Senior Year Box Set

“And there it is. Be careful of Adrienne. She tries to get into your pocket every chance she can get,” I shared with Jill.

“I’m just saying we can manage that better than your office can,” Adrienne said in her defense.

“I know, I’m just giving you a hard time. To be honest, I haven’t had anyone really ‘managing’ that part of my business since Kendal handled it. Caryn did okay, but I think she forgot to show Scarlet what needed to be done other than loading them onto the websites,” I admitted.

“Is this something I should be doing?” Jill asked.

“No,” Jackie said to offer her opinion from a photographer’s perspective.

“We’ll talk about that if you go full-time,” Tyler said.

I gave them a raised eyebrow but didn’t say anything. If I didn’t trust Tyler and Adrienne to have Jill’s back, I would have said something. They were right, though. I was able to pull it off because I’d insisted on it from the start, and I’d been the face of Range Sports from almost the beginning. My success since then had allowed me to get deals other models would never get a chance at.

◊◊◊

Paul showed up before we finished and had rented a car. I offered to give Jill a ride back to her hotel. On the way, I received another international call, this time from Umberto. I told him I would make a call to Tony Giovanni. Umberto told me he knew Tony’s father, Alphonso—better known as ‘The Bull.’ Umberto didn’t give me any details, but I heard the worry in his voice.

I called Pia Giovanni, Tony’s sister and go-between. Tony had a unique security system worked out predicated on what organized crime families had learned over the years. The heads of the families kept a person between them and the rest of the world called a go-between. This way, no one could ever testify against Tony, The Bull, or his grandfather Tony.

His grandfather having the same name was why they called the younger Tony ‘Little Tony.’ I’d never met his grandfather, so he was just Tony to me.

The other unusual security measure Tony took was he didn’t own any electronic devices that connected to the web for fear they would be hacked by the FBI. It made me scratch my head a bit because I didn’t know anyone else in our age group who didn’t own a smartphone and/or a tablet. It boggled my mind that he wasn’t connected.

“Hello?”

“Pia, it’s David Dawson.”

“You better not be calling for Kendra,” Pia said with an edge to her voice that concerned me.

“I didn’t actually get her number. Does she have a phone? If she does, would you help me out?” I asked.

She chuckled, which made her earlier tone not so scary.

“I will say you have a set on you. When I use that tone of voice on almost anyone else, they’re quaking in their boots,” she revealed.

That I could believe.

“I take that to mean she shared with you … some stuff … and that she wants to see me again,” I ventured.

Jill slugged me in the arm. I’d forgotten the little pest was sitting next to me.

“In fact, we’re all getting together for dinner tonight. Tony’s cooking. I’m sure you’d be welcome,” Pia said.

“Good,” I said with a dramatic sigh. “I called because I need a big favor. Do you know a Colombian family named Sandoval?”

“Should we be having this conversation on the phone?” Pia asked as she instantly reverted to business mode.

“Can I meet you somewhere?” I asked.

I told her what hotel I was going to so I could drop Jill off. Pia made arrangements to meet me there.

◊◊◊

Paul and I waited in the car for a few minutes after Jill left us. Before we arrived, Jade had sent me a couple of the photos from our session and asked that I put them out on my social media. They were pics of Jill and me, but nothing that would set my younger brother off, so I posted them.

Jill immediately responded with a video of her dancing around and gushing about how much fun she’d had working with me. Not even a minute later, Phil sent me an ominous text saying she better not have had too much fun. I ignored him.

Pia’s car pulled up behind us, and she sent me a text to join her. I got out of the car and into the back of hers, which pulled away as soon as I got buckled in.

“Give me your phone,” she ordered.

I handed it over. Pia turned it off and did the same with hers, then put them both in her purse.

“Talk,” she ordered.

“I met Umberto Sandoval and his family in Greece. Long story short, I became friends with his two children and future wife. Last night, Umberto was almost kidnapped. Alex, his son, told me that two of his security team were involved.

“I think he’s worried there might still be a risk, so I reached out to see if he wanted help. I thought you might be able to find a place for them to stay while he figures out what’s really going on,” I explained.

“We do this, and we’re square with the Brandon favor you did for Tony,” Pia said.

I didn’t have to think about it.

“Honestly, I haven’t been comfortable with Tony thinking he had to do me a favor. I’m not comfortable keeping score like that. If Tony, or for that matter any of you, need something, all you have to do is ask.”