“Would they have cameras attached to the beams up in the ceiling for any reason?” she ventured. “It seems kind of silly, but when I took a quick look around, they seemed to have an abundance of cameras. I thought it was a bit narcissistic. If Iker was narcissistic, he might have cameras showing every angle of his performances, because although I didn’t see him most of the time, he sounded like he was performing to an audience.”
Taviano looked so pleased with her it was all she could do not to grin. She looked down at her hands, happy to see that her fingers were intact.
“Give me a minute to check, tesoro. I’ll be right back.”
Nicoletta watched him move easily from the mouth of the long wide shadow to the smaller feeder tube, and then he was gone from her sight. She knew tesoro was treasure, and it was an endearment the way it was used, but the family always had endearments for her. Vittorio, Ricco, Giovanni and Stefano almost always referred to her as “little sister,” mostly in Italian. Sometimes it was “little one.” They had accepted her as family, and it had taken a long while for her to realize that. Now she knew.
Taviano, thankfully, had never treated her like a sibling. He rarely trained her. He seemed uncomfortable putting his hands on her, and she couldn’t blame him after the disaster of that night when she’d been so terribly drunk and flung herself at him. She kept from groaning, still embarrassed at her behavior that night. Taviano might be able to excuse it, but she wasn’t quite there yet. She might never get there. She’d come a long way and her confidence level was rising every minute, but not around him. Maybe it never would.
Taviano slid back into the shadow beside her. She was astonished how silent he was when it had been surprisingly loud traveling through the shadow.
“You were right, Nicoletta. There were actually two more cameras. I took a minute to make certain the feed wasn’t going to a remote site and then I removed the insides and turned them off, with the wires not hooked up, as if they hadn’t finished installing them completely.”
“You think the cops will buy that?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what they do. Clariss is our tie to the warehouse. Drago and Demetrio have taken her to the cops, and she’ll give her statement. After that, she’ll be taken to the cousins and reunited with Pia and Bianca. They’ll be well looked after.”
While he explained, he carefully cleaned up all evidence of her getting sick. His cousins had done so at the hotel. He had to make certain it was done at the warehouse.
“The cops will launch an investigation once they see the slaughter at the warehouse, but what are they going to find? My cousins weren’t near the warehouse, and neither were we. Pia and Bianca will tell the cops that you’re with me. And you are. We’re going to fly off in the jet together.”
“I’m sorry I got sick.” She nodded toward his hand and the wipes he’d found to use.
“Wait one minute.” He found a Dumpster some distance away and tossed the wipes in the thing, certain the cops wouldn’t dig that far, and then returned to her.
“Can you handle one more time in the shadows with me?”
Nicoletta’s stomach did that weird pitch and roll it often did when she was around him. She could handle one more time going anywhere with him. She managed to lift her lashes just enough to sneak a quick peek at him, and his dark blue eyes were so focused on her she nearly choked. He could burn a hole right through her looking at her like that. She nodded because she really couldn’t speak.
Taviano took her hand. “You’re going to have to look at me, piccola. I need to know you can do this. We’re going to have to make a short stop in Vegas and then head home.”
“Vegas?” That made no sense.
“I’ll tell you when we’re safe on board. We’ve got to get out of here, but I have to know you really can do this.”
“There seem to be quite a lot of things you’re going to tell me once we’re on that plane,” she said, attempting humor when her entire body rebelled at the idea of going with him once more on the long journey to the airport through the shadows.
His arms tightened around her. “I’ve got you. I’m in your head, Nicoletta. In your mind. If it becomes too difficult, and you can’t feel me anywhere else, look for me there. Feel me there. The shadows can fool our physical bodies, and can twist our perceptions, but our brains remain intact. You can find me there, and I can find you. If you search for me, our connection will grow stronger. Our shadows are already twisting together. They’ve been doing so every time we’ve been close for the past three years. You had to have felt it.”