章 10: A ruse (1)

WILL

If eyes could shoot daggers, I would be pretty damn holey right now. Catalina is looking at me like she would enjoy stabbing me with her fork. After a while of staring daggers, she decides that's a battle she won't win and takes her anger out on the steak instead. Smart woman.

I cut a piece of my steak and chew on it slowly, savoring the taste. I don't know what is sweeter; the delicious taste of one of Luna's special recipe or the blaze or Catalina's anger? I'm still watching her when she raises her fork and stabs it into her steak while looking right into my eyes. Is that supposed to be a threat?

"Do you not like the food?" Mamma asks her in displeasure. The two women are not great fans of each other.

"I love it." Catalina's face eases into a smile I have come to know as fake, and she punctuates her words by slicing off a piece of her steak and chewing it. She swallows and smiles again. "Savory and soft. The way my knife cuts through it makes me wonder if…" she glances at me briefly and smiles back at Mamma. "Never mind."

I know what she was thinking about a second ago. She is wondering if it would be that easy to stab me. If that's what she thinks, she is wrong. Not that I will give her the chance to test out that theory.

Mamma rolls her eyes and focuses on her food, but not without a sigh that lets me know just how much she dislikes this idea. The guys are too busy wolfing down their food to bother about this world-war that is about to erupt.

On the other hand, Catalina is not done with me. She is still looking into my eyes when she finally remarks on my comment. "How nice of you to remember that I am not part of this syndicate—or whatever the hell this is." She raises a brow, her lips parting into a smile. "If only your smart brain could also remind you that I don't want to be here."

I don't have the chance to respond to that. Esteban beats me to it. "Zitto per favore. How long are you going to say the same thing? Can't you come up with something original to whine about?" He mimics her voice by squeezing his into a whimper." Oh I don't want to be here, I want to go home…" He glares at her. "You would have escaped if you wanted to."

It isn't often that Esteban flips his switch, so Nico and Francesco are too busy laughing to see what I notice as I watch Catalina's expression dampen.

She was geared up to snap back at Esteban until he said she would have escaped if she wanted to. It is exactly what I've been thinking and when I see her eyes widen for that fraction of a second before she takes a shallow breathe and tries to maintain her demeanor, it raises the alarm bells I've been trying to ignore.

I knew she was up to something. To be more accurate, I knew there was something odd about that letter she wrote to her brother.

So while she is busy shovelling food into her mouth and trying to compose herself and come up with a retort, I cast Francesco the kind of look that lets him know I want to speak to him.

As soon as we finish dinner, catalina springs up from her seat like her butt is on fire and disappears out of the dining room. Mamma doesn't stay long before whispering a quick 'goodnight' and doing the same.

"Your trainee left before I told her the two of you will have a session tomorrow," I tell Esteban.

He does not look pleased about it. But when he glances at Nico, he probably remembers how reckless my brother has been because he grumbles through gritted teeth. "Fine. I need her in the basement at 6 on the nose. If she is one minute late…"

"I will get her ready in time," Nico announces and leaves faster than I can tell him to stay away from Catalina.

Esteban raises a brow as he stands. "I trust Nico with my life but not with this."

I grunt in response. Unlike him, I know where my brother will never cross the line. Whatever this insane interest is that he has in the prisoner, it is bound to fade with time. I have bigger fish to fry—like keeping her from snooping in on my conversation with Francesco.

"What is it?" Francesco occupies the chair next to me so I don't have to raise my voice to discuss with him.

I dig into my pocket for my phone and scroll through it until I find the picture I secretly took of Catalina's letter. I intended to spend more time analyzing it but no matter how many times I read it, I didn't find anything strange aside from the tone she was using to write to her brother. It was too cold, bordering on formal. And the way she insisted on being alright, everyone else might think she was trying to reassure her brother but I can't help wondering if her real aim was to make him question the credibility of her words.

Francesco reads the letter over and over and then looks up at me. "I read it. And?"

"I want to know everything about Ivan."

He nods. "What am I looking for?"

"Everything." I take back my phone. "His identity, his current relationship with Catalina, every crime he has commited and how many of them have been swept under the rug, what he does, whose dirty jobs he does, every fucking thing."

When I'm done, Francesco looks at me like I'm out of my mind. "Why the fuck do you…" he changes his mind about asking when he meets my glare. "Okay. I'll do my best."

I know that but I still push. I cross my arms. "I want you to do more than that. I want an update tomorrow morning."

"Just fucking great. It's hard enough to find out something about someone I don't even know is real. I mean, has anyone even ever met this Ivan guy? What if he's nothing but a code between the siblings for when one of them is in trouble?" he snaps.

I can't say I didn't consider that.

But again, Catalina is not a fool. She knows who she's dealing with. The consequences of trying to double-cross us are not news to her and she is smart enough to know her letter would fall into our hands before getting to her beloved little brother. Ivan has to be a real person—one she's in a relationship with if she doesn't want us snooping around in her business.

The only question is, why is she willing to let us know about this boyfriend of hers?

"He is a person." I conclude.

Francesco runs a hand through his hair. "I was going on a date tonight. You owe me one."

I shrug. If he's going on the 'date' I think he is, I owe him nothing. The woman he's been seeing for the last three hours won't care if he cancels their date. All he has to do is send her a bouquet of roses with a pretty, diamond necklace slotted in between the petals and her sulk will be a matter of the past.

In other words, my friend Francesco does not date. It is all a front.

It makes me wonder if that is the case for Catalina. Is she in an actual relationship with Ivan, or is it a farce?

And why does the thought of it being a farce bring a smile to my face?

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