Page 185 of Niccolo

“Dario and I are going to talk. You’re going to stand guard down on the third floor and make sure no one – and I meanno one– eavesdrops.”

Adriano frowned unhappily –

But Dario nodded at him, and he left without another word.

Dario turned to me. “Why the theatrics?”

“Because I’ve confirmed we either have a mole or a bug, and I doubt Fausto would have had the foresight to put a listening device up here.”

Dario stared. “You’re certain?”

“One hundred percent.”

“How do you know?”

“Because when I talked to hisconsiglierein Macau – ”

“She was actually there?” Dario asked in amazement.

“She was – but only because she knew Roberto and I were flying to Hong Kong.”

“What?!”

“Yeah. So we either have a bug or a mole.”

Dario frowned. “But – if she knew you were going to Hong Kong,why did she meet you in Macau?”

“She deduced that I thought she would be at the poker tournament.”

Dario looked even more confused.

I flapped a dismissive hand. “She’s smart. That’s all you need to know. The point is, she knew I was coming… which would’ve been impossible unless she and Fausto got some sort of intel.”

Dario looked absolutely furious.

I was right there with him. The idea of a traitor in our midst was beyond enraging.

“Do you know who it is?” he asked darkly.

“No. And it might not be a person. Like I said, Fausto could have bugged the place before he left. He’s obviously been planning this all along.”

“How do we find out for sure?”

“Have Lars sweep for bugs.”

“Why not our foot soldiers?”

“Because it could be both a buganda mole, and we don’t know who we can trust. The wrong man might ‘accidentally’ overlook something.”

Dario cursed under his breath. “If itisone of our men, how do we find out?”

“I’m working on it. But there are some other things you should know.”

I told him my suspicions that Sofia had talked to Lau and convinced him to sabotage Roberto.

“Then we need to pull him outnow,”Dario said in alarm.

“Not yet.”

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