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“And?”
“Well, she definitely hates me,” I say lightly, forcing myself to laugh. “Maybe even more now that I’ve accused her of attacking our shit.”
“That was pretty dumb,” he grumbles. “Listen, if you need any help with any of this…”
“I know, thanks.” I sigh, clicking off the call. I decide to check in at the office downtown and see if anyone has any more information.
Dragging Rafael into this when Lux is so against the mafia is the last thing I want to do.
A few of the younger cousins are hanging around the office, gossiping about the warehouse attack. I thoroughly interrogate them, but no one has any news.
The Romano offices take up an entire floor of an enormous skyscraper downtown. I never understood why they even bother with this place, but Rafael assures me it helps the family maintain a legitimate front.
I stroll into the giant corner office with my name on the door and head straight to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The weak February sunshine streams in, trying its best to brighten the place up, but my mood is in the dumps.
Seeing Valentina again has been a fantasy of mine for years. And now that it’s happened, I can’t get her off my mind.
I smile, remembering the day I first met her. I’d just finished my computer science degree, but I was already deep into the world of hacking and working with criminals.
They paid better, and the work was more entertaining, so when Lev Rossi reached out, I agreed to an interview.
He invited me to their Los Angeles compound one sunny afternoon in June. When I pulled up at the front door, it swung open to reveal the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Deep blue eyes, long dark waves falling over her shoulders, and that look in her eyes—delicate and hard at the same time. I fell in love with Valentina right then and there.
Her father hired me, of course, but one of his clauses was to avoid “developing personal relationships with his family.” We didn’t care, though. I chuckle, remembering how we used to sneak around.
My reverie is broken by my assistant bustling into the room. I shake my head to clear it of these stupid nostalgic thoughts and sit down at my desk.
We spend the next hour in a conference call with Rafael, covering updates on the legal side of the business. When my assistant finally leaves, I immediately open my laptop and search for Valentina’s name.
I fall into a black hole of research, learning everything the Rossis have been up to since Lev threatened me and forced me to keep away from her. And I’ve kept my distance, no matter how tempting it was to try to stay updated on her life.
I wanted to reach out to her when I was ready—strong enough that her father could do nothing about it. I also wanted to keep hope alive, to pretend she hadn’t moved on with her life while I was away.
But now she’s here, and there’s no reason to hold back. Within hours, I’ve hacked into the Rossis’ servers and pored over every email I could get my hands on.
Her father is indeed faking his own death. Interesting.
I read a few more, cringing at how the family seems to talk down to Valentina and cheering when I see her secure a great business deal. When I finally snap out of my research wormhole, my eyes are burning. Since the emails are more business-related than anything, her personal life is still a mystery to me.
Is she married? Single? Does she have kids? Does she still practice ballet and read poetry books, and sing really badly when she’s happy?
My fingers reach for my phone involuntarily, and before I know it, I’m dialing her number and pressing call.
One ring and I still don’t realize what I’m doing. Two rings and I panic. Three rings and?—
“Hello?”
I freeze at the sound of her voice. She sounds husky, like she’s been crying. The urge to destroy whoever or whatever made her sad claws at me.
“Lenny?” I whisper, not knowing what else to say. The line is silent for a second, but I can hear feet shuffling and a door closing softly.
“Why are you calling?” she whispers back. “How’d you get this number?”
“Oh, you know, the genius hacking thing…” I trail off lamely.
“Right.” Her voice is hard now. “So, you’ve probably hacked the, I don’t know, mainframe or something, and are now watching me through the security cameras, right?”