Kissing the Killer(52)

He went silent again and looked out over the neighborhood. I watched as he slowly relaxed and uncrossed his arms. “I used to hate neighborhoods like this,” he said finally.

“Why?”

“So much money here. All this money could help everyone else. It’s part of why I became the man I am today. I wanted to punish people like this. I thought becoming a hit man for the mob would let me give out some kind of justice.”

“And did it?” I asked him softly.

“No,” he said, looking at me. “There’s no justice left in this world. Being a hit man was all about the fucking money.” He sighed and shook his head. “We’ll go to the compound if that’s what you want.”

“You don’t have to go,” I said.

“I’m not walking away from you.”

I was surprised by the way he was looking at me.

Louisa opened the door and stepped out. “Decided?” she asked.

“We’re coming,” Brooks said.

“Good. There’s a car out back. Come on through.”

Brooks gave me a long look as I went and followed Louisa inside. He came after us, bringing up the rear. The door shut behind him.

I didn’t know what was going to happen from here. I had no clue if I was making a horrible mistake or if I was doing the right thing, but something drew me to Louisa. The way her fighters had seemed so willing to die to save their girls made me feel like I could trust her.

Louisa Barone was a fascinating person. The daughter of her enemy, nobody knew who she was or what she did. Brooks made it seem like she lived right under their noses, and they had no clue that she was running a serious organization.

It didn’t matter, though. I was putting my trust in her, and Brooks seemed to be putting his trust in me. That was going to have to be enough.





21





Brooks





I’d only ever been to the compound once before.

It was early on in my career. I was shocked by its size and even more shocked by the way they displayed their wealth. Years later, walking in through the back door with Louisa and Emma, I was equally shocked.

The Barone compound was really a large mansion surrounded by several acres of land. There were horse stables, hiking trails, a beautiful, large pool, and more. The house itself was basically a large hotel, with hundreds of different rooms, a full-time staff, cleaning crews, an enormous kitchen, and much more. The main bosses all lived in the mansion, and other important people came and went.

I looked around in awe as we moved through the lavish halls. I was exhausted, running on barely any sleep. The sun was coming up and the house was slowly waking, but most people ignored us as we walked down the carpeted halls.

There was expensive art on the walls, beautiful plants, and statues everywhere. It looked like a five-star hotel had bought a museum and fused the two together. It was incredible, and I guessed that the hallway we walked down contained a million dollars’ worth of art alone.

“You two will stay near my room,” Louisa said. “I promise not to spy.”

“I’m sure,” I said. “Your family is likely watching everything we say and do anyway.”

“Actually, they are,” she said. “But I’ll keep your room protected.”

“You can do that?” Emma asked.

Louisa smiled. “I’m daddy’s baby daughter. He lets me do whatever I want.”

“Like attack his people and steal his women?”

“Not exactly that.” Louisa stopped outside a door. “Here we are. Normally you’re supposed to check in and get cleared with security, but we’re bypassing all that.” She swiped a card through the door’s magnetic lock, and it swung open.

We stepped inside. It was massive and gorgeous, bigger than my apartment. We entered into a living room area, complete with couches and chairs. Off to one side was a small kitchen area with a table, plus another room in the back.

“Bedroom, bathroom, everything you need,” Louisa said. “Call and order food if you want. Brooks, you need to be awake at four this afternoon for your meeting.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Emma asked.

“Relax. Explore. Doesn’t matter.” Lou smiled. “Come visit me if you want. I’m directly above you.”

“Okay,” Emma said. “Thanks.”

“See you soon.” She put two cards down on the coffee table. Then she left the room. The door clicked shut behind her.

“Holy shit,” Emma said, collapsing onto the couch. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“I’ve been here before,” I said, “but no. I’ve never seen these rooms.”