me or you.”
“That’s the problem,” Zec muttered under his breath.
Luka ignored it because he didn’t want to fight.He didn’t want to be forced into a verbal battle with a man who could flay him alive with only a few carefully chosen words.“I’m going outside for a walk.”
“Watch out for the little presents that dog has been leaving all over the yard.”
That dog had better not be shitting all over my yard.
Luka stepped onto the patio.He scanned the garden for his uncle but found only Marley.She tromped after her wildly exuberant shepherd puppy running amok by the pool.She waved and squeezed a quacking duck toy in the air to get his attention.
He still couldn’t believe Besian had agreed to let her take a dog from Albania to Texas.He didn’t even want to know what that cost or how many hoops his uncle had to jump through to do it legally.
He walked across the patio, down the stone steps and out to the chairs under his favorite tree.His phone vibrated again, and Kristo’s name appeared with another message.
“Everything okay?”Marley had conceded defeat with her puppy.He had flopped down under a nearby tree and gnawed on the toy, squeezing it over and over and over to make it honk and squeak.
“It’s fine.”He noticed that she didn’t ask if he wanted company.She plopped down in the wrought iron chair next to his, curling her legs to the side and getting comfortable.He might have been imagining it, but she seemed a bit tired.The night prior, she’d stayed home rather than join in on the family dinner in town.He had his suspicions, but he wasn’t going to pry.
“Doesn’t look fine.”She eyed the phone clutched in his hand.“Wedding problems?”
He huffed out a sharp breath.“No, for once, it’s not the wedding.”
Her brow furrowed with concern.“Not something more serious?”
He shook his head.Then, against his better judgement, he admitted, “It’s Kristo.”
“Is he delayed again in Shanghai?I thought he was coming back tomorrow.”
“He is.Or, rather, he hasn’t told me otherwise.”
“Did his meetings go poorly?”Marley asked carefully.He wasn’t sure how much she knew about the business, but he was sure it was more than he’d like.
“Yes.”There was no point in lying to her.She was family, after all.“But that’s not what he’s messaging nonstop about today.”He hesitated before unlocking his phone, opening the messaging app and handing over his phone.“See for yourself.”
