Page 218 of Niccolo

Either way, I was terrified –

Because I’d just placed my baby brother inside the monster’s den.

Valentino was a pain in the ass, that much was true –

But he was blood. When it came down to it, I loved him.

And to turn him over to a man like Vicari…

I just prayed I hadn’t made a horrible mistake.

I feared that in my eagerness to save the family…

I might have doomed Valentino.

But I couldn’t back out of the deal.

If I had, Vicari might have killed both of us on the spot.

I tried to comfort myself with the knowledge that it could all still work out –

That with Vicari as our ally, we could triumph over Fausto.

But as I left my baby brother looking shocked and abandoned, all I felt was an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Vicari’s driver was taking me back to the airport in Palermo when I got a call –

From a Rome area code.

“Hello?” I answered hopefully.

“Ciao, consigliere,”Sofia purred.

I grinned in spite of myself.

Not just because I was happy to hear from her – which I was –

But because I hoped that my plan was about to bear fruit.

“Ciao,bella.It’s good to hear from you.”

“Well, I have even better news, then: you can SEE me if you like. I’m in Sicily, and a little bird told me you are, too.”

“Really,” I said, feigning displeasure. “Is this the same little bird who told you about Hong Kong?”

“No, I know lots of little birds.”

I doubted that. I figured there was only one.

“Care to meet up?”she asked.

“I’d love to. Where should I meet you?”

“I have a room at the Grand Taormina. How soon can you be here?”

Taormina.

The steel trap slammed closed.

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