Page 124 of Niccolo

I thought about telling him –

But something stopped me.

Hell,severalthings stopped me.

Knowing that Niccolo was coming to Hong Kong expressly to seeme…

And knowing that it would only happen if Iallowedit to…

That gave me a certain amount of power.

Power I would give up if I told Fausto.

After all, he might say ‘no.’

Plus the fact that I couldseeNiccolo again and continue ourpas de deuxfrom the wedding –

It made me want to jump on a plane that very instant.

Add in Fausto’s miserly attitude about paying me, plus the fact I didn’t trust him…

It all led me to keep my cards close to my vest.

“Nothing,” I said, and forced myself to glare at him – which wasn’t difficult. “It just occurred to me that you’re willing to pay Lau a million euros for taking a phone call, but you won’t give me a goddamn cent for all the work I’ve already put in.”

Fausto smiled. “Patience,consigliere. Once this is all over, you’ll be making ten times what Lau will.”

“Yeah, for a thousand times the work.”

“I’ll pay you the same as Lau when you’re the head of a criminal organization who can kill my enemies with the snap of your finger,” Fausto said. “Until then, go talk to the man who can.”

“Fine,” I said coolly.

Although I’m going to talk to someone else while I’m there, too.

54

We had to move fast. It would take five hours for Niccolo and Roberto to get to Nice, which would be the only chance I had to get a head start on them.

Luckily, Fausto had a private jet at his disposal and had already relocated it to a nearby airfield in case he needed to make a quick getaway.

Not only that, but he had millions in cash on hand.

Money you could easily use to pay me,I thought in annoyance.

By 5 PM, I was on the jet to Hong Kong with a briefcase full of euros.

I enjoyed the luxury of the flight. I’d never been on a private jet before, much less one I had all to myself. But I didn’t get to fully savor it since I needed to get a good night’s sleep. I took a sleeping pill at 9:00 and passed out shortly thereafter.

I groggily awoke when the pilot announced we were approaching Hong Kong.

It was 10:30 AM local time, but my body felt the time difference: it was still 4:30 in the morning back in Italy.

Once on the ground, I took the chauffeured town car Fausto had arranged and arrived at a skyscraper in the heart of Hong Kong half an hour later.

I informed the lobby guard in English that I had a meeting with Mr. Lau of the Hong Kong Gaming Syndicate. He directed me to a private elevator that carried me up to the 70thfloor.

I entered a lobby with a dazzling view of Hong Kong Harbor. There was a female receptionist out front, and I told her I needed to speak with Mr. Lau immediately.

---