Page 44 of Six
That surprised a laugh out of her, and she was smiling when the guard approached them.
“You’re on private property,” he said, full of swagger. He even had his hand resting on the gun at his hip.
Violetta laughed again. “I’m Violetta Salvitto and I met Julia and Julian at Cannes last year. As you can imagine, I’m well acquainted with their products as so many of the actresses and models my family’s business works with use them. Anyway, we hit it off and they said I should stop by next time I was in New Hampshire.”
The guard eyed her, and Gavin wasn’t surprised he didn’t know the Salvitto name. They were royalty when it came to media and entertainment, but like so many in that business, the spotlight always fell on the more public faces.
“This is my boyfriend, Gavin,” she said, waving to him. Gavin smiled and waved. “I tried calling Julian this morning,” she continued, “but he wasn’t answering his phone. We’re heading up to Quebec tonight, so I thought I’d try my luck and pop by.”
Something about what she’d said must have resonated, because the man dropped his hand and pulled out a phone. “Let me check to see if Mr. Newcross is available. Mrs. Newcross—”
“Is in Paris, I know,” Violetta said. “I’d heard she needed to make the unexpected trip.” The fact that she already seemed to know his employers well enough to know their schedules relaxed him enough to bring a smile to his face. He nodded and walked a few steps away, turning his back to them.
“Did you really meet them at Cannes?” Gavin asked quietly.
She shook her head. “No, I hate going to those things. Some are okay, but they aren’t my thing. Chances are, they would have met my mother or father, though. And there’s no way someone from Shanti Joy—a company that makes millions from the entertainment industry—is going to say no to meeting a Salvitto. The guard might not recognize my name, but Julian sure as shit will.”
Gavin’s lips twitched. “You sound so very American at times, you know, love.”
She smiled back. “Americans have the best idioms. A few years after I moved here, I tried to go a week just speaking with idioms, colloquialisms, and sayings. I got through a day and a half and then I kept cracking myself up so had to stop, since my professors didn’t find it nearly as amusing as I did.”
“Mr. Newcross said to head on up,” the guard said, then he pointed to a pullout on the driveway. “You can park there.”
Violetta flashed the man a smile and he blinked. Then he smiled back before returning to the door through which he’d come.
“Ready?” Violetta asked as she pulled into the indicated spot.
“As I’ll ever be,” Gavin replied. And a not-so-little part of him was truly looking forward to seeing Violetta Salvitto—billionaire, federal prosecutor, Italian spy—in action.
Chapter Nineteen
“Julian!”Six exclaimed when the man himself opened the door. It was near impossible to not punch him in the face for everything that he’d done. But she kept a firm image of Abyasa, Candra, and Shinta in her mind as she leaned forward and brushed her cheek against the disgusting lump of human flesh. She was here for the women and all the others that he and his friends and colleagues had abused. She was here for Jeremy.
“Lovely to see you again,” she said, pushing into the house with Gavin on her heels. “I tried to call earlier, but you weren’t answering your phone and I’msosorry to miss Julia but understand when business calls. How have you been?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she continued through the foyer to a sitting room she’d spotted off to the right. “I heard you were getting ready to release something in time for the fall fashion week in Milan? Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about it.”
The man followed her and Gavin into the sitting room. Once they were all seated, she looked at Julian Newcross, expectantly.
He had a few days’ worth of beard growth, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was sticking up at all angles. And if she wasn’t mistaken, there was a stain on his shirt and one on his shorts.
He blinked at her, then gave a little shake of his head. “I’m sorry, would you both like something to drink?” he offered.
Six smiled. “No, thank you. We won’t trouble you too much seeing as we dropped in without notice. I was wondering if Victor is around?” she asked.
Julian started and may have turned a little green. He gave a quick shake of his head. “No, he’s not. How do you know Victor?”
She gave an airy wave. “Oh, you know. From here and there. I never got his number when we last met and I was hoping to meet up with him.”
“Uh, why?” Julian asked, then seemed to think better of his comment and straightened in his chair in an effort to pull himself together. “I mean, I’m sure he’ll be disappointed. I think he may be on a job for his father. Maybe somewhere in the Caribbean.”
She made a face. “That’s too bad. I wanted to ask both of you about Jeremy Wheaton and the activities taking place in Indonesia.”
Julian blinked again, then all color drained from his face. He opened his mouth to say something but didn’t get very far. No, instead, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fainted, slumping onto the couch, then sliding forward onto the ground.
Both she and Gavin watched.
“Well, once again, that was not what I was expecting,” Gavin said as they remained in their seats. Six glanced at the coffee table and wished Julian had hit his head on it on the way down. Or maybe she could arrange that for him and blame it on his fall when he came to.
“Don’t do it, Violetta,” Gavin said from beside her, wrapping his hand around hers to anchor her to her spot. How he knew what she’d been thinking she couldn’t guess. Then again, he might have been thinking the same thing.
