Yes
Chapter 22
Yes
Lorenzo Vitale had negotiated multimillion-dollar deals.
He had stared down rival bosses.
He had survived assassination attempts.
He had taken over an empire at twenty-six years old.
None of those experiences prepared him for waiting on Amara Queen to answer a simple question.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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The silence stretched.
Longer.
Longer.
And somehow longer.
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The betrayal.
The suspense betrayal.
Undefeated.
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Amara sat behind her desk staring at him.
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The man looked calm.
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He wasn't.
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Not remotely.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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For the first time since meeting him...
The mafia don looked nervous.
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Actually nervous.
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The realization was adorable.
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A potentially fatal opinion.
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But adorable.
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Amara folded her hands.
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Carefully.
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Professionally.
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The way surgeons prepared to deliver important news.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"You want to take me on a date."
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Lorenzo nodded.
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"Yes."
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Silence.
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"A real date."
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"Yes."
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Silence.
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"No business."
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"Yes."
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Another pause.
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"No mafia meetings."
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"Yes."
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Another.
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"No construction plans."
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"Yes."
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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The smile threatening her lips grew.
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Immediately.
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The traitor.
The complete traitor.
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Because Lorenzo was answering every question with the patience of a saint.
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A heavily tattooed mafia saint.
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Life was weird.
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Very weird.
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Finally...
Amara stood.
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Slowly.
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Dangerously.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo's eyes followed her.
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Of course they did.
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The betrayal.
The staring betrayal.
Undefeated.
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She walked around her desk.
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Then stopped directly in front of him.
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Close.
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Not too close.
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Just enough.
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The city stretched behind them.
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Glass windows.
Chicago skyline.
Afternoon sunlight.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo waited.
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Patiently.
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The man had apparently discovered patience.
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A concerning development.
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Finally...
Amara smiled.
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Warm.
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Soft.
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Beautiful.
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Dangerous.
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And said:
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"Okay."
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Silence.
Absolute silence.
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The universe stopped.
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Immediately.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo blinked.
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Once.
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Slowly.
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Because surely...
Surely he'd misheard.
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"What?"
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The smile widened.
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Immediately.
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The traitor.
The complete traitor.
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"I said okay."
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Silence.
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Lorenzo stared.
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Then stared harder.
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Because somehow...
Someway...
The answer had been so easy.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"You're saying yes."
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The surgeon laughed.
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Actually laughed.
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The sound filled the office.
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Warm.
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Bright.
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Dangerous.
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A recurring problem.
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"Most people understand how conversations work."
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The audacity.
The complete audacity.
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Lorenzo smiled.
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Slowly.
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Warmly.
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The kind of smile reserved only for her.
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A realization neither of them was ready to discuss.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Then Amara pointed.
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Immediately.
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A dangerous sign.
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Very dangerous.
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"However."
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Silence.
Immediate silence.
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The smile remained.
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Unfortunately.
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Lorenzo liked the word however significantly less.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"There are conditions."
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Of course there were.
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Naturally there were.
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The woman was a genius surgeon.
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She probably had terms and conditions for breathing.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo nodded.
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"Go on."
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Amara folded her arms.
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Professional.
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Dangerous.
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Beautiful.
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A problem.
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A very serious problem.
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"First."
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A pause.
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"You are not allowed to buy out an entire restaurant."
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Silence.
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The accusation was unfair.
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Technically.
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Mostly.
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Possibly.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo opened his mouth.
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Then closed it.
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Because unfortunately...
She had a point.
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The betrayal.
The reasonable-point betrayal.
Undefeated.
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"Fine."
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"Good."
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Amara nodded.
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Satisfied.
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Then:
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"Second."
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Lorenzo braced himself.
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Immediately.
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Reasonably.
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"No bodyguards following us around."
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Silence.
Absolute silence.
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The mafia don looked personally attacked.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"Absolutely not."
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The answer came immediately.
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Without hesitation.
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Without mercy.
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The audacity.
The complete audacity.
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Amara stared.
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Then stared harder.
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"You asked me out."
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"Yes."
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"You wanted a real date."
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"Yes."
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"Then stop bringing half your army."
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Silence.
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Lorenzo considered this.
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Briefly.
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Professionally.
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Then:
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"Three bodyguards."
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"No."
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"Two."
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"No."
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"One."
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"No."
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The negotiations continued for several minutes.
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Neither surrendered.
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Neither compromised.
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Neither showed mercy.
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The usual.
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Eventually...
They settled on one bodyguard.
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Outside.
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Far away.
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The betrayal.
The compromise betrayal.
Undefeated.
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Amara sighed.
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Immediately.
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The universal sound of accepting imperfection.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Then Lorenzo asked the obvious question.
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"When?"
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Silence.
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The answer came quickly.
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"Tomorrow."
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Immediate silence.
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Lorenzo blinked.
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"What?"
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The surgeon looked confused.
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Reasonably confused.
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"You asked me on a date."
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A pause.
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"I'm saying yes."
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Another.
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"Why would we wait?"
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Silence.
Absolute silence.
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The logic was flawless.
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Annoyingly flawless.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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For a moment...
Neither spoke.
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Just smiled.
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The beginning of something neither of them had planned.
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Something dangerous.
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Something exciting.
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Something inevitable.
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And somewhere deep inside the city...
Viktor Romano received a report confirming Lorenzo Vitale had finally fallen in love.
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The old mafia boss smiled.
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Slowly.
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Dangerously.
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Because if Lorenzo had a weakness...
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Viktor intended to use it.
End Chapter 22