Page 4 of The Broker
I seethe in silence as we drive back to where I parked my Ferrari. “Will those men live?” Valentina asks as she drives.
“Probably,” I say tersely. “Pity.”
She gives me a sidelong glance, taking in the rage in my eyes and my tightly clenched fists. “I’m not fragile, you know.”
She’s looking for a fight, and I’m in no condition to give her one. I’m too on edge. I take a deep breath and make myself calm down. “You’ve never shot anyone. You’ve neverkilledanyone.”
“That’s your problem? Give me a gun, then.”
I count to ten in my head. “Guns require training, Valentina. And it needs a certain ruthlessness to hold a weapon up and shoot a man between the eyes. That’s not who you are.”
“You’re saying I’m weak.”
I remember the first time I saw Valentina ten years ago. My brother Roberto was using her as a punching bag, hitting her hard enough that she ended up in the hospital. She was lying on the bed, her face and body covered with bruises, two broken ribs, and her arm in a cast, waiting stoically to find out if she’d lost her baby. Valentina Linari is the strongest person I know. “You’re not weak. You’re human.”
“And what are you?”
“I’m a killer,” I say bluntly. “The difference between you and me, Valentina, is that you’ll wait until somebody threatens you to open fire. And I will shoot first.”
Thankfully, Verratti’s goons didn’t see either of us in the darkness. If they’d caught sight of my face, they would have definitely recognized me, and it would have started a war. And if they managed to identify Valentina, figure out who she is. . .
It didn’t happen,I remind myself. Crisis averted. Valentina is safe. I take another calming breath and change the topic for good measure. “Does Angelica like her new school?”
At the mention of her daughter, Valentina’s face softens. “Yes,” she says. “She’s already made a friend.”
“Mabel.”
“If you already knew that, why did you ask me?”
“Angelica knows I worry about her. She tells me what I want to hear.As does her mother.” My face hardens as I remember how close to danger we were today. “I never would’ve okayed this excursion, and you know it. You took advantage of the fact that I was away from Venice to convince Leo to go along with this ridiculous scheme.”
“I did no such thing,” she snaps. “We’re getting nowhere with Verratti. We needed the information on that computer, so I did what was necessary to get it.”
“You didn’t need to go in yourself,” I retort. “Any one of the guys could have retrieved that computer for you.”
“Really? And could any of the guys have cracked the cellar door code?” She gives me a smug glance. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
“Don’t tell me you can’t train someone to use your precious hacker gadget, Valentina, because I know that’s not true.” Stubborn woman. She drives me crazy. “I didn’t think I had to explicitly forbid you from doing stupid things, but here we are. No more field missions. No more farmhouse visits in hostile territory. No more idiotic, unnecessary risks. Do I make myself clear?”
Her smug look vanishes. “Why not?” she demands. “Why can’t I go into the field?”
“You have a child.”
“So?” She gives me a truly murderous glare. “That’s sexist. I don’t see you worry about the men with families under your command.”
I open my mouth to respond and think better of it. For fuck’s sake. I’m not being sexist; I’m being protective. Ten years ago, my brother beat Valentina so hard she almost died. It wasn’t the first time he hit her, either. He’d been beating her for a year and a half.
Nobody in Venice intervened. Nobody stepped up to defend her.
I didn’t know he was abusing her,but I should have.I knewRoberto was a bully, quick to anger. When we were children, I was his favorite target. And there were whispers.Roberto is out of control. He’s drinking too much, flying into rages at the slightest provocation. He’s a favorite of the padrino, and it’s gone to his head. His poor girlfriend. . .
I should have paid attention to the rumors, but I didn’t. My brother wasn’t my problem, and I was in Rome, busy with my own career. There was a power vacuum in the capital, and I was determined to take advantage. I worked for various organizations, increasing my skills and making my reputation.
And the entire time I was ruthlessly maneuvering for power, Roberto was beating Valentina.
When I saw her in that hospital bed, bruised and battered, I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. Sure, I didn’t hit her myself, but I put my career ahead of her safety. I wasculpable.
That day, I made a promise. I could never atone for my past failures. But I could make sure it never happened again.