David smiled. “That sounds easy, Mr. Navaro, and I thank you, but we have to deal with so much more here. Any supplies are usually stolen by insurgents and our people killed.”
“There must be something I can do?”
“Any help is, of course, welcomed, but the best thing you could do for us is to bring Constanza down.”
Elli drew in a breath. “David …I would ask you to go on record, but I fear for your well-being if you do. So we’ll bring him down some other way. We know he’s a murderer. We have video of the last murder he committed—that we think he committed.”
“We know,” Indio said shortly, and Elli nodded. She sighed and patted David’s hand. “You are a hero, David. A hero. We will bring Constanza to justice and then we’ll come back to do what we can to help.”
***
Back in Paris the next day, they spent the next few days strategizing. “We have to take that video to the police.”
Elli shook her head. “We cannot prove it was him in the video, nor that he wasn’t sent the video as some kind of blackmail. He’s already told everyone who will listen that you killed Yvetta. We don’t have enough, Indio—not without putting lives at risk.”
“We could do an anonymous expose?”
“Been there, done that, and it still didn’t work. He deflected that article easily. And he’ll know it’s us.” Elli sighed and sat back. Her back ached from being hunched over the table. Indio massaged her shoulders, and she smiled gratefully at him. “I hate to say this, Indio, but I think I’m going to have to play nice with him a little while longer.”
Indio’s fingers tightened on her shoulders for a moment, then relaxed as he nodded. “God, I hate to agree, but …” He looked at her unhappily. “I wish this were over.”
“Me too, baby. Look, let’s enjoy these few days together before all hell breaks loose. Let’s make the rest of the world go away.”
Indio kissed her passionately. “Good idea.” He drew her to him and began to unbutton her blouse, taking his time to kiss every inch of exposed skin gently. Elli lay back on the couch as he stripped first her and then himself and went into her outstretched arms. Elli hooked her legs around him, drinking him in and gasping as he entered her. “You’re so wet, baby.”
“Always with you. God, you’re so big …”
Indio grinned, thrusting his huge cock deep inside her. “You make me big, il mia amore …all this is for you …” He thrust harder and she moaned, sinking her fingernails into his buttocks, wanting him to go deeper and deeper, until he was balls-deep inside her.
“Indio …Indio …”
He pinned her hands above her and she chuckled as he grinned. “All mine.”
He fucked her hard, barely letting her catch her breath after she came before his mouth found her cunt, his tongue delving deep inside her and lashing around her clit. “You taste like honey.”
Elli was almost delirious with pleasure as she came again and again, his mouth and his cock reaming into her, on the couch, the floor, and in their bed. Their bed.
Afterward, they lay, gazing at each other. “You know, we could just run away,” Indio said idly, running a fingertip down the valley of her breasts, over her stomach to her belly, circling her navel. Elli kissed his mouth.
“That’s not your style—or mine. Anyway, we need to do this …for Yvetta and for our future.”
She saw the admiration in his eyes. “You’re amazing.”
“Because I’m with you.”
“No, you’re just amazing.” Indio covered her body with his again, gently pushing her legs apart and gliding his rock-hard cock into her. Elli sighed happily.
“Elli Bella …I already consider you my wife. I think I always have.”
She smiled at him, her eyes glistening with tears of joy. “You are my world, Indio, my love. My husband.”
And with those simple words, they bound themselves to each other.
Bubbles don’t just burst, Elli thought, five days later. They smash, they splinter, and they cause damage. They hurt. She was back in Italy, back within Aldo’s reach—back in his bed.
She’d managed to persuade him that she was too jetlagged to make love, and if he was suspicious, he didn’t show it.
Vivienne, in Elli’s absence, had the office check for cameras and bugs under the guise of remodeling the space, but to their great relief, the only bug the experts found was Indio’s poorly hidden (but still unnoticed for months) bug on Elli’s desk. It made Elli breathe easier that she and Vivienne could talk about what they found out in Uganda without risk of Aldo finding out. She also showed her friend the horrific videos she’d found on Aldo’s computer.
It was in the evenings when she had to return to Aldo’s house that she felt scared …scared and disgusted every time he came near her. They limped on for a couple of months, becoming more distant from each other, and even when Christmas came and went, they were civil, if not affectionate.
Elli and Indio spoke every day, and Indio urged her to break things off with Aldo. “We haven’t found anything we can use,” he said. “And every day I wake up wondering if today is the day when I hear that you’re dead. I hate this, Elli. Please.”
It was just after the New Year when Elli asked Aldo if she could talk to him.
“Of course.” They were in his study, and Elli’s eyes kept drifting toward the filing cabinet. He was clever, she thought, and didn’t keep a paper trail back to him. She wondered if he got paid in cash to sell those children into the sex trade. She pushed that thought away; if she dwelt on it, she might crack and start to accuse him, and then all would be ruined. Instead, she smiled at him with fake warmth.
“Aldo, darling …this isn’t easy to say. But …. I think we need to consider spending some time apart. We haven’t exactly been getting along so well of late. You must agree.”
Aldo nodded slowly, his eyes locked on hers. “I cannot deny that, Elli. It had been breaking my heart.”
“And I’m sorry for that. But I do think we have reached the end of our time together. I need to regroup and work out what I want from life.”
Aldo gave a soft, sarcastic laugh. “I think you know what you want, Elliana. It just isn’t me.”
Elli decided to ignore that. She did not want him to lose his mind. “I need time on my own.”
Aldo studied her. “As you wish.”
Really? He was taking it this easily? Something didn’t add up here.
“So, I’m going to pack my stuff tonight. I’ll ask Umberto to take me back to my apartment.”
“Fine. Is that all? I do have to get on.” He turned back to his computer, and Elli flushed. She hated him, but she also felt he was dismissing her. Like a whore. Again. Asshole.
She didn’t say another word, and in an hour, she was being driven back to town by Umberto. He looked over at her. “I’m going to miss our talks, Elli.”
She smiled at him. “Umberto, can I give you some advice? Between the two of us?”
“Of course.”
“Get another job. Work for anyone else but Aldo.”
Umberto looked shocked and uncomfortable. “Elli, I …”
“It’s okay, Umberto. Forget I said it.” She didn’t want to make his life harder, after all. She hugged him goodbye as he dropped her at her door, then she took her suitcase into the lobby …and waited.
In five minutes, Indio was there and she ran into his arms. “It’s over. It’s really over.”
But, of course, it wasn’t. Elli could never have guessed how quickly things would unravel.
Elli stretched her body as she woke in the late February sun. Carnival time again. Here in her new apartment—their new apartment—she rolled onto her side and studied the face of her love, her Indio, and as of five days ago, her husband. She was officially Mrs. Indio Navaro. They had married quietly, with just a few friends, but it had been the best day of Elli’s life. “Today, my life finally begins,” Indio had said in his toast, gazing down at his bride, and Elli
had cried at the love in his voice. She had worn a simple, lilac, cotton dress to marry him, matching Indio’s tie, and they both wore lilac flowers pinned to their chests.
They had lived together as if they had always done so, easily, reveling in the time together, fucking each other’s brains out, and having adventures.
The only dark cloud was the unresolved issue of Aldo Constanza.
“He took it too easily,” Eli said, and Indio agreed.
“He’s up to something, for sure.”
Elli could tell Indio was terrified that Aldo would get to –her—even on their wedding day when she’d arrived at the city hall, accompanied by Vivienne and Tandy and three hulking bodyguards, she saw the relief as well as the look of love in his eyes. She couldn’t blame him. The night before the wedding, she’d had awful nightmares of Aldo coming for her as she got ready to marry Indio and stabbing her to death as he had done to Yvetta.
But nothing went wrong that day.
Elli got up now and pulled her robe on, going into the kitchen to make coffee. Indio may have been as rich as Aldo, but he didn’t believe in staff—unless it was security staff for her, of course. So they cooked for each other and cleared up themselves, and Elli liked it that way. They talked about their future, living in the country at his farmhouse. “Or, if you like, we can find something else together. I can’t look at my workshop without remembering what I did to you there.”
Elli swept a hand over his hair. “Our reunion, however brutal, was there. I wanted you to fuck me that day, so badly, and for me, it was heaven. Regardless of what happened afterward, you were just trying to protect me.”
He kissed her hand. “Another reason is that Aldo probably knows about it.”
Elli’s smile faded. “We’re never going to be able to stop running, are we? Maybe we should end this once and for all.”
Indio’s eyebrows shot up. “How?”
Elli gazed at him for a long moment before saying it. “Entrapment.”
It took Indio a second to realize what she was saying. “Listen to me, Elliana Moretti Navaro. If you ever, ever, ever suggest using yourself as bait again, then I’ll …. god, Elli … He will slaughter you. Do you understand? You saw what he did to Yvetta, and she wasn’t even part of his great revenge plan. She only said no to him. Can you imagine what he’ll do to you now that he probably knows we’re married—that you deceived him and married his enemy? That he had you and you slipped through his fingers?”
“Exactly,” Eli said calmly. “He’ll get riled up, especially if the magazine runs some op-eds about him—imagine it. One year on from his exclusive interview, we do a follow-up and see where he is now.”
“It’ll be written off as a bitter woman’s clap back after she’s dumped by him. I’m just saying, that’s the way he’ll spin it.”
“Let him. It’ll still get to him, especially if we intimate about his ‘connections’ in Russia. We only have to drop one name—someone already in jail for sex trafficking—and he’ll flip out. I saw him on that plane, Indio, when that stuff about the alleged gun running came out. He was insane with rage and that wasn’t even true.”
“Still making yourself bait,” he shook his head, and Elli sighed.
“Okay, what if it’s not my magazine that does it? We can send it out to …”
Indio’s voice was hard. “No, Elli. Just no. I don’t want to be the control freak here, but no. No risk, no bait.”
It turned out a day later that Aldo had made the first move anyway. Indio called Elli into the kitchen, then handed her his iPad. Elli read through the newspaper article.
Constanza Sells Up: ‘It’s Time for A New Life, Somewhere Else,’ Says Heartbroken Billionaire.
Elli rolled her eyes at that, then went back to reading.
Aldo Constanza, 42, billionaire philanthropist and businessman, is leaving Venice just a year after relocating from Rome. Reports say he has put his seven-million-euro home in Mira up for sale and has emptied his office in the city, laying off a number of staff. Business insiders are somewhat confused, as Constanza had told them only recently that Venice was where his life was now, but perhaps his very recent break-up with journalist Elliana Moretti might have swayed his decision to leave the city. Ms. Moretti, 29, was with the billionaire for just over a year, but in the few weeks since Constanza ended the relationship, has moved on to another billionaire, architect and property mogul, Indio Navaro, 38. We have confirmation, indeed, that Moretti and Navaro were married only last week in a small, private ceremony. In a strange twist, not only did Navaro design and build Constanza’s Mira home, but was also once briefly a suspect in the murder of Constanza’s fiancée, Yvetta Lima, three years ago.
We have reached out to Mr. Constanza, who briefly told us that he ‘wished the couple every happiness’ and that it was time he ‘started a new life somewhere else.’
“Well,” Elli said. “Apart from being labelled a gold-digging whore again—don’t worry, I’m getting used to it—that is a bunch of B.S. You and I both know …Aldo won’t just leave us be.”
“Agreed.” Indio sighed. “I have an idea.”
“What?”
Indio smiled a strange smile at her. “I’m going to see him.”
Elli gaped at him. “What? Why the hell would you do that?”
“To threaten him, of course. To tell him ‘congratulations on the move’ and that if he wants his life to remain the same, he’ll go and never come back.”
“You’re going to call his bluff?”
“Yep.”
Elli sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know what good it will do.”
“It can’t hurt and it’s better than you using yourself for bait.”
Elli looked away from his gaze. “You already said no to that.” She sighed and went into Indio’s arms. “Let’s just get tonight out of the way, then we can talk again.” She smiled up at her husband. “Are you looking forward to it?”
Indio rolled his eyes, grinning shyly. Venice was bestowing an award on Indio tonight at a gala held in his honor, celebrating his work. It coincided with the Masquerade Ball, but Elli had balked at that. “No more masks,” she said, and Indio agreed.
“Actually,” he said now. “I have a surprise for you. After the gala tonight, we’re flying to a private island in the Med.”
He laughed as she bugged at him. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“Indio, please tell me you didn’t buy an island?”
Indio grinned. “No …just a villa on it. We need a holiday home, right?”
Elli started to laugh. “God, our adventures are a lot more expensive than they used to be.”
Indio shrugged good-naturedly. “Elli, I worked for the money I earned. I think what drove me to work so hard was the thought of one day being able to provide for you and our family, even when it seemed impossible for us to be together.”
Elli stroked his face. “Our family,” she whispered, and he nodded.
“So …”
“So, I can’t wait. Something about hot weather makes me frisky.” She grinned and kissed him. “Come, husband, let’s go practice before we have to get ready for your coronation tonight.
Elli was trembling as she saw Indio walk on stage and shake hands with the man who was giving him the award. Ori Bartoli, her young infant daughter, Lucy, in her arms, nudged her. “You can cry now, Elli. It’s okay.”
Elli laughed, but her eyes were full of tears and her heart full of love for the man so shyly accepting the congratulations and gratitude of his city. He made a short speech, stumbling over some of the words, but when he looked out into the audience, he gazed at her, his eyes soft with love.
“And to my beautiful wife, my best friend, and my reason for being, Elli. I love you. Without you, none of this means anything.”
Elli did cry, then, and she saw Ori wiping away a tear too. Ori hugged her. “I’m so happy for both of you.”
There was a drinks reception afterward,
and Indio and Elli sat, hands clasped, laughing with their friends. Indio kept being borne off to meet new people, but Elli didn’t mind. After so many years working incognito in the wilderness, it was time for Indio to take his spotlight.
Ori, wrestling with a wriggling child, stood. “Someone made a stinky,” she said to the amusement of her table. “I’m just going to change her diaper.”
“I’ll come help.” Elli stood, signaling to Indio where she was going. He grinned and mouthed, “Ti amo.”
She laughed and blew him a kiss. She went with Ori to the bathroom, followed at a discreet distance by her bodyguard, Mario. Ori grimaced as she dealt with her daughter’s diaper. “Why did I sign up for this again?”
Eli chuckled. “You’re a masochist. Haven’t you trained Maceo to do this?”
“Ha. I tried, but he immediately sold Dario out by telling him it was his job. Dario, as you can imagine, doesn’t want anything to do with dirty diapers.”
Elli chuckled, tickling Lucy’s belly. “She is so beautiful.”
Ori smiled. “I know, isn’t she? Your turn soon, maybe?”
“Maybe. We haven’t actually discussed children, but I know we’ll have a ton.” Elli blew a raspberry on Lucy’s stomach, making her giggle. Ori washed her hands.
“Would you mind just looking after her while I pee? I’m bursting.”
Elli immediately handed her a fresh diaper from the bag, and Ori laughed. “Ha ha. Won’t be a second.”
Elli picked Lucy up and bounced her. She was such a happy little baby. The door of the bathroom was pushed open and her bodyguard, Mario, appeared. His gun was drawn, a long silencer screwed to the barrel, and Elli turned in shock as he levelled it at her. “Mario, what the hell are you doing?”
Aldo pushed his way past Mario and smiled at her. “Your husband really should vet his employees more carefully. Hello, Elli. What a gorgeous baby.”
The toilet flushed, and Ori appeared, at first not seeing the men as she washed her hands, then as she looked up, her face was one of horror.
“Hello, Ori, lovely to see you. Your daughter is beautiful. Such a shame.”
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