Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(53)

The gates opened while Patrice snapped several pictures of the gardens on the adjoining estate. A chauffeur-driven town car swept by, Cosmos’s wife in the backseat. The woman stared straight ahead, not even glancing Patrice’s way as she diligently took pictures of the flowers close to the wrought-iron fence at the corner of the Agosto property.



Patrice continued to ramble along the road, now peering into the beautifully kept gardens with their marble fountains as she trailed her hand along the black wrought iron. She always was careful to have liquid fingerprints, prints that would match Patrice Lungren’s passport and identification papers.

A car moved slowly up the street, passed Patrice and the double gates to pull to the side of the road several yards ahead of her. The car was an older model and dusty, the windows clouded. A tall, well-built man got out. He wore a casual T-shirt under a sports jacket, dark trousers and nice shoes. His hair was silver, as was the stubble on his jaw.



The man looked around slowly and then reached into the car to pull a camera bag off the seat. He fiddled with the strap for a moment before closing the door and finally looking at Patrice. She sent him a friendly, sunny smile and a small wave, holding up her camera to indicate they were fellow travelers and quickening her steps to hurry to get to his side.



“Hi, I’m Patrice,” she greeted with her happiest smile and an outstretched hand. “I’m from the United States, here on vacation.”



The man hesitated a moment, leaning back against his car, his gaze drifting over her appraisingly. It took a moment for him to smile back and take her outstretched hand. “Friedrich Bauer. From Germany. Also on vacation.”



The moment “Friedrich’s” fingers touched her skin, an electrical charge skipped over Lissa’s skin. Patrice might not be affected by just that skin-to-skin contact, but to her, it was almost as intimate as when he touched her in the bedroom. A little shiver went through her entire body.



It was important to stay in character at all times. This was the first time she’d ever worked with anyone on a job and just that was foreign to her, but Casimir had insisted. He didn’t look at all like her Casimir, but she would recognize his touch anywhere.

When he let go of her hand after a firm shake, the pads of his fingers brushed gently along her inner wrist. She hadn’t known she could be so sensitive, but that barely there touch felt like four firebrands sinking deep.



“All clear,” she said softly. She glanced toward the house and then her watch. “He should be on the move any minute. Apparently he really enjoys walking to the cliffs when he’s alone and staring out over the sea.”



“I wonder why.” Casimir’s voice was strictly neutral.



His gaze did a long, slow sweep of the surrounding terrain, taking in the street as well as the vast estate across from the Agosto property. There was no one around, no one working on either of the grounds – something rarely done on a weekday. Both had suspected Cosmos wanted it that way. He liked a day to himself to do whatever he wanted away from prying eyes.

Luigi’s report had been so thorough he had even had the information that Cosmos forced his wife to go to the beauty parlor for her facials and manicures even when she was ill. Never once had Lissa questioned Luigi’s reports, but when Casimir pointed the remark out as odd, she just looked at him, understanding in her gaze. She knew Luigi had personal knowledge of what Cosmos did or didn’t do with his wife.



Casimir reached out and, for just one moment, allowed himself the luxury of touching her again. Reassuring her. He couldn’t take this away from her, she wouldn’t let him, but he could let her know he was always at her back. He brushed his fingers along the side of her neck, trailing slowly until he reached the edge of her perfect little suit shirt.

“Pervert. I just met you.” But she smiled. It was brief, and it didn’t light her eyes, but he saw what he wanted in her eyes. She was clear. Ready. “Let’s do this,” Lissa said. She didn’t ask him if he’d brought everything. It was in his camera case. She’d packed that herself.



Cosmos Agosto was in the prime of his life. At thirty-six he was one of the youngest men in the Porcelli family to be as wealthy as he was without all the hassle of being a soldier. He had a beautiful wife, a former model. Carlotta did whatever he told her to do and she did it immediately. It hadn’t taken him very long to train her. He had two mistresses, one who lived close and another one town over. His life was fairly easy.

He went to work, training others to handle the dogs. He enjoyed the power of that, being in a position to snap orders at others and belittle them until they were nearly at the breaking point. He was a master at it. He practiced enough on his wife. Every once in a while he had to show his loyalty to Luigi Abbracciabene by doing some dirty job for him, but the pay was well worth it.