The Mafia King's Obsession.

DIABLO

I take one last look at her, committing the image to memory. If she's still here when I come back tomorrow, we'll both be in deep trouble. Big trouble.

I drink her in, trying to fix every detail in my head, the tilt of her neck, the little way she cocks her head when she listens, that shy smile that hints at something more.

Desire hides behind it, barely contained. I could stand here for hours watching her, but I won't.

Maybe fate put her in my path to test me. She loves Rome, she's learning Italian, she likes bowling, her voice is like soft liquid silk that slips into my ears, her pink lips look made for kissing, her body is shaped so my hands would want to trace her curves.

Stop it. Just because she shares my tastes doesn't mean she wants to throw away her life and start anew in a foreign country for my sake.

She has a life here, people who care about her. I can't ask her to drop all of that for me. Besides, getting two sets of escape papers would be much harder than getting one.

I leave the bar and find Brian crouched low behind the wheel of the hire car. I can't park my own anywhere near here, it would be noticed straight away. I move around and climb into the passenger seat.

He pulls away. "How'd it go?" he asks.

"Boss is a real piece of work, Joe Harris," I say, keeping my voice even, "out of his depth, all nerves. Weak though, easy to crack. Snap a couple of fingers and he'll sing like a canary."

"Why do you think they picked this place?" Brian asks.

"Because it's a dive no one cares about," I answer.

"You're telling me, I'll need flea powder when we get back, the alley was full of rats."

"Any way into the courtyard from outside?" I ask.

"Knew you'd ask, I cut a gap in the razor wire, just big enough."

"Good."

"You sure you want to do this, boss? The Rossi Cartel don't mess around, when it comes to this sort of thing. They took the eyes out of the last guy who tried to steal from them."

"Above your pay grade, Brian."

"At least tell me why we're getting mixed up with the Rossi Cartel, they don't bother our family, we stay away. Why rock the boat over one drop? How much could it be worth?"

I think for a moment. I could keep him in the dark, but if this goes south, I'll need him sharp. The only way to make sure of that is to tell him part of the plan, not everything. Abel already made it clear, if anyone learns what's in the drop, the deal is off.

"The case holds something someone needs," I say, keeping my tone casual, "and since when were you scared of anything?"

"I just like keeping my hands attached to my arms," he replies.

"Do your job and nothing will go wrong."

"I hope it's worth it, Diablo, that's all I'm saying."

There's a lot I can't tell him, like how the case contains a tiny vial of nerve toxin, concentrated enough that one drop will kill in seconds. A single sniff and your face melts away. It's been strengthened to a concentration that could wipe out an entire conference hall full of people, if left unchecked. Which it will do, if I don't get hold of it.

Or how the Rossi Cartel are using Goody's Bar to hide the vial until the summit. Or that the man who intends to use it is the same one who killed my parents. That makes this personal, not business. Or that Abel has offered me a deal I can't refuse, a way out. I go where he cannot. I take the vial and get it to him before his lab notices it's missing.

Do that and he clears my record, he makes me vanish. I'll be able to live in the light instead of always moving in shadows, free to go home at last, after all these years. No one watching me, no one out to kill me. I'll be a new man in Rome, a nobody with no past, no family, no criminal file.

"Not going to be easy," Brian says, pulling me out of my thoughts, "the Rossi Cartel can be nasty when you cross them."

"Which is why we're doing this quiet, just you and me, no one else hears a word about the drop, got it?"

"Got it. You got a plan yet?"

"Tell me what you scoped out," I say.

He runs through the layout, the streets outside the bar, the razor wire around the courtyard and the gap he cut, the positions of cameras on nearby buildings. I half listen, half replaying moments from inside the bar, images of April burning behind my eyes. I hope she takes tomorrow night off. If things go wrong it could turn into a bloodbath, like he said. She could get killed in the crossfire.

Better she stays home and stays safe, that way I can get this done, grab the vial, hand it to Abel, and walk away. That's the plan. Get in, get out, be gone. Simple, if everything goes right.

I picture a new life, anonymous and clean. In Rome, a man who does not exist will appear, a nobody who can breathe in the daylight without looking over his shoulder. I let the thought linger for a heartbeat, the promise of it warming me.

"You getting distracted?" Brian waves his hand in front of my face.

"Since when have I ever been nervous?" I reply, forcing a laugh.

He snorts. "Just messing with you, boss. You're not yourself tonight. Something happen in there?"

I think of April's hand when I pressed mine into it to give her the hundred, the way she drew a sharp breath, her pupils widening. In that moment, I'm sure she'd have been wet between her legs, I tell myself. She needed the money, I heard them talking about late paychecks. If it wasn't for the job, I'd have taken Joe into his office, cracked his skull, maybe emptied his safe and handed her the lot. I know Joe wouldn't go to the police, who rats on a mob boss and lives to tell about it?

I can't risk acting on that now. Cracking his nose would be satisfying, but it would ruin the whole cover story that's so important. I need him unsettled because nerves make men make mistakes, mistakes I can use.

The drop is tomorrow night, the plan set. I make sure Joe sees me watching, make sure he knows my face. Once the Rossi Cartel leave, I'll get him to hand over the suitcase, then I go. It's that simple.

As long as April isn't there, nothing should go wrong. If she is, I'll lose focus and she's likely to get hurt.

All I can do is hope she does as I asked and takes the night off. The rest I leave to fate.