Page 121 of Niccolo

I was positively gleeful over the news. I could just imagine Fausto ripping Aurelio several new assholes over his incompetence.

If you could actually rip new assholes into someone who was a giant, festering asshole to begin with.

I checked in with Lars. I was still irritated about him going over my head to Dario, and I let it show.

“Send foot soldiers to go scope out Fausto’s compound,” I ordered him.

“You know he won’t be there, right?”

“I do – but on the off chance he’s being as stupid asweare, maybe we can settle this once and for all. If no one’s there, I want you to send some of our men to talk to the families of Fausto’s foot soldiers. All of them worked for my father, so most of them have lived in Tuscany for decades. Focus on wives in particular, but also parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins – anybody living between here and Florence.”

Lars stared at me. “You’re not suggesting we – ”

“No, we don’t do that sort of thing,” I said sternly. “No threats, explicitorimplied. Tell our guys to play nice and find out whatever they can. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

And then I dropped the bombshell that Roberto and I were flying to Hong Kong.

Lars wasnothappy.

“What was that you said earlier?” he snapped. “Something about closing ranks and going on goose chases?”

“Well, ifyoucan do whatever the hell you want, why not me and Roberto?” I said with a fake smile.

Lars tried going over my head yet again to Dario.

Didn’t work this time.

HA!

I knew it was petty, but it restored my good mood as Roberto and I set out for our flight.

On the car drive to Nice, I pondered what I would do if I actually encountered Sofia in Macau.

I had vastly underestimated my foe thus far…

And she was closer than ever to destroying me.

But I wasn’t done yet.

I might have been hanging by my fingernails on the edge of a cliff…

But that only fired me up.

Get ready, Ms. Toscani.

You’ve had YOUR turn…

Now it’s MINE.

I just hoped I could charm her away from Fausto.

Because if I couldn’t…

My only alternative was too awful to consider.

53

Sofia

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