Brinley sat with a fresh cup of coffee and glanced in the den to watch Finn play with his new trucks. Reed couldn’t have found something better for her son, since he loved anything that rolled. She heard the garage door engage and got up and took another mug out of the cabinet to pour Reed some coffee. Hopefully she’d enjoy the meal she’d prepared with the groceries Reed had shopped for. She couldn’t be sure, but Reed hadn’t seemed like she wanted to leave a few hours ago, and the meal was her way of saying thanks for what Reed had done for them so far.
“Hey,” she said when the door opened. She dropped the full cup when she saw the smallish man whose shirtfront was covered in blood. “Who are you?” There was no way this was Reed in another disguise.
“Oscar,” the man said, and his voice was soft and almost feminine. “And you need to help me.” He motioned her toward the garage.
She gasped when she saw Reed sprawled across the back seat in a pool of blood. It still seemed to be oozing from under her shirt, and Reed was motionless. “What happened?” Oscar didn’t stop her when she crawled in and touched Reed’s face. It was sweaty but cold.
“Some asshole shot her and we need to get her inside. I’ve got someone I can call, but he can’t work in the car.” Oscar pulled on Reed’s legs and got her almost to the point where she’d fall on the floor. “Can you get her shoulders?” He pulled a little more.
It was a struggle, but they were able to get her in the house and onto the kitchen counter. Even with all the jostling, Reed never woke up or made a sound. Brinley pressed her fingers to her throat and Reed’s pulse was barely there. “Who are you calling?” she asked, stopping Finn from coming in and walking through the trail of blood they’d made.
“There’s a guy who takes care of things like this,” Oscar said, taking his phone out. “She’s not going to like anyone coming over here, but we’ve got no choice.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t take her to the hospital?” They worked together, pressing kitchen towels to Reed’s back and front. “She’s barely alive.”
“The last thing we need to do is go somewhere she’ll have to explain the gunshot wound to the police. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
“I hope your guy hurries. She has to be okay.” They stood together in silence until the doorbell rang. Her last chance at freedom or a life without looking over her shoulder was bleeding to death on the granite countertop. Up to now she’d feared Reed, mostly, but if Reed getting shot had anything to do with her and Finn, it meant she’d been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Of course, with the kind of life Reed led, the situation might have had nothing to do with Brinley at all. That released another bout of fear, but this time it centered on Reed and how she couldn’t lose her.
“You need to go upstairs and take the kid with you. I don’t want this guy seeing you.” Oscar washed his hands and shooed her out of the kitchen. “As soon as he’s done, I’ll come up and get you.”
“Please tell him to do whatever it takes to save her.” She pressed her palm to Reed’s cheek and begged whatever higher power was listening to make her okay.
“Go.” Oscar waited until she’d picked up the kid and made it up the stairs, but she watched from the shadows as a young guy in scrubs with the name of a vet practice embroidered on the front came in and immediately moved to Reed and started working.
Brinley peered down at them. Oscar caught her watching and waved her back into the bedroom, but she just moved deeper into the shadows. There was no way she was going to wait in another room. It took over an hour, but the medic got the bleeding stopped and put in stitches.
“She’s going to have to rest for at least a week, since she lost a shitload of blood. Make sure you change the bags of fluids when they run out, and use the whole box I left you. When she wakes up, start giving her these.” He handed over a bottle of antibiotics.
“Let me go upstairs and get her bed ready. Stick around because you’re going to have to help me carry her up there,” Oscar said, running up and herding Brinley and Finn into the other bedroom. “Make sure the kid stays quiet until I pay and get rid of this guy.”
“Is she still alive?” Brinley had never felt so lost.
“It’ll take the both of us to take care of her, but she’ll be okay. Don’t worry, Reed’s been a fighter from the day she was born.” He went downstairs and Brinley moved to the shadows at the top of the stairs again so she could listen.
“Be really careful moving her. I don’t want those stitches popping,” the guy said. “You take her feet, and once she’s settled, just remember to change her bandages at least twice a day. I left you enough stuff to get you through the week.”
“You’ll forget this address, right?”
“My business is all about discretion, so don’t worry about it.”
“This one might make the news, and if you give her up, I promise you the money you make today won’t get you very far,” Oscar said.
“That’s the reason for the discretion, man. I’m still alive because I don’t talk about my clients.” The medic took his fat envelope and left with another warning from Oscar.
Brinley went back to Reed’s room and watched her shallow breathing. This was what life with someone like Reed was like. This was what you could expect. So why did her heart ache? Why did she want to cry, and rage, and do whatever she could to wake her up? She moved to the head of the bed and gently lifted Reed’s head onto her lap. “What happened?” Brinley said to Oscar when he came back in, not letting Reed go.
“Our job snowballed and we ended up here,” he said, sitting on the other side of the bed and giving Finn a small smile when he ran his truck up Oscar’s shin. “She told me to take care of you.”
“The world’s become a crazy place,” Brinley said, glancing up at him. “Please don’t turn us over to the people who want to kill us.”
“I do that, and that medic who fixed her up wouldn’t have enough to patch up once she was done with me. We’ll be fine, and now you can tell me why you’re here.”
“I’m an accountant and I was too good at my job.” That was the simple truth, but it felt like the weight of the world sat in those too-easy, vague words.
Oscar laughed. “That’s a start.”
* * *
Sofia smiled as one of the older men in from New York spoke to her about Victor and what a great time he’d shown him and his family when they were last in town. The people lingering after the funeral were starting to get on her nerves, but her father said they had to keep up the facade until Paolo came back. Hopefully her brother was searching the house of the asshole holding her money.
“Do you think you won?” Pietro asked as he stood right behind her.
“Won what, exactly?” She didn’t turn around, tired of both her sons’ childish behavior. She’d given birth to them but obviously hadn’t bothered to teach them respect.
“He’s dead and you think you’re keeping everything.” Pietro laughed. “There isn’t anything left and you’re going to end up with nothing. He was leaving you—I hope you know that.”
“What exactly did I do that you hate me so much?”
“You made Dad miserable. He told us about all the shit you pulled.”
“I get it, you hate me for demanding he not cheat, that he respect me. Your father was good at spinning stories, but you’re right, he’s gone. My last favor to him was the service today, and now I’m done.” She put her drink down and faced her eldest son. “You can carry on his name, and his legacy, while you have fun with your grandfather. I’m not going to force you to live with me.”
“You’re dropping us too?” Gabriel asked, and Sofia had no problem hearing the sarcasm.
“I’m not the one who dropped anyone, and you two have made your intentions clear. If you’re waiting for me to beg, then you haven’t paid attention to who I am,” she said and smiled at her father. “That you think I’d tolerate what your father was dishing out makes me laugh. I’m your mother, but I’m not willing to put up with that kind of treatment from you, either.”
“He spent it all, so at least he had a great time while he was here,” Pietro said. “You got to respect him for that.”
“True, he’s left us all with nothing, but it’s where we end up that matters, isn’t it? All I wanted was to be a family, and it’s not too late for that. If you two can learn to accept there are two sides to every story, you’ll have a place with me and your grandfather.” She pointed toward Diego, and he peered at her as if asking if she needed rescuing, so she shook her head. “He’ll give you a place and teach you some manners.”
“We’ll see, Mother dearest,” Pietro said and stared at the door as the police detectives came in. “It could be that we’ll visit you in a better place.”
“Pietro, you’re still too young to be this cynical. If you don’t know what that means, look it up,” she said and moved to the door. “Officers, what do you want?”
“Can we see you and your father somewhere more private?” Andrew Wamsley asked.
“It can’t wait? I have a houseful of people here to celebrate my husband’s life. The day’s been hard enough without you adding to it.” She saw her father heading toward her, dragging Ezra along with him. The detective tilted his head but didn’t respond. “You’re not leaving, so let’s go into the office, but make this fast.”
“Is it true she killed our father?” Pietro asked the detective and smiled at Sofia. “We can help with that, if you need us to.”
“Not now,” Diego said as he led the cops away and slammed the door on the boys when they tried to join them.
“Sir, we really don’t want to intrude, but we wanted to come and talk to you about your son,” Wamsley said.
“What about my son?” Diego said with an edge in his voice.
“He was found an hour ago,” Wamsley said and placed his hand on Diego’s arm when he grasped the desk.
“Found, what do you mean found?” Diego said, not shaking the cop off.
“He was killed, Mr. Moretti,” Wamsley said.
“What?” Sofia whispered, her legs nearly going out from under her. “How is that possible?”
“He was found hanging from a fire escape a block off Sahara. Someone shot him through the head, his gun’s clip had only three bullets remaining, and we found an empty clip in his coat pocket. We found shell casings on the roof of the building where he was found, which means he was shooting at someone,” the younger cop said.
She couldn’t remember his name, and more than anything she wanted to hit him until he stopped talking.
“Does either of you have any idea what he was doing there?”
“No,” Diego said, choking out the word as sobs racked his body. It was the first time she’d seen her father cry like he’d never stop. “He left and said he had to run an errand.”
“There were no witnesses, but Benito Lucassi’s family was having the service for his granddaughter a block over. Are you sure he wasn’t there meeting with anyone who would’ve been attending that?”
“Are you some kind of dick?” Ezra asked. “You tell them Paolo’s dead and you’re asking stupid questions. This family is already grieving.”
“Understand that we take every case seriously, sir, and we’re looking for a place to start,” Wamsley said. “The timing could have been better, but I didn’t think the family wanted to wait to find out.”
“Where’s my boy?” Diego asked.
“We’ll lead you to the morgue whenever you’re ready,” the younger cop said. “And we’ll be anxious to set up and interview everyone to help in our investigation.”
“Give it a rest. Not now, Detective,” Ezra said.
“What’s the matter, Mom?” Gabriel asked when the police opened the door and left.
“Is karma finally catching up to you?” Pietro asked, and Diego lifted his fist, making her son take a few steps back in definite fear.
“I’ll teach you all about karma if you say another fucking thing,” Diego yelled, and no one said another word.
Sofia covered her mouth to muffle her sobs when her father mentioned karma. She’d started this by killing Victor, and now she’d paid the ultimate price. Paolo was more than her brother. He was the one man in her life who’d never disappointed her and had always provided comfort. Because of her, though, he was dead, and it was all her fault.
“Come on, Papa, it’s our turn to take care of Paolo.” His loss meant her life would never be the same, and she’d have to find the strength to make it on her on. “We owe him our attention.”
* * *
Remi Jatibon sat close to the glass wall in the office Mano had set up for her at the Gemini as Gino Roca glanced around, seeming to study the room. This had been an especially bloody time for her competition, with the death of Victor Madison and the discovery of Caterina Terzo. A request for a meeting from Francesco Terzo’s top lieutenant wasn’t what she’d expected, but she’d agreed if only to see what the old man was going to float.
“Mr. Roca, is there something I can do for you, aside from giving you decorating ideas?” she asked to see if she could get him to focus on her and Mano. They’d taken the meeting alone, leaving all the muscle in the outer office.
“I’m sure you’ve heard that Caterina was found dead at the Bellagio,” Gino said, talking through his teeth as if he was pissed about something.
“We did, and I wanted to give Mr. Terzo a little time, but I was planning to call and offer him my condolences.” The anger she understood, because Gino was like a part of the Terzo family, but why it was directed at them was a mystery.
“Are you sure you can’t offer something else?” He leaned toward her a little, and Mano copied the move as if to protect her if this guy was stupid enough to attack.
“The only other thing I can offer is flowers or to donate to Caterina’s favorite charity, but that’s it. I’m not sure why you’re here, but if it’s to accuse me or my family of something, you’re free to go.” She tried never to lose her temper to the point of raising her voice, and Gino narrowed his eyes when she spoke in low tones.
“Cut the shit, Remi, we all know you and Mano want to corner the Strip for your operation and don’t want to leave room for anyone else. Caterina was working to strengthen our share and neither of you liked that.” He pointed his finger at her, and he obviously didn’t have the same discipline as she did because his voice started to rise.
“Careful, Gino,” she said, raising her own finger. “I’ll let this kind of disrespect slide since you’re grieving, but come in here and accuse me of something I had nothing to do with and it might backfire on you.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
She wondered if he was there at Francesco’s request after all. “It means I wouldn’t move against your boss or anyone in his family because I have no reason to. Accuse me of something, then follow it up with some retaliatory moves, and I’m going to lose my temper.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I don’t owe you any explanations, but I’m not at the mercy of anyone else.”
“Do you like talking in riddles?”
“I’ll talk slower so you can keep up. We needed a service for our family business, so we purchased a business to take care of it. As a matter of fact, we bought two, since Gemini has a twin in Biloxi. Why the hell would I care what Caterina or any other Terzo is doing on the Strip?” She crossed her legs and tapped her finger on the side of the custom-made black alligator boot. “If Caterina’s death is a murder, you’re wasting your time here. And I don’t appreciate it, if I wasn’t clear.”
“I had to be sure, so don’t take it as an insult that I’m here.” Gino sounded like a spanked puppy, and she could guess why.
“When I speak to your boss, I’ll be happy to explain it to him. Whoever made the move against Mr. Terzo’s family will not be found here, or in our employ.”
“Come on, Remi, there’s no reason to throw me under the bus. I just wanted to give the old man a place where he could take out his frustrations,” Gino said, holding his hands out as if pleading for her silence.
“Sounds like you were going to throw me under the bus. If you want me not to mention your lack of intelligence today,” she said and Mano snorted, “then tell me what other theories you have about this. A move against the Terzo family took cojones, and no one does that without a good reason.”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
“I see, your way of doing things is to shoot blind. That’s a problem.” She put her hand up when Gino opened his mouth. “You have our answer, so get out of here before I change my mind about talking to the old man.”
She leaned back when Gino left as fast as he could without actually running.
“We need to call Benito and set up that meeting.”
“For what?” Mano asked.
“We have a lot of dead people, and we’ve been visited by both the police and now the Terzo family, though I don’t think any of them knew Gino was coming here. Benito was responsible for Caterina, but we talked about how there was no way he did that without someone’s blessing. He needed that to keep the rest of his family alive.” She stood and grabbed her jacket. “Benito has to pay you back for that information by getting us a meeting with whoever his godfather is. That’s the guy who’ll keep us out of the fray.”
“Hey,” Hugo said, knocking and coming in. “Sorry to bother you guys, but there’s something else.”
“What?” Mano shook his head. “You come to town, sis, and all hell breaks loose.”
“It’s my exciting personality.” She winked at Mano and waved Hugo on. “What else?”
“Paolo Moretti is dead.”
“Simon,” she said loud enough for her guard to hear. “Call Emile and tell him to keep everyone inside, and send some more people to the house. I don’t want anything happening to the family.”
“Who the hell killed Moretti?” Mano asked.
“The better question is, what the hell is going on?” Remi waved him toward the door. “We’d better find some answers before we do what I accused Gino of doing. We can’t start shooting blind, but these assholes are going to bring the Feds down on Vegas, and therefore on us, with the bodies they’re piling up.”