Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(69)

“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.



“I doubt Arturo will be back so soon. You’ll have to take Tomasso.”



Her mouth dropped open. “You hardly know that man. Seriously, Tio, you have no idea if he’s loyal or not. What are you thinking?” But she knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t trust any of his men to keep their mouth shut with such an important mission. It was blackmail material. They would guess what she was up to. Luigi couldn’t have that, not if he planned to take over the Porcelli family. There could be no witnesses. No one left alive who might know what Luigi had done.

All along he planned to kill Tomasso. That was why he’d been the bodyguard selected to watch over her while Luigi was feigning his illness. Luigi planned to dispose of him as well. She curled her fingers into a tighter fist. She should have seen that coming the moment Luigi assigned a new man as her personal bodyguard. He didn’t want her to question his choice when he sent the man along with her on her recon of Aldo’s mistress.



“He has already proven his loyalty. I think he’s a good man and he’ll watch your back while you put together your plan. So it is decided. You will get to work this week planning and then you will kill Aldo Porcelli and at last allow my brother to rest in peace.” He sat back in his leather chair, looking very pleased. “Now tell me every detail of Cosmos’s death. I want to know his every reaction, his expression, especially when he realized who you were.”



Casimir drove quickly through the streets toward the building Luigi disappeared into each night. Arturo stayed there, he was certain of it. He didn’t appear to leave, but stayed inside unless he walked Luigi out. The two men seemed very pleased with themselves, talking animatedly before Luigi got in his car to drive off. They laughed and slapped each other on the back or shoulder. Whatever they were up to made them both very jovial.

There were cameras set up around the building, but no one ever cleaned them off and spiderwebs covered the lenses. Casimir had to strike tonight, right now, while Luigi was Lissa’s alibi. Arturo dying unexpectedly would set off alarm bells in Luigi unless they played this exactly right. He glanced at his watch. He would have only a short time to get this done before rushing to the hotel to make an appearance so when Luigi checked – and he would because he had a suspicious nature – the head of security would give him an alibi. He would make Arturo’s death quick, something he didn’t deserve, but there was no real time for anything else.



He used the shadows of the building to stay out of sight of the cameras as much as possible. With the amount of dirt and webs on them, even if they picked him up, they wouldn’t see much. Still, he was going to make certain he removed the memory cards.

The door was locked, not coded. A big mistake, but one he wasn’t surprised about. Luigi was old school. He didn’t embrace technology. Even at his house, there were no real codes on anything. Luigi didn’t want to memorize them.



Casimir made short work of the lock and then tested the door handle. He listened, but there was no sound at all. He’d noticed that before. Not a single sound escaped from inside. He could only surmise that the building was soundproof, which meant Luigi probably brought men he wanted interrogated to the site. He’d been fairly certain all along that Arturo wasn’t alone in that building.