Mr. and Mrs. Rossi

“Who was older?”

Dante enjoyed the bond building between them. She shared her family story, now he needed to do the same. She needed to understand. The only other people who knew about Allegra were folks with whom he fought terrorists.

“She was,” Dante sighed at the image of Allegra coming to pick him up from school when she returned from college, at least that’s where he thought she’d been. “She died because of Leonardo.”

Harley set her drink down, her attention, which he hadn’t realized had been slightly glancing about the dance floor, turned toward his. “What?” She cocked her head to the side, her eyebrow rose in question.

“What happened to Javier’s brother,” he chuckled bitterly. Over the years he’d learned to control his anger over the loss of his sister. “Leonardo’s first victim was my sister.”

“They knew each other?”

Subconsciously or not, Harley reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. He allowed the gentle gesture. “She knew his father well. Leonardo did not like it because she posed a threat to the organization, so he got rid of her but not before chipping away at her flesh. Remember the slice marks on the body?”

“Geez Dante,” Harley, still holding his hand, sat back. Disbelief struck her mouth. The red lipstick stood out against her white teeth as she mouthed words to form. “You can’t be on this case.”

Dante pulled his hand back. “What?”

“You’re FBI, right?”

He sat up straighter. “What the fuck?”

“You’re too close to this case. FBI one-o-one,” she raised an eyebrow. “Right?”

“I’m doing this on my own.”

“So you’re a rogue agent?”

The tension between them needed to be lightened. Women liked to cause a public scene when pissed off. This was why he liked to spend his time with them in bed where he could fuck them into submission. He couldn’t do so with Harley. She was still different. He knew a good lay would not make her feel better. It might take her mind off things for a while but she’d be right at it. Dante wiggled his eyebrows, “Doesn’t it attract you to me?”

“I’m attracted to you?” she asked, her brow rose for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “I don’t recall saying those words, but I am growing tired of you lying to me.”

“More of an omission of the truth.”

“As it was the other night when you tricked me into marrying you and the bottom line is, I hate liars.”

Dante didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “You know, you weren’t so inebriated you couldn’t say no. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here.”

Harley gaped at him. The waiter came with their food. She pushed her plate away the moment the waiter left. “That’s not fair. I said yes because I was distracted with my niece.”

“I was distracted by your niece too,” he admitted, “I needed to get your phone.”

“And a piece of ass on the way was icing on the cake.”

“I recall you being equally satisfied, so what’s the big deal?” Dante forked his pork roast. Typically he enjoyed all his meals from Ignacio’s. Tonight he was having a bit of trouble chewing. It didn’t settle right that he kept lying to her. Telling her the truth risked more of a chance of losing her.

He half expected Harley to fold her arms across her chest and pout; instead her hand fingered the knife before her. Red fingernails curled under the silver. Damn, he did tell her no weapons tonight. Not that he would shoot her but having his weapon might make him feel a little less vulnerable.

“Mind if I take your lady for a spin?”

Ignacio Torres, owner of the fine establishment swooped in and perhaps saved Dante’s life, all with the flick of his wrist. Harley hesitantly looked across the table at him, and then decided to kill him later, after she danced with the old man.

****

Ignacio Torres, the knight in chef’s pants, came at the nick of time and swooped her onto the dance floor. Each salsa spin she watched Dante enjoy watching her on the floor.

“It took me a few minutes to remember where I knew you from,” Ignacio said. His hips gyrated toward her.

The fast Latin beat of the live band drowned out Harley’s inner screams. Her eyes opened wide and when their palms touched to spin, she gulped. “How did you know?”