Page 27 of The Secrets We Keep

Sienna bought two more rounds, goading Ciro into doing a shot with her even though she only pretended to drink it, spitting it back into her bottle of water. By the time Jack called it a night, Ciro was so buzzed he was flirting with both women, trailing his fingers up and down Isa’s arm whenever she leaned in close to hear what he was saying. Which was often.

The after-work crowd thinned a bit, and the live band started to set up. When they played their first song, Ciro jerked in his seat, recognizing the tune.

“I love this one!” He twisted to look at Sienna, then Isa. “We should dance.”

“I’m a terrible dancer,” Sienna said with a pout. “You two go.”

Isa’s eyebrows shot up when Ciro laid a hand on the back of her chair and stood. “Don’t you have to get home?”

“One dance.” He looked over his shoulder at the people already gathered on the floor. “You know you want to.”

Isa bit her lip. Her permanent frown fell away for the first time all night. She actually smiled, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. When she glanced at Sienna, Sienna motioned them both away with a flick of her fingers.

“Watch our things, Anna,” Ciro said, pushing his chair toward her and leading Isa onto the floor.

Sienna waited for the other dancers who’d gathered in the tight space to swallow them up before she reached for Ciro’s bag. Leaving it on the seat of his chair and under the shelter of the table in case they looked over, she dug her hand into the front pocket and fished out his keycard and fob.

She’d tested out the device she’d purchased on her way from Berlin to Sicily on her own key fob, and it worked perfectly. Gallo Industries used encrypted fobs, but if she could copy the data, she could unspool it on her own protected machines at home. Assuming Ciro’s fob and card weren’t copy-protected.

She held his fob up to the machine, grateful the noise of the music covered up the series of beeps. Read successful, the readout on the device said. Removing Ciro’s fob, she put a blank one in its place and pressed another button. Transfer complete.

She repeated the process with his card, her heart pounding as the first song ended and another one began. She saw them appear at the edge of the crowd and quickly pushed the lanyard back into his bag the instant it copied onto the machine.

Her leg bounced a nervous rhythm as she transferred the information to a blank card and shoved everything into her purse seconds before they sat at the table. She smiled at them both, surprised when Isa returned it.

“How was it?” she asked. Her voice was a little breathy, but no one seemed to notice.

“It was loud. But good,” Isa said, that half smile Sienna was unaccustomed to seeing still on her face.

“I’m going to make you dance with me,” Ciro replied as the song changed again. “It’s even a slow one. You don’t need to be a good dancer for a slow song.”

She began to protest. The man really didn’t deserve to lose any fingers, but nothing would make Isa more jealous than being chosen and then discarded. Sienna protested a little more for show, but eventually gave in.

“All right. One dance, but then I have to go.”

Ciro grinned triumphantly. “Isa, will you watch—”

“Your bag,” Isa snapped, that pinched frown back on her face. “Sure.”

Sienna kept her small purse slung across her body, shaking her head when Ciro took her hand in his and laid his other low on her waist. She sent him a coy grin and moved it higher, leaving space between them as the song crooned through the speakers.

“You’re very beautiful,” Ciro drawled, his voice slurred by the alcohol. “You have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

“Don’t you think Isa’s beautiful too? She’s really got it bad for you.”

Ciro glanced over her shoulder at their table. Isa was no doubt watching them both like hawks. “She tries too hard. There’s no fun in the chase with her. You, on the other hand…”

“Ciro.” She giggled, bracing a hand on his chest. “What if I said I don’t sleep with coworkers?”

“I’d ask you to make an exception.”

“And what if I said I didn’t sleep with married men?”

“My wife understands my needs.” Sienna highly doubted that. “Besides, doesn’t everyone want to be naughty sometimes?”

“Maybe. But you’re old enough to be my father.”

He grimaced at the word, spinning her out and back in, then grabbing her low on the waist again, forcing her to move his hand higher. “Age is just a number, cara mia.”

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