Trust a security expert to notice.
‘lt’s broken.”
‘lt must be fixed.”
‘lt will be.” After the auction.
‘you have not asked why your father asked me to come.”
‘I assumed you’d tell me when you were ready. You implied there was nothing wrong with him.”
‘There is not. If you discount the fear he has for your safety.”
Had her father told Salvatore about the crown jewels? She wouldn’t put it past him. Francesco Guiliano was a traditional man. Elisa was the result of his one ride on the wild side, an affair with film star Shawna Tyler. He’d wanted marriage when the pregnancy was discovered. Her mother had said
‘ no’, and meant it. She hadn’t wanted a husband to tie her down and had never allowed having a daughter to do so either.
‘Why is Papa afraid for me?” She’d been living on her own for seven years.
‘He does not believe Signor di Adamo has sufficient security to take possession of something as valuable and controversial as the crown jewels of Mukar.”
‘That’s ridiculous. This is a jewelry store. Of course we can handle having possession of the jewels ” Salvatore moved an impatient hand. whey are worth ten times the entire stock in this place.
There is more than one faction in Mukar that is unhappy with the dissolution of the monarchy and the sale of the jewels.
“Mukar needs the working capital. The former crown prince understands that and was willing to make whatever sacrifices were necessary to help his country survive.”
‘
Nevertheless you are at risk.” He sounded so solemn as if he actually cared.
She almost snorted. Right. Salvatore might feel guilty about the way he’d treated her, but he didn’t care about her and she’d be a fool to allow herself the luxury of that fantasy.
‘l’m perfectly fine.”
‘With a broken security buzzer?” He looked around the small jewelry store with a contemptuous eye. ‘The other security measures here are old and out of date. Even a second-rate thief would have no problem robbing Adamo Jewelers.”
‘
That’s not going to happen. There hasn’t been a robbery at Adamo’s since before Signor di Adamo took over the store and he’s in his sixties.”
‘Si. He is an old man. Too weak to protect you. And times change. You cannot live in ignorance of those changes, even here.” He swept his hand out in an arc indicating the store but even more so the small town in which she lived.
‘l’m not ignorant”
He shook his head. ‘but you are dangerously naive if you believe taking possession of something like the crown jewels of Mukar does not put you at risk.”
‘I’llbe extra-careful. Besides, we keep them locked in the vault.”
He shook his head again, his expression grim.
‘That isn’t good enough.”
‘Whether it is, or it isn’t, is none of your business.”
‘Your father has made it my business.”
‘He had no right to do that. I run my own life.”