I reached for Mylos’ hand. I felt as though he and my mother were the only people in my life who weren’t pretending to be someone else, but I had to be sure. I turned and looked into his eyes. “How long have you known about this?”
“A few days. Once you shared the details of Valentini’s struggles, I grew suspicious and asked another of my partners to do some research.”
I looked up at Matteo. “Have any of these antiquities been proven to have come from the Via Cassia estates?”
He shook his head. “Since there is little proof the buried treasures, for lack of a better term, existed, it is impossible to say. However, research is currently being done to determine the age of what’s being sold.”
“What do we do now?”
Rather than answer, Matteo looked at Mylos.
“Why are you looking at him? Why is he looking at you?” I shouted.
I heard the front door open and gasped like I had when we heard the knock.
“Excuse me,” said the man Mylos had introduced as Rile. “May I?”
Since he was looking at me, I nodded.
Mylos stood and held his hand out to me; I followed them through the kitchen and out to the terrazza. “I may be better able to explain,” he said once I was seated.
“You heard our conversation?”
“I should have told you,” Mylos said, taking my hand in his. “I allowed Rile to listen in.”
“Okay.” I took several deep breaths and let each one out slowly.
“I know that Mylos has told you I am one of his business partners.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the nature of that business?”
“No.”
“We provide private security and intelligence for our clients.”
“Am I one of your clients?” I asked, looking from him to Mylos and back again.
Rile smiled. “And our families. The collective background of our partners allows us to use different means to find information than, say, a government agency would be able to use.” He waited for me to nod that I understood. “This is why your cousin looked to Mylos rather than answer himself.”
Now I understood why Matteo had been so cautious in front of Mylos, and also why this man, Rile, suggested we come outside. “Then, I’ll ask you. What do we do now?”
“We force them to act, and when they do, we catch them.”
“How do we do that?”
Rile sat back and brushed his lower lip with his index finger, all the while staring at Mylos.
Finally, he spoke. “You get married.”
“What? No!”
Mylos squeezed my hand and laughed. “Is the idea of marrying me really that horrible?”
“You could marry me instead if you’d prefer.” Rile winked, and Mylos made a sound like a growling animal.
“What does my marrying achieve?”