Serendipity

Chapter 31

Elodie

Sarina. Who the fuck is Sarina?

That's the question that kept me up after Raffaele finally left last night. I mean, it wasn't like I expected to be able to get any sleep on my birthday anyway but I thought it would be because I missed my dad. That's why I damn near broke into tears when we cuddled after sex like some pathetic idiot.

Not that I could have explained it to Raffaele, seeing as my dad is a taboo topic between the two of us. It's an unspoken rule since I'm trying hard not to acknowledge the fact that the man I've slept with twice is also responsible for my dad's death. Yeah, no.

And then he had to drop that name, Sarina, so casually as if that wouldn't raise a million questions with answers I'm not entitled to. Like, is that the mother of his child? Is she his wife or girlfriend? He doesn't wear a wedding ring and it never came to my mind that he might be taken since he initiated our first hookup but what if I was wrong? What if he's cheating on said Sarina with me?

But I honestly can't imagine Raffaele doing something like that to anyone. Especially to the mother of Matteo, who he loves so dearly.

But even if they're not in love right now, thoughts like, why did it not work out? How long has it been over? And so on plagued me all night. But hey, who needs sleep, right? I love looking and feeling like a zombie on my way to my next meeting with Raffaele.

This time, we're meeting one of Raffaele's hackers who'll try to use my father's old phone to find Dubois' location. He hasn't been seen in his usual circles in a suspicious amount of time and the spies don't have high enough ranks to know.

I have to be there in case Dubois calls and the tech guy is obviously there for a reason. Why Raffaele insists on being present is a mystery to me but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a little part of me that's looking forward to seeing him.

I'm a mess.

By the time I enter his office, both of the men are already there. Who I assume must be the hacker is seated at Raf's desk while the man himself is currently setting down a stack of papers on top of a drawer next to the door.

Our eyes meet for a second before the stranger speaks up. "You must be the lady with the phone. I'm Tim, nice to meet you," he says politely. I smile at him and slowly head for the seat next to his, painfully aware of Raffaele's attention on me.

"Elodie, pleasure is mine," I reply. A step away from my chair, a presence right behind me makes me still. Raffaele lets his hand brush over my lower back as he passes me, the gesture brief and subtle but enough to make my blood sing all the same.

I'm not sure if it was a warning not to get too friendly with Tim or just a way to say hello. Either way, it seems to evaporate my exhaustion and worries all at once.

"Good, now that we're all here, we can proceed," Raffaele starts professionally, not giving a single indication that we're becoming a bit more than friendly. But keeping whatever we are between the two of us is more than fine with me.

"Right. If I could have a look at the phone," Tim says. I hand it to him and he spends the next few minutes getting a good look at it and checking things. I honestly don't pay attention to him, too busy keeping up eye contact with his boss.

At first, his expression stays unreadable but when I slightly arch an eyebrow, he cracks a small smile and winks at me. We go on like that, making faces at each other behind the other guy's back until it takes everything inside me not to burst out laughing.

"Alright, so they certainly knew what they were doing when they bought these phones. They're old and nearly impossible to find at this point, much harder to track than smartphones and nearly impossible to record or hear in on a call," Tim concludes, oblivious to the silent game that's been going on.

But it's over now. I can tell by the way Raffaele quickly wipes his expression clean and turns his attention to his employee. I do the same.

"What does that mean for us?" I ask. "Can you track him?"

"Like I said, it's difficult," he's interrupted by his boss.

"She didn't ask if it's going to be hard. She asked if you can do it," Raffaele says harshly. I have to bite back a smile as the guy swallows and readjusts his tie as if he was getting hot.

"Uhm, yeah. It would be best if there was an active call going on between the two phones, though. If you could just keep him on the line for a bunch of minutes, I should be able to pinpoint his location roughly," he says.

"I can't just call Dubois, can I?" I ask Raffaele. It's not something I've done before. So far, we let Dubois make the first steps and I'm not sure if changing that tactic would be smart.

"Preferably not. He's been quiet for a few days, though, and my men have reported the deal with the human traffickers will soon take place. We'll either hear from him soon or he's too busy with that to spare me a thought," he replies easily while I can feel my own eyes widening.

"Human traffickers?" I exclaim, losing face for a beat but too shocked to care. I mean- damn. I thought that sort of thing only existed in movies! Now you're telling me the man that I've known for most of my life is involved in something like that? And my own father worked for him?

"Yes. One hundred and fifty girls and women will be shipped off to some of the most messed up people all around the world if we don't interfere. First things first, I want to know where Dubois is," he says, still as cool as stone.

"Right, so I'll call him," I say. We'll survive a bit of Dubois' suspicion if it means we'll save those people. I wait for Raffaele to agree with me but for a full minute, he simply looks at me. Finally, he concedes, if not happily, and Tim starts setting his stuff up.

In the meantime, I make another face at my boss, trying to figure out what he's thinking or feeling right now. I'm surprised- and a little pissed off- that I can't read him right now.

But he replies to me by leveling me with a look that I read as something like "Don't fuck up." Or "Careful". I roll my eyes at him. Duh, I wasn't going to try to mess anything up.

The next thing I know, his hands are above the desk and he subtly makes I gesture I'd recognize everywhere. "I'll break you into two," he tells me and I can't help it. I burst out laughing.

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That's what I get for choosing such young characters... they goof around. Oh well-

Hope you like what's going on and can keep up:)) have a good day<3