“And she’ll claim his sending people to follow her is an indication of distrust. And an insult to her reputation. Which, Filomena, you know it is.”
She said nothing, torn between loyalty to her boss and realization that he’d made a significant misstep. “What do you suggest?”
“Would he apologize?”
Filomena snorted. “Never.”
“Not even privately?”
“No.”
“Then we’re at an impasse.”
“If…” Filomena’s mouth pursed in concentration. “If the vampires who followed you were acting on their own…”
“But they weren’t.”
“But if they were…” She raised an eyebrow.
“If they were,” he said, “it would change things, but they both claimed Alfonso sent them.”
She smiled slowly. “But we’re terribly dishonest creatures, are we not?”
Ben deliberated.
Tenzin had sent him to find out how much Filomena knew, but Ben knew he could also work this around to his benefit if he played his cards right. Filomena wanted to appease Tenzin and cover her boss’s ass. And yet if word got out that Tenzin had allowed Alfonso to track her without consequences, it set a dangerous precedent.
“She’ll give him the coins,” Ben said, “but she’ll need a higher finder’s fee. It caused some trouble when she had to take care of them.”
It hadn’t—they hadn’t heard a peep from the council in Venice about the two dead vampires—but Alfonso didn’t need to know that.
“Of course,” Filomena said. “I’m sure an additional fee could be arranged to compensate you for this unfortunate incident. As long as the transaction was agreed to privately. I’ll guarantee the increased fee and the exchange will work out as previously arranged.”
Private was a… fluid concept. Gossip in Naples would spread the word that something went down and that Alfonso paid the price for it. Not knowing specifics would allow both Tenzin and Alfonso to save face. On the surface, it was a perfect solution.
So why was a voice in head telling Ben he was missing something?
“I’ll take your proposal back to Tenzin and let you know,” he told Filomena. “I’m fairly sure that will be sufficient. And of course, if you didn’t know about the scouts, I doubt anyone else did.”
A little flattery never hurt.
Filomena’s eyes flashed. “I would have known if they did.”
They exchanged pleasantries for a few more minutes, but the playful banter had died when Ben mentioned Alfonso’s mistake. Filomena’s mood had turned from flirtatious to calculating. She chatted with Ben, but her mind was elsewhere.
They finished their wine and bid each other good-bye at the waterfront, and Ben walked back to his hotel alone. When he got to his room, Tenzin was reading a book on his bed.
“Fairly confident I’d be spending tonight alone, were you?”
“You’re not alone.” She patted his side of the bed without looking up. “You have me. And I’m far more entertaining.”
“She didn’t know about the scouts,” he said, kicking off his shoes and stretching out on the bed. “And she wasn’t happy about them.”
“Interesting.”
“She agreed to a larger finder’s fee to compensate for our inconvenience.”
Tenzin put down her book. “Well, that was clever of you. Nicely done.”
“But she says he won’t apologize.”
She frowned. “So this is private? No public acknowledgement?”
“No mention from either party. Filomena will arrange the money. I have a feeling Alfonso is using public funds for this. Might not want his people to know how much he’s spending to get these back.”
“Very… interesting.”
“Because?”
She shrugged. “We’ll have to see whether this deal you worked out with her actually happens. If the exchange goes as planned… When?”
“Tomorrow night. Midnight.”
“If it goes as planned tomorrow—we make the transfer and Alfonso gives us a higher fee privately—that means Filomena is acceding to Alfonso’s authority and allowing him to take security steps without her knowledge.”
Yeah, Ben had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the way it went down.
“And if it doesn’t go as planned?” he asked.
“Then duck.”
❂
THEY met two of Filomena’s people in front of Alfonso’s nightclub the next night. She’d warned Ben that she wouldn’t be coming herself, so neither Ben nor Tenzin was surprised. The two younger vampires led them through the popular club, openly baring fangs at humans who laughed and ran from them.
Ben looked around in sudden realization. “They think it’s a game.”
Tenzin said, “They usually do.”
Ben, Tenzin, and their two escorts stepped behind a heavy curtain at the back of the club and descended stone steps where two more vampires guarded the entrance to Alfonso’s court. The pulse of music pounded at his back, growing softer as they descended. As one, the two vampires opened the double doors for them and they stepped through, the damp earthen smell assaulting Ben’s senses after the smell of cologne, alcohol, and sweat in the club above.
Tenzin walked behind him. He could feel her wary energy in the subtle press of wind against his back. He reached a hand back and gripped hers for a second before he released it. In his other hand, he carried a metal briefcase full of fake Sicilian tarì.