by Rachel Renee
The four of us saunter into the spacious dining room, the table big enough to seat at least fifty people. I take that back, sixty. I count the chairs as we move toward the head at the other end of the room. Santi points to the chair he wants me in and sits down in the one right next to me. Gabriella sits on my left and Paolo Rubio strolls over to the head seat and places himself in it.
I watch the man direct everyone around him, sometimes with just a look. He’s smooth and has every one of these people wrapped around his pinky finger. I need to get close to him, figure out his inner workings so I can find his weaknesses and use them to my advantage. I catch a glimpse of Santi eyeing me suspiciously as I get caught staring at his father.
“He never stops working, does he?” I say, hoping to deter Santi from any other thoughts.
“Never. Maybe not even in his sleep.”
“That would be tough. Has he always been that way?”
“Always.” His face creases. “You’ll get a bigger glimpse into what he does tonight.”
I nod my head but am brought motionless when Paolo begins speaking. “Thank you all for coming tonight.” There is a smile on his face, a grin so big, one could only guess what has him so elated.
Taking the chance while everyone is enthralled with Rubio’s speech, I glimpse around the room at the players of tonight’s party. Most of the people I’ve never seen before, but as my eyes scan the faces of a few men, I realize that I might be in the company of more than one of the CIA’s wanted list.
My eyes avert back to Paolo when a petite hand starts rubbing my leg from underneath the table. I glance at the woman who’s trying to make a move on me. With a smile, I place my hand atop hers, halting her from moving any further up my thigh. I look back to Paolo and listen to him introduce one of the newest men to his team.
“Taylor brings something much needed to our little group. Something we have been trying to acquire but until now, have not had a complete handle of.” Rubio’s fingertips strum together as he speaks.
Rubio goes on, but he doesn’t actually say what it is that Taylor is bringing to the table. Did I miss it?
“In just a few moments, dinner will be served and we will have a short video on the newest member of our team.”
If I missed it before, hopefully the video will shed some light.
“Guns,” Santi whispers. “Wait until you see what Taylor is producing. It’s the latest technology.”
Guns. Makes sense. “Can’t wait,” I utter.
I feel the hand beneath mine try to wriggle free. I hold it tight, pulling it up to my mouth and placing my lips upon it, hoping to appease the woman for a few minutes. I’m not interested in a hand job under the table during a dinner party. Especially when I’m working.
“Later,” I mouth when the kiss to her hand was not enough. Her lips turn up and her eyes lower. I don’t know how I’m going to get myself out of this situation.
As dinner arrives, the wandering hand finally has something else to keep it occupied. And I have plenty of things to keep me occupied as well. This Taylor guy is well known within the CIA. Once I recognize who Taylor is, I know I’ve seen his face plastered on the computer monitor as a known arms dealer to terrorist legions. If he’s dealing with those types of individuals, I can only imagine why Paolo Rubio would want to bring him in. I think Rubio’s secrets go much deeper than what I’ve been told. His crimes far worse than anyone has let on.
15
Against my better judgment, I went home with Gabriella. I tried so hard to peel myself away, but in the end, Santi pushed me into a car with her, telling me the driver will be back to take me home in the morning. I wasn’t sure how having a one-night stand would further my investigation so I told the driver the address of my apartment, that I wanted to go there instead, but he didn’t listen to me.
I tried to talk with Gabriella, tell her that I couldn’t do what she wanted me to do. I even told her that I had a girlfriend, but she didn’t care. Her hands and mouth were all over me in the car and I struggled to keep focused on the mission or anything at all other than her. On the short ride to Gabriella’s apartment, it took everything I had to keep her in her dress. What’s a man to do? I have never in my existence had a woman so filled with lust that she couldn’t hold herself together for fifteen minutes.
For the first time in my life, I was used for my body. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t enjoy the lithe figure that kept me up all night. But I’m also not going to say that this is something I intend to do on a regular. It’s not me.
Gabriella places her mouth over mine as I try to pull away. The driver is here and is waiting on the street to take me home. I’m about to experience another first—the walk of shame. I grab my jacket after stumbling into my shoes, trying to keep away from the grabby hands of the woman in the bed.
“Will I see you again?”
I have no idea what to tell her. I want to say no because I don’t plan on this becoming a thing. I also don’t want to lead her on and say yes and then never call. Instead, I shrug and give her the best boyish grin I can muster. I don’t know if she is used to this kind of thing, but she pays me no mind when she hops out of bed, completely nude, and rushes to me once more.
“Niccolo, I better see you again.” Her eyebrows wag and her lips pucker as she moves away from me, finally allowing me to escape her grasp.
“Ciao, bella,” are the last words I say to her before leaving her home.
Now to face the music with Charlie. I have so much to tell him about Paolo. Hopefully, I can leave out the details of my one-night stand. I was told there were going to be situations that I’d be put in that would challenge any prior beliefs I held, but at the time, I didn’t really think about some of those situations involving sleeping with a woman that my target forced on me.
As we pull up to the apartment, Charlie and Sophia are stepping out onto the sidewalk. Their eyes sparkle when they realize it’s me stepping out of the two-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle. “Niccolo, how was your evening?” Charlie greets me with a hug.
The look I’m receiving from Sophia is quite cold, almost as if she knows and disapproves of what I’ve done. Rightly so, from a certain standpoint. We’ve been seen together and, in most standards, people may even consider us dating. For the job, of course.
“It was very…enlightening,” I finally answer.
Sophia doesn’t greet me with her usual kisses but instead speaks in the most monotone voice I have ever heard come from her. “Do join us at the caffé?”
“I kind of want to shower and change.” I feel my face grimace as I think about wearing these clothes for another minute.
“After,” Charlie growls, grabbing me by the elbow and leading me down the sidewalk like I’m an insolent child.
“Stop,” I say nicely the first time. “Let me go,” comes out sterner. I try to pull my elbow from him but only manage to knock into Sophia instead. I was trying not to use my strength on Charlie but he’s left me no choice. Just as I start to reel back and use a maneuvering technique to stabilize my opponent, Charlie lets me loose.
“Santi came by about twenty minutes ago looking for you. Told me all about your little Gabriella. Pretended he didn’t see Sophia standing with me. Said he was heading to the caffé. So are we. Let’s go.”
“Why didn’t you just say so? It would have been a lot easier than trying to drag me like a kid. Are you okay, Sophia? I didn’t mean to hit you.”
“I know, Nic. I’m fine.”
I smile warmly in her direction and she gives me a half-ass attempt at her own version. There is something the matter and I’m hoping I can figure it out before I have to ask. Our relationship is a ruse, and we never said that we were exclusive. Although I probably should have. Now that I think of it, what I allowed Santi to push me into last night, not only goes against who I am, but what I’ve told him of me. Maybe that’s why Sophia is upset. I’ve been contradicting myself. I’d hope it isn’t just the fact that I went hom
e with a woman last night. That would mean she was jealous and that is not what I would expect from her. If it is that, I hope she knows that I only did it as Niccolo and not Liam. And Niccolo is a barrel of contradictions. Unlike Liam—I don’t go home with random women on the norm or step out on my girlfriends. It finally hits me. I’ve done both of those things. It’s getting harder and harder to separate me from the character I’m playing.
Sophia strolls up to me and attaches her arm to mine. “We’re going to have to have a fight in front of Santi. You know that, right?”
“I think I just figured that out. God, I’m stupid!”
Her face nuzzles into my shoulder. “You are a man. You are also very new to this job and it’s going to be hard to keep you and your alter ego in check. It’ll get easier.”
“I just need Santi to like me, to trust me. If I keep contradicting myself, I’m going to blow my cover and this mission will be over.”
“It’ll be fine. We will get past this and you will be able to move forward.” She lets go of my arm as we approach the caffé.
The three of us move through the entrance, Sophia lingering in the background, looking all sad and dejected. This is not going to be fun, but it has to happen. Why didn’t I stand up for myself or the choice that was put in front of me? I could have used Sophia as an excuse, I see that now.
After ordering, I turn to where I know Santi is sitting. He waves the moment our eyes make contact. I see the giddiness on his face before I notice the upturned lips. I turn back to Charlie and motion with my head that I’m going to go see Santi. His look is stern and Sophia’s look is solemn. I put on my game face and turn around in Santi’s direction, heading straight for the table we usually share.
“Buongiorno, amico,” I say on my approach.
Santi grabs my hand in his, shaking it before stepping into something like a hug. “Good morning,” he answers. “Hope I didn’t cause too much trouble for you.” His brows raise as he looks over my shoulder at my companions. “I came by to see you, but you were not yet home.” His grin is sly and his face says it all. “I didn’t realize Sophia was standing there until after I told your padre about Gabriella. Hope she isn’t too upset. She should not be. She is just your girlfriend, correct?”
“She…yes,” I say, but before I can continue, her hand reaches out, touching me on the elbow.
“Niccolo, I can’t do this. How could you?” At that moment, I turn and stare her straight in the eyes. She begins cursing me out in Italian, and the smile on Santi’s face tells me that he’s enjoying the show. I stand here and take it until I think she has spilled her guts about what a bastard I am and how she thought I was different.
Now it’s my turn to shine. “I am but a man. I made a mistake. I was overtaken by excitement and alcohol. I know that is no excuse.” I reach my hand out and wipe a tear from Sophia’s face. She’s really good at this. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was real.
“No excuse. I will not be with a man that can so easily be with another woman.”
“It’s not me. It will never happen again.” The tears are flowing freely down Sophia’s face and it’s breaking my heart to see her this way. Even though I know it’s not real, I want to pull her into me and somehow make it up to her that I was the biggest asshole.
“It’s my fault,” Santi butts in. “I pushed her on him. You two are not exclusive, no? I did not see the harm. Now I see it is much more than that. I am sorry.”
“No.” Sophia turns to him. “You may have helped it along but Niccolo made the final decision. He could have said no at any time.”
“I can be very persuasive,” Santi tries to interject.
“NO!” she shouts.
“Mi dispiace…” I don’t even finish telling her how sorry I am before the tiny hand reaches up and smacks me across the face. The sting of that hit hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. Not the physical pain of it, but the emotion behind it.
Sophia turns and starts to run toward the entrance. I look at Charlie and my feet start to move without warning. Charlie grabs me. “No. Let her go. She’ll cool down and you two will work it out.” He says it loud enough that Santi and the rest of the caffé can hear him.
I glower at him, completely frustrated by this whole situation. “I’m a complete asshole.”
“You may be, son, but you’re only human.”
I want to believe that, but the old me, the one before this job would never, ever do such a thing. Human or not.
“Let’s sit down and drink our lattes. You’ll talk to Sophia later.”
Santi is already back in his chair. He’s pulled up a third one so that Charlie can join us. Gesturing for me to sit down, I do just that, plopping into my chair and grabbing up my lukewarm coffee.
“Too soon to talk about Gabriella?” Santi winks.
“Too soon,” I grumble.
“I think Sophia must be in love. Why else would a woman act so strangely?”
An audible grunt escapes me. “I should have told you no, Santi. I had no business going home with Gabriella.”
“You are but a man.” He makes me eat my words. “Women are my weakness too. Such beautiful creatures. So hard to choose just one. I don’t,” he snides.
“I am not that man.”
“Maybe you didn’t used to be. That woman of yours, the one at home, she did a number on you. Why would you want to put yourself through that again? I mean, Sophia is lovely, but is she following you to Florence?”
He does have a point, but that’s not the point. “No. We’re just dating.”
“Then there is no problem. Gabriella was just sex.”
I really want to look at it the way he does, but my mind can’t wrap around those words. Just sex. I look over at Santi, and a half smile emerges from me. I don’t want to talk about this anymore so I oblige him with a nod. Looking to Charlie, I see him smiling, agreeing with my decision to not beat the dead horse.
16
“You did good, kid.” Charlie pats me on the back as we walk through the front door of our apartment.
“I need a shower and to forget a lot of what happened in the last twelve hours.”
“You got some great intel from that party. You are definitely in Santi’s good graces.” His smile is devious as I turn away from him and head toward the bedrooms.
On the short walk home from the caffé, I told Charlie quite a bit about what I learned but there are still a few things that I’m keeping to myself for now. I don’t want to give him everything, just in case he, Moretti, and Sophia are working against me instead of with me. After I shower, I plan to go talk to Sophia, to update her with the same info I told Charlie. I also want to make sure she’s okay.
My shower is long, hot, and much needed. The mirror is fogged and the air humid when I open the door to go to my room and get dressed. I feel like a new man, in more ways than one. After throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I waste no time and go straight downstairs to Sophia’s.
I hear her singing an Italian pop song and stop to listen for a moment, enjoying the beautiful melody before interrupting it with whatever is about to happen. Finally, I feel a bit like a stalker, so I reach my fist up and pound on her metal door. The singing stops immediately and I hear her bare feet clop against the stone floor as she comes toward me.
“Chi é lá?”
“Niccolo,” I answer, my voice echoing through the open entryway.
I hear the chain clank against the door, the squeak of the knob as it turns and the creak of the door being opened to allow me to see the woman behind it.
“I’m sorry,” are the first words from my mouth.
Her eyes lower but her mouth turns up slightly. “Don’t be. I only worry about you, Niccolo. This job can change who you are.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Depends.” She looks back to me, her chocolate eyes almost pleading. “Always remember who you are.” She reaches her hand out, tapping my chest rather f
orcefully.
I shake my head in acknowledgment. She smiles. “May I come in and talk to you?”
“Yes. There are some things I would like to say to you as well.”
I want to get the incident with Gabriella out in the open. It’s the first thing that comes from my mouth but Sophia stops me the moment I try to apologize for it once more.
“Let’s move past it. There is no need to dwell on it.”
“But I…”
“No, Niccolo. This is a mission. There will be many more things you will encounter that you will be forced to do against what you initially believed you would act on. As long as you learn something from it, as long as it is beneficial to the cause, sometimes it just has to be done. You will not get anything from it if you live in the regret.”
This woman is wise. I have a feeling she’s seen a lot in her life, before and during her time in the agency, that has made her into the strong woman that I’ve grown quite fond of. “Thank you,” is what I finally say. “Your words make a lot of sense and I hope to be able to use them. I’ve got so much to learn.”
“Most of it will come with experience. A lot of it will come from mistakes.”
Sophia grabs ahold of my hand and leads me through the entry and into her spacious living area. We rarely ever come down here to hang out. The space is beautifully decorated with art both old and new adorning the walls. She has intricate pieces strewn about on shelves and on table tops—no space is left untouched.
Sophia’s couch is giant. The kind that the moment you sit, you sink right in. She shoves me into it before walking over and sitting on the chair across from me. She must have been enjoying a cup of coffee with her singing before I interrupted her because she picks up the mug from the glass coffee table and brings it to her mouth.
I watch her for a moment, completely distracted by her movements. Everything she does is calculated and smooth. Moving my eyes from her mouth and her cup, I finally speak. “I learned a little more about Paolo last night. Something I think will further our mission.” Her eyes widen but she barely moves the cup from her face. Since she seems to want me to go on, I do. “He’s hired a new guy. Someone who deals in arms. Someone who has worked with terrorist organizations.” Sophia looks unfazed. Does she already know about this?
