Grinded (The Invincibles Book 3)

by Heather Slade

  I was familiar with the acronym for the Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna. “What are they investigating?”

  “If you aren’t sitting down, you better.”

  “Go on.”

  “Murder linked to Italian royalty. They take that shit pretty serious over there.”

  “Who?”

  “Giovanni Deltetto.”

  “Not a heart attack?”

  “No, it was, but brought on by poisoning.”

  “Bloody hell.”

  “That isn’t all. I haven’t found how this relates yet, but the Valentini name came up in an AISE investigation into ancient antiquities that have been turning up on the black market.”

  Deck was right about me landing in the middle of a hornet’s nest. Worse was the idea that Pia was living in it.

  “As far as your background information, I’ve only got the goods on two so far. Actually, only one you asked about. Matteo Casavetti is a mid-level AISE agent. The second is Lucia Cesare, she’s a rung below him and currently undercover at the Valentini estate. Since they both had ties to the family, there was no need for assumed identities.”

  Lucia? I didn’t see that one coming. Although, the report on Pia’s cousin Matteo surprised me just as much.

  “I’ll get back to you when I know something more. Also, you might want to think about putting a team together on this, Grind. Somethin’ tells me that the deeper I go, the worse what I have to tell you will be.”

  “Thanks, mate. My next call was going to be to Rile anyway.”

  “Let me know who’s on your wish list, and I’ll see if I can get their twenty.”

  “Got it. And, Deck, I understand this better than you know, but you need to stay in Texas with Mila.”

  “That was cryptic.”

  I took a deep breath. This would be the first I revealed this news to anyone. “Pia is pregnant.”

  “You okay about this?”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I’m somewhat over the moon.”

  “I’m happy for you, Grinder. I mean that sincerely. It’s a hell of a thing to watch the woman you love, growing your baby inside of her.” He cleared his throat. “That’s if you love her, I guess.”

  “I do, Decker, and you’re right. It is a hell of a thing.”

  “By the way, Rile’s in Spain, and I can tell you, he isn’t happy about it.”

  “So he’d welcome a mission, then?”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

  I rang Rile as soon as Deck ended our call. “I may need your assistance.”

  “Yeah? What have you got?”

  “Death of Italian royalty. An AISE investigation into ancient antiquities being sold on the black market. You in?”

  “Damn straight.”

  I almost laughed out loud at how much Rile sounded like Decker with that response.

  “Decker hasn’t been able to find out what one has to do with the other, but he’s working on it.”

  Rile offered to contact Z to see what MI6 knew, as well as “round up” some support on our end. I couldn’t help but take the piss out of him for how much he sounded like a cowboy.

  “I need to stay the hell outta Texas,” he muttered before he rang off.

  The next morning, I received a message from Decker, asking me to check in with him as soon as possible.

  “Viticcio is person of interest numero uno in Deltetto’s murder, as well as a primary suspect in the black market antiquities ring. I haven’t figured out what Rossi’s role is. He may just be Viticcio’s lackey. Oh, and there’s a third, a woman, Donnatella Bianchi.”

  “Any idea who they’re working for?”

  “Not sure there is anyone else. While the value of what they’re selling is astronomical, there hasn’t been a whole hell of a lot of it. Quality over quantity, I guess. Oh, and from what I read, Viticcio has been sniffing around Valentini for years.”

  “Sniffing around for what?”

  “You aren’t going to believe this.”

  “Go on.”

  “The ancient consular route Via Cassia passed through Val d’Orcia—right past Antica Cascina dei Conti di Valentini, specifically.”

  I didn’t want to take the wind from Deck’s sails, but this was hardly news. “Any tourist guide in Tuscany could tell you that.”

  “I bet they couldn’t tell you who passed through on that route more than a thousand years later.”

  “Who, Decker?”

  “The Sovereign Order of Malta.”

  “What is that?”

  “Who.”

  “Right. Who?”

  “You’ve heard of the Knights Templar?”

  “Of course.”

  “The Malta Sovereigns are said to have buried ten times the treasures of the Templars.”

  “Are you suggesting there’s a treasure buried somewhere on the Valentini estate?”

  “It’s very likely. I was able to access an archive with some interesting information about Pia’s ancestors. Estancia Valentini, in particular. What I’ve read says she agreed to give the Italian government half of the value of the Valentini fortune in exchange for control of her own estate. I guess she had ’em over a barrel, since they altered the inheritance laws regarding her property—and hers alone.”

  I could hear him typing on a keyboard in the background. “There’s more. This was a side note, but important enough that someone added it. Anyone who attempted to change or alter her wishes would be cursed for all eternity.”

  “And they believed her?”

  “Like I said, enough to make mention of it. Supposedly, it all started with her husband. The archives say he tried to get control of her estate and leave it to his sons from a previous marriage. You don’t want to know what happened to him.”

  “What happened?”

  “I just told you that you don’t want to know. I’m not fuckin’ around here, Grinder.”

  “Understood. What archive did you hack into, Decker?”

  “You don’t want to know that either, man.”

  “How deep was this buried?”

  “Way, way deep. Back in the late seventeen hundreds, when this all went down, there were rampant rumors about this alleged buried treasure, but they were squashed. It wasn’t long after Estancia made her deal with the government. Could be they covered the rest of it up as part of their agreement.”

  “Say there was a treasure buried somewhere on Valentini. Who would it belong to?”

  “Because of the deal I just mentioned, it belongs to the owner of the estate.”

  “Pia’s mother?”

  “That’s right. However, it doesn’t mean it can’t be stolen.”

  “You think this is what Viticcio is after?”

  “Think about it, Grinder. Estancia Valentini gave the Italian government half. Can you imagine what the other half would be worth now?”

  “You were able to find this rather quickly, Deck. Couldn’t someone else do the same?”

  “Just in case you left your brain in London, do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

  “Right. Sorry. I’m a wanker.”

  “You got that right.”

  23

  Pia

  I took a deep breath and opened the door to the winery office. Mylos said he had a few calls to make, so I decided it was time to inform Georgio of his presence and get it over with.

  I looked around the space that had bustled with people when I was growing up. It was still and quiet now.

  The winery itself was a different story. Georgio managed over a hundred employees. During the harvest and bottling, that number jumped significantly.

  One of the things I’d picked up on recently was that his labor costs were high for this time of year. It was something I knew would lead to an argument, but it was a conversation we had to have.

  I heard the office door open and turned to see Mylos walk in.

  “Did you finish your calls?”

  “Yes.” He put his hands on my shou
lders. “You’re tense.”

  “Thinking about having a conversation with Georgio does that.”

  He continued rubbing my shoulders but didn’t comment.

  “Aren’t you going to tell me to fire him?”

  He leaned forward so his mouth was close to my ear. “I will never tell you to do anything…in regard to the winery.”

  I looked over my shoulder and smiled. “Had to get that caveat in, yes?”

  As he kissed me, I heard the door leading to the production area open. Every muscle in my body went on high alert, knowing it was Georgio.

  “Hello,” I heard Mylos say as he walked toward him. When he held out his hand, Georgio hesitated, but did shake it.

  “Miles—Mylos—Stone,” he said.

  “Georgio Rossi,” he grunted.

  I picked up the labor cost report. “I asked you to meet me so we could discuss labor costs.” I handed it to him.

  “When?”

  I cocked my head. “Now.”

  He looked over at Mylos, who pulled a chair out from one of the desks and sat down.

  “We’ll do this later.” Georgio dropped the paper and turned to walk out.

  “We’ll do this now, Georgio. Right now.”

  He spun around, looking from me to Mylos. “Excuse us.”

  “He stays.”

  Georgio’s eyes scrunched.

  “He stays, Georgio.”

  He picked up the report and waved it at me. “What about this?”

  “The numbers are high for this time of year.”

  “They’re not.”

  “Look at the yearly comparison. Particularly in manual labor. What is the explanation for the difference?”

  “Your numbers are wrong.”

  He’d spoken to me disrespectfully one too many times, and while I had to admit that Mylos’ presence gave me courage I might not otherwise have had, the decision I made was mine alone.

  “You have three choices, Georgio. You can explain why the numbers are so out of proportion; you can accept a demotion and relinquish your role as head winemaker; or you can resign, effective immediately.”

  Georgio’s face turned bright red. When he stepped closer, Mylos got up and stood beside me.

  “You are making a big mistake,” he seethed, looking first at Mylos and then at me.

  “I have made mistakes, Georgio. The biggest one is failing to remind you that you work for me, not the other way around.”

  “You can’t fire me.”

  “I can. So if you’re not prepared to explain the cost overages, I’ll do just that.”

  His mouth hung open. “You’re not serious.”

  “I’m very serious.”

  His eyes darted between Mylos and me. “You’re finished. You know that, right? You’ll drive the final nail in Valentini’s coffin.”

  “Actually, I intend to remove some that you have driven in yourself.”

  Georgio stepped closer still.

  “Watch it,” warned Mylos.

  “I’ll give you some time to put a report together, explaining the cost overages. We’ll meet back here tomorrow.”

  Georgio stormed out.

  “You okay?” Mylos asked.

  “Yes. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt as okay as I do now. I have you to thank.”

  “You handled that all on your own, Pia.”

  “I need to discuss this with my mother.”

  Mylos looked as if he was about to say something, but only nodded.

  We walked up to the house hand in hand. My mamma wasn’t on the terrazza, but it was chillier today. Perhaps she was having her morning meal in the sitting room. When we went inside, she wasn’t there either.

  I saw Lucia coming down the stairs.

  “Have you seen the countess?”

  “She’s not feeling well. She’s still in bed.”

  “Go ahead,” said Mylos. “I’ll chat with Lucia for a minute and then come up.”

  I wanted to ask what about, but if he’d wanted me to know, I suppose he would’ve said.

  I knocked on my mother’s bedroom door. “It’s me, Mamma,” I said when I didn’t hear a response. I opened the door and found her in bed with the sheets pulled up to her chin. She looked over at me and motioned me closer. “Lucia said you were feeling poorly.”

  “Sì. Come closer.”

  I sat beside her on the bed.

  “What is bothering you, sweetheart?”

  “For one, I’m worried about you.”

  She reached out from under the bedclothes and patted my hand. “I’ll be okay. I sense there’s something else, though.”

  We heard a knock at the door. “Who is it?” I called out.

  “Lucia.”

  “She’s bringing me some tea. Open the door.”

  When I did, she walked in, carrying a tray. “I thought you might like to try to eat something.”

  When my mother thanked her, I waited for Lucia to leave, but she didn’t.

  “What were we talking about?” my mamma asked.

  “It’s about Georgio.”

  She took a sip of tea and looked over at Lucia, who again, didn’t leave. “What about him?”

  “I want to let him go.”

  “Why?” Both women’s eyes opened wide.

  “Because he’s insolent and disrespectful.” The door creaked open, and Mylos stuck his head in. “Sorry to interrupt. Lucia asked me to join you when I finished my phone call.”

  “Come in,” said my mother. “Go on, Pia, about Georgio.”

  “He argues with me about everything. This morning, I asked him to explain what I saw as labor cost overages, and he refused.”

  “I see.”

  This was not the reaction I expected from my mother. “I’m tired of it, Mamma.”

  “You haven’t mentioned this to Paolo, have you?”

  “Paolo? Why would I?” I was beginning to get angry.

  “What about Matteo? It might be helpful to get his opinion.”

  “Would you have said the same to Papà?”

  “I’m only suggesting it might be helpful to discuss it with him. If you were to let him go, who would replace him?”

  “Elio Cesare,” I answered without hesitation, looking over at Lucia.

  Again, my mother’s eyes opened wide. “Elio?”

  “Yes. Mylos and I went to visit him. I got the impression he would love to come back as long as Georgio was no longer here.”

  “That’s an interesting proposal, but…”

  “But I should discuss it with Matteo,” I said when my mother didn’t finish her sentence.

  “Sì.”

  I stood and left the room, knowing that if I didn’t, my temper would cause me to say things to my mother that I might regret. This was so unlike her. Whenever I discussed matters such as this with her before, she’d always said it was my decision. Why not now? Also, why hadn’t Lucia said anything? She had to know as well as I did that her father would want to come back.

  “Do you agree?” I asked Mylos when he followed me downstairs.

  “Only in that it might be worth getting his opinion. It’s still up to you to weigh what he has to say against your intuition.”

  I huffed and folded my arms.

  Mylos smiled and unfolded them. “What was that about?”

  “So logical.”

  He kissed my cheek. “One phone call and then make your decision.”

  It wasn’t that easy. Matteo encouraged me to hold off. When I asked why, he was vague but reiterated he thought I should wait.

  I didn’t like it, but given he and my mother felt so strongly, I decided to give it more time. If Georgio persisted in his disrespectful treatment of me, I’d do what I thought best.

  When I left the winery office, I found Mylos outside, talking to Lucia. She stopped mid-sentence when she saw me. “Go on,” I said.

  “We were just talking about your mother not feeling well.”

  I didn’t believe her. If that
were the case, she’d have no reason to end their conversation because of me. Something else occurred to me.

  “Why did you bring Mamma her breakfast today instead of Gabriella?”

  “I usually do, just to make it easier.”

  “Don’t you have work of your own to do?”

  Both she and Mylos appeared stunned at my tone. I didn’t care. I sensed they were hiding something, and it angered me.

  “Mi scusi,” she muttered and went inside.

  “Pia?”

  I walked over to the railing and looked out over the vineyard. “What were you talking about?” I waited, knowing that if he lied to me, we were finished. There were too many people in my life I couldn’t trust.

  “There is a lot I need to tell you, but this isn’t the time nor the place.”

  I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

  “When and where?”

  He walked over and took my hand. “Now. The farmhouse.”

  I almost wept in relief. It would’ve broken my heart if he hadn’t responded the way he did.

  24

  Grinder

  As we walked down the hill from the villa, I thought a great deal about what I should and shouldn’t tell Pia.

  Many things were happening behind the scenes of her life, more than I’d thought, based on my conversations with Lucia this morning and my follow-up call with Decker.

  Part of it needed to stay in place for the time being—mainly regarding Georgio and the fill-in cook, Gabriella—and neither could suspect anything was out of the ordinary. Could Pia pull it off? I wasn’t certain. Her life depended on me being so. But, could she trust me if I didn’t tell her everything?

  Instead of going inside when we reached the farmhouse, I led Pia to the terrazza. Once she was seated, I moved a chair over and sat in front of her.

  “There are things I can tell you now and other things that would be best if I didn’t.”

  She slowly nodded her head.

  “I need you to tell me if you can be okay with that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  That was fair, and I said so.

  “You’re frightening me.”

  “There is danger in regard to what I’m about to tell you, Pia. I won’t hide that from you.”