Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
I didn’t ask why because it was nice, but when I tried later, the call went straight to voice mail. And that was all right too.
I had been reorganizing the basement, moving things around, before putting Wink’s harness on him. Tatum had made me promise I would make him wear it for twenty minutes every day so he would get used to having it on. So far, it wasn’t working. Instead of walking, he was passively protesting by immediately lying down. He was a little freak.
When I rechecked the cameras, I almost missed seeing a man at the edge of the drive get into a Mercedes-AMG S63. When I reran the footage, I saw him walking around the side of the house, where he tripped on something, and down he went, face-first into thick mud. I might have been way off, but I didn’t think scary, lethal sicarios from a cartel in Mexico had guys in their employment who tripped over anything, let alone small, decorative bricks lining flower beds.
I called Rais. “I need you to check something.”
“You can’t even say hello?”
“Hello,” I griped at him. “Now can you do what I need?”
“You’re turning into a real ass, you know that?”
“I know,” I muttered. “I need you to pull up the feed on my cameras from 7:32 this morning.”
It was quiet on the phone, and then, “Who the fuck is that?”
“If I knew, would I be calling you?”
He went silent again and then groaned. “Oh, those shoes are goners.”
“At the end of this, I think you can see the plate on the car, but I’m not sure. It looks fuzzy, but if you’re in the office, you can clear it up. Owen has that filter where he takes out the rain. I can’t do anything with it on my end.”
“No worries, I got it.”
“Thanks.”
“Seriously, what is wrong with you? Why do you sound so pissed off?”
“Nothing.”
“This is me. Speak.”
Over twenty years of friendship came through in his demand, and I thought of all the times I’d saved him, only to have him always show up for me, even when we were separated by the whole world. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, no length too great. And I knew he felt precisely the same. Having him finally work with me at Torus and being based in Chicago had made me very happy.
“I’m aging here waitin’ on you,” Rais pressed. “Not as fast as you, obviously, but still.”
“It’s the family,” I admitted. “They’ve been through so much. I just don’t want any surprises.”
“Makes sense.”
And because he agreed, I felt better, which of course reminded me that I had missed asking him some questions. “So…is it true that Sienna Donohue will be moving to Chicago?”
Ticks of time went by.
“What?” He sounded like he was about to hyperventilate.
I laughed at him.
“We talked about—stay the hell out of my love life!” he ordered.
“Oh. Love life. Not dating life.” I paused for dramatic effect. “Interesting.”
“Now I remember why I hate you.”
“You only wish you hated me.”
He grunted.
I hoped my laugh sounded as sinister as intended.
“Okay, who the fuck is Richard Conti?”
“What?”
“I traced the plate, and it comes up as a rental that a Richard Conti drove out of the airport parking lot in Seattle yesterday.”
“Conti?”
“Yeah. Why? Do you know him?”
“He might be related to Marcello Conti.”
“Let me…check if—yes. Oldest son of Frank and Giulia Conti.”
“And you said he flew in yesterday?”
“Correct. He came in from San Francisco.”
“Is he staying here or in a hotel in Seattle?”
“He’s staying there at the Eena Motel. Someone went way out on a limb there naming shit.”
“Well, not everyone is gifted with cleverness.”
“Do you need me there when you confront this Richard?”
“I have to do it today, my friend,” I apprised him. “I don’t think I can wait for you.”
“I can be there by––”
“I’ve got this, no worries.”
“Okay. You’ll text me after so I know you’re good.” A statement of what I would do, not a question.
“I will.”
Neither of us hung up.
“So…is she moving to Chicago and getting her own place?” I prodded.
“That would be counterintuitive, wouldn’t it?”
“She’s an heiress or something.”
“I’m well aware.”
I cleared my throat. “Anything you’d like to tell me?”
“Her parents really like me. So do her sister and brother.”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“I just thought, you know, rich people.”
“Yeah, but you’re reasonably intelligent, not bad-looking, and wear a suit well.”
“Fuck. Off.”
I was laughing when he hung up.
Grabbing the keys from the hook, I was heading toward the garage when the door opened to three loud staccato beeps, followed by a robotic announcement.
I couldn’t help copying it. “Garage door open, back door open, front door open.”
“Where are you going, and why are you talking like our alarm system?” Luke asked as he walked into the mudroom from the garage.
Our. Not my alarm system, but ours. As in his family’s, which included me. Did he even hear himself when he spoke?