He reluctantly took his mouth from hers and brushed kisses over her eyes, trailed more to her temple and then down to her chin. "Will you be all right without me? Luigi and Arturo can go to hell. We don't need to recon tonight."
"I'll wait for you. He'll make a move soon. Luigi has endless patience, but whenever a job is completed, he wants to discuss it. That's a given. Every single time he comes out of his wing of the house and insists we go over every detail. He won't wait long, which means whatever business he has, he'll want to conclude it."
"I thought you said Arturo is always with him."
She nodded slowly. "That's true. It's highly unusual for Arturo to leave Luigi without a bodyguard."
He kissed her again. Meaning it. Letting her know she was his and he would never change that. "I'm going then. I'll be back as soon as I know where they are."
She reached up with one hand and stroked his face with loving fingers. "I'll be here. Don't forget the cameras." Just the slightest hint of amusement crept into her voice.
She was teasing him. In the middle of the biggest mess she could be in, she still found a moment for humor. He let himself smile, when all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and carry her off like a primitive caveman. He took her mouth one more time and then turned away to take care of business. Because that was what men like him did.
10
Luigi came out of his wing in the late evening two days later, looking older and shaken. His tall frame was stooped and he walked hesitantly, as if his balance was a little off, but he refused help. Lissa followed him down the hall, staying close just in case he fell. Twice he had to stop and hold on to the wall, but he didn't speak.
He had never before waited two days to go over every detail when she had disposed of one of their primary targets. Not one single time, and Lissa couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. He disappeared each night, driving himself, without a bodyguard, sneaking away from the wing, and heading to a building on the outskirts of town. He didn't go to his wife and children, or to a meeting with the heads of other families. There was no war going on. He simply drove to the building, got out, unlocked the door and disappeared inside for hours.
Casimir followed Luigi two nights in a row, and her uncle always went to the same place. The doors were firmly locked and the windows blackened out with bars on them. He couldn't hear a sound and hadn't yet discovered a way in. Once, Arturo had walked Luigi out to his car, so clearly the bodyguard was staying in that building. Their behavior made no sense to Lissa.
She couldn't find sleep until Casimir returned, sneaking back into her bedroom, stripping as he came to the bed, reaching for her the moment he was there, as if he couldn't stand being away from her. As if he couldn't wait one more second to make love to her. Every time he touched her, it felt that way, as if he was making love. Sometimes he was gentle, other times rough and crazy, but she always knew he touched her with love.
Luigi, moving ahead of her toward his study, stumbled and grabbed at the wall. She reached out to him automatically, but couldn't make herself touch him. Bile rose and she had to force it down, force herself to breathe through the repugnance she felt being so close to him - the man who had raised her. The man she had loved and clung to. The man who had had his own brother murdered so he could have power.
"Tio Luigi, do you need help. I can call..."
"No!" He spat the word, glaring at her over his shoulder.
She ducked her head as she normally did when he reprimanded her. Her hair spilled around her face, covering her expression.
"I'm fine, Lissa." He softened his voice. "This disease is... humiliating. I don't like you seeing me this way. I thought I was better and we needed to talk so I came out before I was really ready, but the medicine is working. Soon I will be fine again."
"I'm upset that Arturo isn't with you, Tio. He has never been away from you, and now, when you need him most..." She trailed off, but her tone was very accusing.
Luigi held the door for her and she preceded him into the study. The nape of her neck tingled warily and she felt as if she had a giant target painted on her back. She kept her back to him, a study in discipline, as she walked to the most comfortable chair, the one where she always sat when they talked. Luigi liked to sit behind his desk. She realized it made him think he had an advantage. He looked in charge. A man of authority, and until she had discovered the truth about him, she'd always accepted that image he projected. Now she wanted to pull out one of the many knives hidden on her body and cut his lying throat.
Luigi took his time rounding the desk to sit in his extremely expensive office chair. He steepled his fingers and leaned back, looking at her. "What is it, Lissa? You look... upset. Did something go wrong?"
With everyone else she stayed in character. This was going to be much more difficult than she imagined. She shook her head. Leaned forward. "That man," she hissed. "The bodyguard. Tomasso. Really, Tio Luigi, was it necessary to assign me that arrogant, bossy man?"
His mouth twitched in amusement. "Yes, it was. There is trouble right now. My enemies are circling. I will not lose you, Lissa, so you must give me this need to protect you. Tomasso is good at his job."
"Too good," she snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm used to Arturo. Where is he?"
"He only takes a few days off a year. He was scheduled for the time off and of course I gave it to him. He couldn't know I would have a relapse or that trouble would come."
Lissa shook her head and huffed out her breath in exasperation. "You don't know how truly irritating Tomasso is, Tio. You coming out of your apartment is the first reprieve I've gotten." She rolled her eyes. "He left to go check out the hotel. I've got an appointment tomorrow and he wanted to go talk to their security. If he loses me that sale, I'll kill him myself."
"Now, now, cara, he is only doing what I asked of him," Luigi soothed, his voice indicating he was well pleased with himself. "His job is to make certain you're safe at all times. Arturo will be back soon, but in the meantime, let Tomasso do whatever he deems necessary in order to protect you."
She glared at her uncle. "Do you really think, after all the years of training, that I can't take care of myself?" It was necessary to stay in character, and Lissa would never want a full-time bodyguard, especially one as bossy as Tomasso. She also needed to distract her uncle and make him believe Tomasso was the reason for her being upset.
"I know that you can, Lissa, but I'm not going to apologize to you for wanting to make certain you're protected. I lost my entire family once. You're all I've got now."
Lying bastard. Her fingers inched toward the knife hidden inside the form-fitting jacket she wore over her bright blouse.
"You will put up with Tomasso for a few more days. Especially at the hotel." Luigi made it a decree, as he did quite a lot of things.
He liked control, Lissa realized. He craved it. Issuing orders made him feel very powerful. She made herself sigh and then shrug. "Fine, but I don't have to like it."
"Tomasso is a good man, Lissa. Treat him with respect. He'll be of great use to me."
"I said I would put up with him. I've never treated any of your men with less than my full respect."
He nodded and let it go. Lissa rarely had an edge to her voice when she spoke with him, and he couldn't help but hear it. She could only hope that with the fuss she'd made, he'd put it down to her dislike of her bodyguard. She knew her protests would only cement Tomasso's position with Luigi. Luigi would believe that the new man was one he could count on and bring deeper into his organization.
"I know you succeeded because Cosmos's widow called me, frantic. She said he slipped over the cliff to the sea and rocks below. By the time the authorities came, his body was out to sea. I know they were trying to find it; if they do, what will they find?" Luigi rubbed his hands together, looking gleeful.
"Clearly he had too much to drink and accidentally fell. It will be ruled an accident. If anyone in the Porcelli family investigates, they will c
ome up with the same conclusion," Lissa said with absolute confidence.
"I wanted this one, Lissa," Luigi confided, dropping his voice and looking straight into her eyes. "Your father treated him like a son. A boy like that off the streets, and Marcello and Elizabeta treated him like famiglia. He betrayed them in such a vile way."
Lissa nearly choked on bile. Her uncle was evil personified. She couldn't sit across from him and look at his face, listen to his rant and keep her face from showing she wanted to kill him. She stood up and paced across the room.
"I told him. Who I was. I told him before he went over. I've never done that before." She made the confession when she had never considered telling him, but he would think she was moody and edgy because of that.
She never deviated from her set scripts. Patrice Lungren killed, not Lissa. Not Giacinta. Patrice didn't feel personal toward her targets, she brought justice to them when the justice system had failed. It had to be that way. Patrice never talked to the targets. She arranged an accident and made certain it happened.
Lissa went to the tall cabinet with the display of ornate shot glasses. She touched one, traced the etching and turned toward her uncle once she knew she was composed enough to face him. "I couldn't help myself. I wanted him to know."
"Good, good, Lissa. He needed to know. I hope he died hard on those rocks, the bastardo." Luigi pounded his fist on the desktop. "There is only one left, just one. We have gotten every single one of those responsible for that dark day. You should feel proud of yourself."
"Not until it is over," Lissa said. "Not until the last man responsible for the deaths of my parents and all those who served them are gone. Then it will be over."
"Aldo Porcelli. He is now head of the Porcelli family. He won't be easy to get to. I've studied him and he has no set routines. He changes appointments at the last minute. This weekend he will be very vulnerable, but only this weekend. I believe it will be your best chance to take him."
She frowned and once more crossed the room to drop into the chair across from him at the desk. "No. No, we can't do that. It's too soon. We never do two jobs so close together. If his family puts it together, they'll come after you. Not me. No one knows about me, but they remember you, Tio Luigi. We can't take that chance."
"Sometimes, cara, we have to take chances if we want to win. Aldo is difficult. He is surrounded by protection at all times. He is never alone. I've spent the last few years studying him, collecting as much information as possible, and believe me when I tell you, if you don't get to him this weekend, it could be a full year before we have another chance like this one."
"I don't like it," Lissa said. "We've taken our time. That's what has kept you safe. Deviating from that rule is dangerous. We've waited this long, what's another year?" Let him have to convince her. She wasn't just going to hand a victory to him, he was going to have to earn it.
Luigi sighed and studied her face. "You can be stubborn."
"I have to be. It's just as important to me to keep you safe as it is for you to keep me that way."
She smiled at him. He smiled back. All teeth. Cat and canary. Her uncle planned on killing her. Lissa knew he couldn't afford to keep her alive. Not after he succeeded in taking out the heads of both families. They'd played chess for years together. Luigi always won. Unbeknownst to him, she'd been letting him win since she was sixteen. They were still playing chess, only the stakes were much higher.
"Lissa, I understand what you're saying, but I want this over with. I'm willing to take the chance. You go to your hotel meeting and sell your beautiful chandeliers. They'll want them, of course. Then you come home, take care of Aldo Porcelli and go on with your plans. Go to Germany. Stay in the castle. Go see the hotel in St. Petersburg. I will have an alibi like I always do just in case. No one will suspect an old man getting his revenge after seventeen years. No one. The idea is ludicrous."
She sighed, letting him see she was on the verge of capitulation. "I don't like it, Tio Luigi."
"No one knows about you, Lissa. And if they did, they would never suspect a young woman, especially a woman who lives in the United States and blows beautiful glass chandeliers she sells worldwide. This is our moment to strike." He closed his fist, hit his desktop again. "Smash him. Crush Aldo Porcelli. It will be the end. We'll both be free of this thing we've vowed. You will have your life back. You can marry. Have babies. Bring them to see your Tio Luigi. I have never been to the States. I would like to see this place where you live. This farm. I could meet the women you love as famiglia."
"I would like that," she murmured, and pushed at her hair, hoping the gesture covered the expression on her face. He was an excellent actor. He'd fooled her father and mother. They'd both loved him with everything in them. He'd fooled her. She'd loved him. She could almost believe it wasn't true, that he was passionate about bringing those responsible for his brother's death to justice.
"It isn't too late for you to find someone, Tio," she ventured, wondering what he would say. "You aren't so old that you couldn't marry, have children of your own. I always wondered why you didn't."
"No. No. Not with this disease. So terrible. I would not want to put this on any woman. No. I will stay alone, and you will give me babies to dote on in my old age. I will be their favorite tio."
Lissa pressed a hand tight against her churning stomach. She couldn't take the game they were playing much longer. "Why this weekend?"
She watched the tension drain out of him. She hadn't realized just how tense he'd gotten until he relaxed. She twisted her fingers into a fist and massaged the hard knot at the nape of her neck threatening to destroy her composure.
"Aldo has a mistress." Luigi leaned forward, hissing the accusation. "He cannot even be faithful to his wife."
He delivered the condemnation in a voice of utter contempt. Evidently, now that she appeared to capitulate, he was back in his element. She was fairly certain if he'd taken to the entertainment industry, he would have gotten far.
"He sees her regularly, but never at the same time or day. He doesn't like routine and neither does his protection squad. He always has four bodyguards with him. They're good and very thorough. You'll have to find a way past them."
She nodded. Waiting. Making him give her the details without encouraging him in the least. She wanted to yawn. Luigi was so predictable.
"This Saturday is the anniversary of his finding his mistress. He never misses it. Never. She's been his mistress for the last eight years. When he isn't banging his wife, he's with her. All the time."
She couldn't resist. "So he's faithful to his wife and mistress. It's just the two women?"
Luigi made a sound, a snort of derision, and crossed himself. "I wouldn't call it faithful to break the holy vows of matrimony, Lissa. Aldo cheats on his wife, and she is very devoted to him. This is your chance. He will go to his mistress this Saturday."
She shook her head. "You know it's risky trying to plan something so quickly, especially when he has experienced bodyguards with him."
"He doesn't ever allow them into her apartment. I have gathered all the details you'll need to plan this. Aldo might not stick to a routine, but his bodyguards do. I have provided each of their locations when their boss visits his woman." He leaned even farther across his desk. "You can do this, Lissa. For your father and mother. My beloved Marcello and Elizabeta. You have an opportunity to end this thing once and for all. He is the last and the guiltiest."
"Don't you think it strange that he killed an entire family because my mother refused to sleep with him, yet he's faithful to his wife and mistress?"
Her question was met with absolute silence. She knew immediately she'd made a terrible mistake. Luigi's face turned expressionless, his dark eyes searching her face for something she feared she couldn't hide. He looked sharp, piercing, very cunning. In the lines of his face she read evil. She knew she looked at the real man, not the mask.
That was the strangest thing of all. They all wore masks. Luigi had f
rom the moment she'd entered his home. She did. When she went after those responsible for killing her parents. When she was on the farm with the women she loved as family. Casimir went through his entire life with a mask. No one saw them. They were hidden away, players on a stage - and she wanted off.
"What are you saying, Lissa? Do you not remember him being there? Directing the entire event? He orchestrated the murders. I showed you pictures and you pointed him out. You did that. I spent years making certain we had the right people."
"I know." She hung her head, covered her face with her hands for a moment, wishing for Casimir. Wishing for his arms to get her out of the study where evil permeated every bit of air. Evil smelled and it was sandalwood and spice, the cologne her uncle always wore. "I'm just so tired, Tio. I spoke to Cosmos. I broke a long-standing rule. I don't know if I can do this again so soon."
"You will do this," Luigi declared in his hard, authoritative, most commanding voice. "You will find a way into that house and you will kill this man who murdered your family."
She nodded. "I know. Of course I will. I'll start work tonight. I'll need to do recon. Will Arturo be back? When I'm scouting around, I usually take him with me, that way I can concentrate on what I need to do instead of constantly watching my back."
No one ever went with her when she did the job, but Arturo guarded her while she did the setup. Still, even with the setup, she was careful. Betrayed by a trusted family friend, watching Cosmos help to murder her parents, had taught her to be extremely cautious, even with those she loved. She always made certain Patrice Lungren did the reconnaissance, not Lissa Piner. No one went with her to the storage unit when she changed beforehand. She wanted no hidden cameras, no surprises later on. If she thought she was under surveillance by anyone, she aborted instantly.
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