Chapter 19 #2
The music’s tempo changed again, getting quicker, and with it, so did his moves.
He took his revenge with a quick kick to my ankle, causing me to lift my foot off his, and before I could regain my balance, he jumped and spun me around, sending me into a whirlwind.
My hair flared out, my dress flared out, and the sudden motion left me reeling and everything in my sight blurred.
I gasped for breath and had almost regained it when my hair came round and slapped me in the face before falling back down again.
Some strands had landed in my mouth, and I spat them out, glaring at Cam.
I was forced to pull the last of the strands out of my mouth, and as he watched me with a smile, I was very aware that he’d won this round. He was in control once more.
‘Asshole,’ I said, pushing my hair off my shoulders. He smiled, that slow, insufferably pleased smile that told me he was exactly where he wanted to be. And then he swung us both again.
‘This dance is a bit Mr & Mrs Smith of us, don’t you think?’ he asked.
‘What does that even mean?’
‘Mr & Mrs Smith. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie. The movie!’ He looked at me as if I should know what the hell he was talking about.
‘I don’t have time for movies. Unlike you, who seems to lounge around in bad Bermuda shorts drinking beers on a boat, I have actual work to do.’
‘Now you’re just being mean. You know I also have work to do.’
I scoffed out loud and was about to reply when the words froze on my lips.
His fingers had moved slowly along the curve of my waist until they seemed to find my most sensitive spot.
He lingered there, his touch soft, and slow and very deliberate, and then traced a finger ever so gently up the side of my ribcage.
I tried not to show him how suddenly and very inconveniently turned on I was as his finger moved a little higher, almost in line with my breast, but when my eyes caught the subtle movement of his lips parting, I could see he felt the same way.
‘Aren’t we just the happy couple,’ he said, his mouth dangerously close to my ear now, so close I could feel the breath on my neck. I wanted to pull away, but didn’t. And I didn’t like that. I was slipping and I needed to stop myself.
I yanked my head away, putting an end to the moment. ‘So who is that man? I know you must be dying to tell me.’
‘That man,’ Cam replied, ‘the one you’ve been chatting birds with, is Enzo “the Blade” Vitale. I’m pretty sure you’re smart enough to see where I’m going with this.’
I snatched a quick look over Cam’s shoulder. Vitale was sipping a glass of red wine, but his eyes were locked on Victor. There was a focus and intensity in them that I recognised immediately. It was the same intensity I had when I was watching someone.
‘Oh my God.’ I couldn’t believe I’d missed that. ‘Shit!’
‘Don’t worry, he hasn’t made you, although you were being pretty damn obvious.’
‘How do you know he hasn’t made me?’ I asked, feeling an uncharacteristic surge of panic. ‘He’s been talking to me daily. Asking me questions.’
‘Believe it or not, I actually think he’s genuinely charmed by you. God only knows why.’
‘How do you know?’ I asked as Cam spun us around again.
‘He’s the Mafia’s favourite assassin. You’d be at the bottom of that ocean already if he knew who you were and what you were up to.’ Cam laughed. ‘Although I do think he was lying about being a birdwatcher, which is a pity for you, given that you’re such an enthusiast.’
‘Why is there a hit man watching Victor?’
‘Victor’s been laundering money for the Mob, using fine art, diamonds and antique auctions as his cover. Turns out he’s been double-dipping, though – selling diamonds to other organised crime rings and pocketing a little extra on top of what he’s already being paid by the Mob.’
‘So they’ve come to kill him?’
‘I assume so. We also got some intelligence that Victor might be here to offload diamonds that technically should belong to our Sicilian friends.’
‘To who?’
‘Some Angolans.’
‘So he’s screwing the Mob?’
‘I know, not very smart.’
‘And why are you here?’ I asked.
‘We’ve been investigating him for a while now, mainly for defrauding his company and using it as a front for laundering money. We didn’t know who he was laundering for at first, but we intercepted some interesting communications and they hinted at some kind of a deal that he’d set up here.’
‘Who’s we?’ I asked.
‘Oh, did I forget to mention that I’m no longer with the police force? I’m in the NFID now.’
‘National Financial Intelligence Division?’ I couldn’t hide the shock in my voice, or the anger. ‘For how long?’
‘About five and a half years.’
‘Wait . . . so that means you didn’t even . . .’ Rage bubbled up inside me, and I tried to swallow it down. ‘So after everything you did to me, you didn’t even bother staying on and becoming a criminal detective?’ My voice shook with anger and Cam quickly averted his gaze.
‘You fucker!’ I hissed at him, trying to move my face in front of his so I could look him directly in the eye. ‘So, after all that, you’re not catching killers like you dreamed of – we dreamed of – you’re working fraud and economic crime?’
‘We do a lot more than that, and you know it,’ he said defensively.
Fuelled by a very sudden and intense burst of adrenaline, I tried to wrench myself free. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. Not now, not ever. But I pulled so hard that the momentum sent me flying, and before I could catch myself, I was falling face-first towards the ground.