He reluctantly took his mouth from hers and brushed kisses over her eyes, trailed more to her temple and then down to her chin. "Will you be all right without me? Luigi and Arturo can go to hell. We don't need to recon tonight."
"I'll wait for you. He'll make a move soon. Luigi has endless patience, but whenever a job is completed, he wants to discuss it. That's a given. Every single time he comes out of his wing of the house and insists we go over every detail. He won't wait long, which means whatever business he has, he'll want to conclude it."
"I thought you said Arturo is always with him."
She nodded slowly. "That's true. It's highly unusual for Arturo to leave Luigi without a bodyguard."
He kissed her again. Meaning it. Letting her know she was his and he would never change that. "I'm going then. I'll be back as soon as I know where they are."
She reached up with one hand and stroked his face with loving fingers. "I'll be here. Don't forget the cameras." Just the slightest hint of amusement crept into her voice.
She was teasing him. In the middle of the biggest mess she could be in, she still found a moment for humor. He let himself smile, when all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and carry her off like a primitive caveman. He took her mouth one more time and then turned away to take care of business. Because that was what men like him did.
10
Luigi came out of his wing in the late evening two days later, looking older and shaken. His tall frame was stooped and he walked hesitantly, as if his balance was a little off, but he refused help. Lissa followed him down the hall, staying close just in case he fell. Twice he had to stop and hold on to the wall, but he didn't speak.
He had never before waited two days to go over every detail when she had disposed of one of their primary targets. Not one single time, and Lissa couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. He disappeared each night, driving himself, without a bodyguard, sneaking away from the wing, and heading to a building on the outskirts of town. He didn't go to his wife and children, or to a meeting with the heads of other families. There was no war going on. He simply drove to the building, got out, unlocked the door and disappeared inside for hours.
Casimir followed Luigi two nights in a row, and her uncle always went to the same place. The doors were firmly locked and the windows blackened out with bars on them. He couldn't hear a sound and hadn't yet discovered a way in. Once, Arturo had walked Luigi out to his car, so clearly the bodyguard was staying in that building. Their behavior made no sense to Lissa.
She couldn't find sleep until Casimir returned, sneaking back into her bedroom, stripping as he came to the bed, reaching for her the moment he was there, as if he couldn't stand being away from her. As if he couldn't wait one more second to make love to her. Every time he touched her, it felt that way, as if he was making love. Sometimes he was gentle, other times rough and crazy, but she always knew he touched her with love.
Luigi, moving ahead of her toward his study, stumbled and grabbed at the wall. She reached out to him automatically, but couldn't make herself touch him. Bile rose and she had to force it down, force herself to breathe through the repugnance she felt being so close to him - the man who had raised her. The man she had loved and clung to. The man who had had his own brother murdered so he could have power.
"Tio Luigi, do you need help. I can call..."
"No!" He spat the word, glaring at her over his shoulder.
She ducked her head as she normally did when he reprimanded her. Her hair spilled around her face, covering her expression.
"I'm fine, Lissa." He softened his voice. "This disease is... humiliating. I don't like you seeing me this way. I thought I was better and we needed to talk so I came out before I was really ready, but the medicine is working. Soon I will be fine again."
"I'm upset that Arturo isn't with you, Tio. He has never been away from you, and now, when you need him most..." She trailed off, but her tone was very accusing.
Luigi held the door for her and she preceded him into the study. The nape of her neck tingled warily and she felt as if she had a giant target painted on her back. She kept her back to him, a study in discipline, as she walked to the most comfortable chair, the one where she always sat when they talked. Luigi liked to sit behind his desk. She realized it made him think he had an advantage. He looked in charge. A man of authority, and until she had discovered the truth about him, she'd always accepted that image he projected. Now she wanted to pull out one of the many knives hidden on her body and cut his lying throat.
Luigi took his time rounding the desk to sit in his extremely expensive office chair. He steepled his fingers and leaned back, looking at her. "What is it, Lissa? You look... upset. Did something go wrong?"
With everyone else she stayed in character. This was going to be much more difficult than she imagined. She shook her head. Leaned forward. "That man," she hissed. "The bodyguard. Tomasso. Really, Tio Luigi, was it necessary to assign me that arrogant, bossy man?"
His mouth twitched in amusement. "Yes, it was. There is trouble right now. My enemies are circling. I will not lose you, Lissa, so you must give me this need to protect you. Tomasso is good at his job."
"Too good," she snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm used to Arturo. Where is he?"
"He only takes a few days off a year. He was scheduled for the time off and of course I gave it to him. He couldn't know I would have a relapse or that trouble would come."
Lissa shook her head and huffed out her breath in exasperation. "You don't know how truly irritating Tomasso is, Tio. You coming out of your apartment is the first reprieve I've gotten." She rolled her eyes. "He left to go check out the hotel. I've got an appointment tomorrow and he wanted to go talk to their security. If he loses me that sale, I'll kill him myself."
"Now, now, cara, he is only doing what I asked of him," Luigi soothed, his voice indicating he was well pleased with himself. "His job is to make certain you're safe at all times. Arturo will be back soon, but in the meantime, let Tomasso do whatever he deems necessary in order to protect you."
She glared at her uncle. "Do you really think, after all the years of training, that I can't take care of myself?" It was necessary to stay in character, and Lissa would never want a full-time bodyguard, especially one as bossy as Tomasso. She also needed to distract her uncle and make him believe Tomasso was the reason for her being upset.
"I know that you can, Lissa, but I'm not going to apologize to you for wanting to make certain you're protected. I lost my entire family once. You're all I've got now."
Lying bastard. Her fingers inched toward the knife hidden inside the form-fitting jacket she wore over her bright blouse.
"You will put up with Tomasso for a few more days. Especially at the hotel." Luigi made it a decree, as he did quite a lot of things.
He liked control, Lissa realized. He craved it. Issuing orders made him feel very powerful. She made herself sigh and then shrug. "Fine, but I don't have to like it."
"Tomasso is a good man, Lissa. Treat him with respect. He'll be of great use to me."
"I said I would put up with him. I've never treated any of your men with less than my full respect."
He nodded and let it go. Lissa rarely had an edge to her voice when she spoke with him, and he couldn't help but hear it. She could only hope that with the fuss she'd made, he'd put it down to her dislike of her bodyguard. She knew her protests would only cement Tomasso's position with Luigi. Luigi would believe that the new man was one he could count on and bring deeper into his organization.
"I know you succeeded because Cosmos's widow called me, frantic. She said he slipped over the cliff to the sea and rocks below. By the time the authorities came, his body was out to sea. I know they were trying to find it; if they do, what will they find?" Luigi rubbed his hands together, looking gleeful.
"Clearly he had too much to drink and accidentally fell. It will be ruled an accident. If anyone in the Porcelli family investigates, they will c
ome up with the same conclusion," Lissa said with absolute confidence.
"I wanted this one, Lissa," Luigi confided, dropping his voice and looking straight into her eyes. "Your father treated him like a son. A boy like that off the streets, and Marcello and Elizabeta treated him like famiglia. He betrayed them in such a vile way."
Lissa nearly choked on bile. Her uncle was evil personified. She couldn't sit across from him and look at his face, listen to his rant and keep her face from showing she wanted to kill him. She stood up and paced across the room.