Page 17 of The One
I decide it’s the latter when she leans forward, eyes fixed on the window, wonder lighting up her face.
A smile tugs at my lips. There’s something unexpectedly captivating about watching her unfiltered reactions.
I keep observing as the island’s fading silhouette reflects in her eyes.
To experience simple things for the first time, to find joy and excitement in such mundane things as takeoffs. I’ve long forgotten what that’s like.
“What are you smiling at?” Rom asks, dropping the piece of paper in his hand on the table and following my line of sight to see what’s captured my attention.
“Nothing,” I lie, tearing my gaze away from the enchanting girl.
Rom cocks his head to the side as he studies Mariella. “Is this the fainting bride from earlier?”
“It is,” Tiero answers, briefly glancing her way before turning his focus back to the map in his hand. “She’s going to stay with Mateo in Rome for the foreseeable future.”
“Why?” Rom asks, frowning.
“To keep her safe from her father, and the Contis,” Tiero says.
“Wise move. Both looked like they wanted to throttle her,” Rom chuckles as he lets his gaze travel up and down her body. When he licks his lips, something stirs in my gut.
“Don’t even think about it,” I grit out, narrowing my eyes at him.
“What?” Romeo asks, feigning innocence. “I’m just looking. She’s mighty fine.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Tiero beats me to it, his gaze zeroing in on my right-hand man, his voice stern.
“She’s to remain untouched until she gets married, or her father will really kill her… and you. Now let’s focus on what’s actually important, shall we?” Tiero raises an eyebrow, and Rom picks up the paper again.
My brother turns to Santino. “What about Manzini? How many men could he mobilize?”
What are they talking about? Crap, I’ve missed their entire conversation.
“We’ve got eighty men ready, twenty or thirty more if necessary,” Santino replies.
“Eighty is plenty. We just need to decide from which side to attack. What do you think, Teo? East or west entrance?” My brother looks expectantly at me, and I scan the map where his finger is pointing.
Strategy has always been my forte, but today I’m distracted.
Sensing my mind isn’t with it, Rom summarizes the pros and cons.“
The west entrance has more surveillance but fewer guards because of it. East one is more heavily secured but has a more direct route to the warehouse.”
“Umm, warehouse, right.”
“Where we suspect they’re gathering tonight.”
“Right.”
“Sheesh Mateo, keep up.”
I ignore his jibe and rub my finger along my upper lip, considering our options.
“Let’s go through both. Have Uberto hack into their security system and disable the cameras and sensors.”
“He’s already on it. I just got a text saying he’s through the first security layer. By the time we land, he should be fully in. He’s got his entire team working on it,” Tiero replies.
“Good. We’ll go undetected through the west first to make sure Rizzo doesn’t escape and slip through our fingers, then we go through the east gate, making noise to lure them out.”
