Page 21 of Bulletproof Baby

Saul laughs, pointing to a doorway just over his shoulder. "Go ahead honey. Just so you know, there's no windows or back doors to get out of here."

After giving Saul my best smile, I walk away from the table, down a long corridor and into a bathroom. Thankfully, it's an individual room without stalls so I can stare at myself wasting one of my best dresses on this animal. It takes every ounce of energy I can muster not to break down.

When I open the door, the last person I expect to see is standing there.

"Valentino," I say his name barely above a whisper as fear washes over me. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Neither are you, Lia."

10

VALENTINO

What the fuck is Lia doing here with Saul, of all people?

My mind reels. Rejection. Jealousy. Is she playing with my mind? Does she understand what she's doing to me? Is this all a game?

"You have to leave," she whispers, with genuine fear in her autumn brown eyes. She's trying to look over my shoulder, but I step forward, forcing her back into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.

"I spoke to Cecilia," I tell her.

Lia's eyes water as she brings a hand up to her face to stop the dam from breaking. I don't want to make her cry. Fuck.

"So did we, and now this is what came of it," she says, angrily gesturing to the door. The harshness of her whisper tells me enough. Every word spills off her lips in a hurried tone. "You're going to get me killed."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

She shakes her head. "You don't get it. He wants this. He wants me to spy on you. He wants us to date to get information about you, and now because we spoke to Cecilia…whoever she spoke to at the district attorney's office, someone in that office told Caputo that my parents spoke about their arrangement."

Lia's body shakes, and I pull her into my arms. "I'm sorry. I should have been clearer with Cecilia about your situation."

Cecilia knows better, but I should have prepared Lia for what could happen.

"I can't do that to you. I won't. I've been trying to tell Saul that you'd kill me if you found out. Don't let him do this to me, Val."

My heart nearly shatters. I want to hold Lia, protect her. More importantly, I want to kill Saul. Hooking a finger under her chin to lift her gaze toward mine, I assure her. "You are going to do exactly what Saul asks you. I'm going to give you information that will keep you and your family safe. Okay?"

"What if?—"

I stop her questions before she can speak. "Go back to that table. I'm coming for you, Lia."

I open the door to the bathroom, letting her walk out after she gives herself a quick once over in the mirror. She gives me a quick glance over her shoulder before disappearing back into the dining area.

I'm ready to incite a war by stabbing Saul and letting him bleed out onto the floor. However, the sight of Dimitri Vassa waltzing toward me with half a grin on his face keeps my inclinations for violence at bay. The air around him is always one of nonchalance.

"Do not do what you're about to do, Don Barrone," Dimitri says in a very deliberately condescending tone.

"I'm not going to make a mess," I tell him.

His tone and expression remind me of the Cheshire Cat. "That's not what I said. I know how efficient you are at cleaning up messes, CEO of Barten Security. Your well-put-together demeanor does not hide who you truly are, Valentino. Are you forgetting who I am and what I know about your transition into corporate America?"

"Are you threatening me, Dimitri?" I ask him.

"No, absolutely not. One killer to another, please respect the safe space I've curated here. Do not kill that man who's wining and dining the woman you purchased at an auction this past weekend." Dimitri pauses before rolling his eyes. "Well, don't kill him here."

"I'd never do anything like that. Too many witnesses," I tell him. However, we both know that, witnesses or not, if I want to end Saul's life here and now, there's little that anyone can do to stop me. The one thing keeping me from committing a homicide New York City would thank me for is the fact that Lia's here. I don't want her to see that side of me unless it's necessary.

Dimitri and I walk out of the corridor leading toward the restrooms, parting ways as I move through Kings toward the bar where Armande is standing. He stares around the place, seemingly uncomfortable as he drinks an amber colored liquid.