Chapter 3 Constantine
Constantine
I’m back in Rome. I texted Aurelia when I returned to the city, just so she knew I was there if she needed me for anything.
With my casual liaisons and my flings, I barely gave them the time of day because I didn’t give anyone more than my body.
But I gave Aurelia all of me, laid my cards on the table, checked in with her, never let her wonder where I was or if I was thinking of her.
How was your trip?
Good. I’m optimistic.
She didn’t ask for the details.
How’d you sleep?
Took a second to get used to Medusa, but other than that, slept like a rock.
Forgot to tell you she snores.
Yeah, I figured that out pretty quick. And she kept stretching her paws toward me and pushing me farther across the bed like I was in her way. By the time I woke up, I was barely on the edge.
Yep, that’s my girl.
Imagine when it’s the three of us.
I smirked when I read that message. You aren’t going to kick her out?
Isn’t it her bed?
Now I really smiled, because I loved that answer. My other guests wanted Medusa on the couch or in the other room. They petted her and showed her affection but were mostly disinterested in her. But Aurelia seemed to genuinely care for her. Damn right, it’s her bed.
I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
I loved the attitude. I’d wanted we since the day I met her. Wanted us.
Will I see you tonight?
Ooh, she was starting to get a little needy. I liked it. I’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of the next couple days. I’ll see what I can do.
Alright, talk to you later.
She was needy at the right time and patient at the right time. Perfect combination. Bye, sweetheart.
The second I walked into his office, President Barsetti went for my throat.
“What the fuck, Con?” He jumped up from his chair behind the desk.
I already knew what this was about. “Look—”
“Don’t look me.” He came around the desk in his tailored suit, lean and toned but with broad shoulders that filled out the jacket well, like he worked out instead of sitting on his ass all day, signing papers. “You made a scene down the street from the Pantheon.”
“Not the first time blood has run down the streets of Rome.”
“You think this is funny?”
“No, not funny.” I helped myself to one of the armchairs. “But definitely satisfying.”
He swung his arm as he turned, like he needed to punch the air instead of me. “You set people on fire.”
“Assholes. I set assholes on fire.”
“Machine guns were blazing. The military almost moved in, but I told General Farina to stand down because I knew it was you.”
“If he’d gotten there, he would have done the same thing—trust me.”
He stopped in front of me, arms crossed over his chest, eyes livid. “You’re insane if you believe that.”
“These are the netters from the black market. They catch the prey and neutralize them before they deliver their bodies. They were about to take another innocent woman, and I stopped it. You’re fucking welcome.”
“You’ve saved lots of people without making a scene. So why was this fucking chaos?”
Because it was personal—damn personal.
He continued to stare at me as he waited for an answer.
I didn’t want to lie. Honesty was like marrow in my bones, the foundation of who I was. “Because . . . they picked the wrong girl. My girl.”
He released a heavy sigh before he dragged his fingers down his face. “Jesus Christ—”
“She’s okay, thanks for asking.”
“You caused a panic throughout the entire city, Con.”
“I protected this city.”
“So that means you finally caught Vladimir?” He leaned up against his desk and crossed his ankles.
Goddammit.
Judging by his pissed-off expression, I could tell he already knew the answer.
“I’m close.”
“You’re close?”
“I met with Luca Fornier—”
“Who the fuck is Luca?”
“The new First French Emperor of the Fifth Republic. Says he knows a guy that used to know the guy, like fifteen years ago. He’ll find him and hand him over to me. We’ll put a stop to this for good.”
President Barsetti wasn’t the least bit reassured by that. He continued to stare me down like I was a terrorist against my own country. “How long will it take?”
“He said a week or two. Crow, come on, you know me. You know I’ll take care of this. It’s taken a little longer than I’d like, but you know I always do my job.”
He dragged his hand down his face and over the stubble of his jawline as he looked out the window to the left.
He ignored me for several seconds, lost in thought, and then he came back to the conversation.
“We did our investigation into Antoine’s arms business.
One lead led to another, and we’ve figured out the arms are coming from Florence. ”
A slab of bricks fell right on top of my chest and cracked my sternum.
“And you know what that means . . .”
The Skull King.
“Nothing happens in Florence that he doesn’t know about,” President Barsetti said. “So, he’s either a part of it or doesn’t give a shit that it’s happening.”
I knew where this was going. “No.”
“Con, it’s your job.”
“It’s my job? Last time I checked, you were the president of Italy.”
“But it falls under your jurisdiction. And we both know he won’t say a word to me.”
I shook my head, my throat full of flames I wanted to unleash.
“I get it’s shitty—”
I released a loud, painful laugh. “Shitty . . . that’s putting it mildly.”
“We had an agreement.” Lorenzo launched out of the chair and almost flew across the table at Marco. “But you fucking pissed on that because you thought I wouldn’t find out.” Then he pulled out a knife, and all hell broke loose as he climbed over the table toward Marco.
“Gentlemen,” I said from my seat at the head of the table.
Lorenzo swung the knife at Marco and backed him up into the wall. “Thought you could take a cut of my business and I wouldn’t find out, you fucking weasel!” He cut down Marco’s arm, and he let out a muffled scream. Blood dripped and splashed on the wall.
I nodded to one of my men. “Break up the schoolgirls.”
Lorenzo was pulled away and forced back into his seat. The knife was yanked out of his hand.
Marco squeezed the long cut on his arm to stop the bleeding.
I nodded to one of my other guys, who put a bottle of scotch on the table along with a roll of gauze.
“The jurisdictions throughout the city are distinct. Marco, don’t act like you don’t know exactly what they are.
” I didn’t just police the crime, but I also handled the disputes between the different gangs and disciplines.
At the end of the day, they were all criminals, so of course they continued to try to undercut one another.
And it was my job to keep everything fair.
“You’ll pay Lorenzo twenty percent of your profits for the last thirty days—”
“Fucking bullshit,” Marco said as he splashed the scotch on his arm.
“Excuse me?” I cocked my head.
He kept his eyes down and started to wrap the gauze.
“Yes, did you say something?” Lorenzo pressed.
I turned to Lorenzo and gave him my signature I’ll fucking kill you stare.
Lorenzo immediately looked away.
Marco secured the gauze around the cut. “Lorenzo has been cutting his product with fentanyl, making his prices so cheap no one can compete.”
“Is that true?” I turned back to Lorenzo.
“Of course it’s not true,” he said, already red in the face.
I continued to stare him down.
“It’s not,” he repeated.
“You do realize all I have to do is try your product, right?” I was a great judge of character, and I could see right through the sweat on his forehead.
My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, so I pulled it out and glanced at the screen, expecting it to be someone I could call back later.
But it was Aurelia. “I have to take this. Lorenzo, take this time to think about how you want to handle this—because we both know how much I fucking hate liars.” I left the room, heading down the hallway as I put the phone to my ear. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey . . .”
“Everything all right?”
“Yeah. Are you busy right now?”
I glanced back down the hallway and saw Lorenzo sitting in his chair and sweating like a pig, knowing he was a dead man. “No.” I continued farther down the hallway. “How was your day?”
“Had a couple of shoots. Been working on edits all day.”
“You spend more time behind the lens than in front of it.”
“Yeah,” she said with a little chuckle. “Seems that way sometimes. How are you?”
I’d been bombarded with one thing after another at work. Bullshit on top of bullshit. I didn’t have as much time for her as I had before. But I knew I was invested in this relationship, so I had to make the time. “A lot of stuff has been happening with work. Hasn’t been fun.”
She didn’t ask for details. She never asked. “Yeah, I figured. Well, I’ll let you go. I—I just miss you . . .” Her voice faltered at the end, like she was embarrassed by what she said before she even finished saying it.
I was not gonna lie. I loved seeing this vulnerability from her. Dropping her for a week had been the hard lesson she needed to learn. “I miss you too, sweetheart. Pack a bag and stay with me a couple days.”
“A couple days?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be in and out, taking care of business, but at least we’ll see each other when I’m home.”
There was a pause, and this was where she would distance herself and say she didn’t want to bother me or burden me or some other bullshit. But instead, she said, “Okay. I miss Medusa too, so . . .”
Just like that, it wasn’t complicated anymore. So fucking simple. So fucking easy. She was my woman, and I was her man. “I’ll have my guys pick you up in an hour.”