Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy 5)

“I should have gone, Catalina. She must have been terrified. I could tell she was scared on the phone, but I thought she was acting. I ignored her and they killed her just to set me up. If it wasn’t for me, she would still be alive.”

But she was dead, and every time I thought about it, my heart jerked in my chest. There would be time to process it later. Right now, Leon needed reassurance.

“You didn’t ignore her. You talked to her. You called the police. You told her to dial 911.”

His eyes were dark, his face grim. I could tell nothing I said made any difference. I had to lift some of this from him.

“You told me about it, and I told you not to go.”

“It’s not on you,” he said.

“Yes, it is. I’m the Head of the House.”

“She was my responsibility.”

“No. She stopped being your responsibility when you finished the case. Leon, if I could rewind yesterday, knowing what I know now, I still wouldn’t have let you go. Not alone. If you had gone, now Audrey would be dead, you would likely be dead, and we would be planning your funeral. I can’t do that, Leon. I can’t bury you. I just can’t.”

His face remained grim.

I wished I could do something, anything, to make him feel better and to make Audrey not be dead. But life didn’t offer do-overs.

“We’ll make them pay,” I promised.

His gaze focused. A cold expression hardened his face.

“What was their plan?” Leon said, his voice icy. “Lure me there, stage a murder-suicide?”

“If I were doing it? I’d kill her and shoot you but make sure you survived.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“If you died, we would be gunning for revenge. Grief hardens you. It makes you into a determined opponent. What would you do if I was killed?”

“I’d turn the city inside out.”

“Exactly. Our whole family would be foaming at the mouth to find your killer. But if you were still clinging to life, most of our energy would go toward clearing you and making sure you recovered. We would be angry, sure, but mostly we would be scared that we might lose you. It’s not just the frame-up, it’s the uncertainty. Will you live? If you live, will you be charged with killing Audrey? Are you in a coma, unable to refute the charges but tainted by murder? If you’re hovering between life and death, the authorities can’t charge you, they can’t clear you, and meanwhile House Baylor is smeared with the scandal. A PI who murders a celebrity YouTube star. Investigating Felix’s murder on top of that would be the last thing on my mind.”

He stared at me. “So, in this scenario, I’m a total screwup who murdered an innocent girl, tried to take the coward’s way out, and fucked it up? Jesus, I thought I was dark.”

That was a little splash of life. I would take it. “You need to up your game.”

I hugged him. Leon stiffened, then hugged me back. For a long moment neither of us spoke and then I took a step back.

“Have you told anyone about Audrey?”

He frowned.

“She never mentioned you by name in any of her videos. There is nothing on any of the social networks tying you together.” Bern had checked on that because Sabrian asked him to. “Who would know about it?”

“Albert,” he said.

“Albert Ravenscroft?”

Leon nodded.

“Why?”

My cousin sighed. “You know how I run in Freshmeadow Park in the morning? He started running with me three weeks ago.”

“He did?” That was news to me.

“Yeah. He talks.” Leon said it as if it explained everything.

“About what?”

“About everything. Sports. Family business. Cars. It always comes back to what a good match he would make for you. And wouldn’t it be cool if we could be buddies and in-laws. And if I could talk to you about him.”

“Let me guess, he has many fine qualities that women find attractive?”

“So many,” Leon said.

No doubt.

“One morning Audrey called, and he heard me tell her to stop. He said it was kind of harsh, so I told him about her. I know it’s against policy, but I felt it was a good teachable moment.”

“How did he take it?”

“He didn’t get it,” Leon said. “I don’t understand this guy. He seems smart. I made parallels between Audrey and me and him and you. It totally flew over his head.”

I rubbed my face. I would have to speak to Albert.

“You’re not backing off from the Pit?” Leon asked.

“No.”

“Good.” Leon bared his teeth. “I sent Marat’s background to you.”

“Thank you.”

“I suppose you want me to sit on my hands at home?”

I did but telling Leon that virtually guaranteed that he would do the opposite, especially if I mentioned that Arkan’s people would target him. He wanted that confrontation. Instead I went for Mom’s approach.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, Leon. You know the situation. Right now, Houston PD must get a warrant to talk to you. The moment you leave, they’re free to approach you on the street. People are free to record this encounter, which will almost certainly devolve into a confrontation. People can post it on Herald, share it on Snapchat, and speculate about why the police are talking to you and then someone will mention Audrey’s name . . .”

Leon held up his hand. “You made your point. I will stay here and clear the Hoskins case.”

“Thank you.”

Leon locked his teeth. Muscles stood out on his jaw. He held up one finger. “One condition.”

“Yes?”

“When we find who did this to Audrey, I’ll kill them.”

“I’m counting on it.”

Chapter 7

At ten minutes before nine, I went to get Alessandro. I stopped by the guard booth first.

“Hi, Brittney.”

A clipped female voice responded, “Hello, Ms. Baylor.”

“Has he moved?”

“Prime Sagredo arrived at 06:54, rolled down his window at 07:12, answered a phone call at 07:54, rolled up his window and started the vehicle at 08:10, turned the vehicle off at 08:20, then started the vehicle again at 08:40 and turned it off at 08:50.”

Texas heat was no joke. It was already approaching ninety and the humidity only made it worse. Without AC he would be broiling in that car.

“Thank you, Brittney.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

I walked toward the Spider. I could see Alessandro through the windshield. He’d shaved. His hair was perfectly tousled. He wore a white shirt he’d left open at the collar. We would be treated to Prime Sagredo this morning.

He opened his door and got out of the car. He wore sand-colored trousers with expensive Italian loafers. A BVLGARI watch glinted on his wrist, about fifteen grand. The perfect picture of a House scion. He had money and he had taste, and he had to take care of business, but he wasn’t his father, so he saw no reason to be uptight about it. A year ago, before I got to know him, I would have mistaken it for his natural style, but now I knew better. Everything he wore and the way he wore it was precisely calculated. A spoiled heir of a prominent European House living on the cusp of fashion wouldn’t think to dress down to visit a building site and so Alessandro pretended to have no common sense.

I had traded my skirt and pumps for a more sensible beige pants, boots, and a blue T-shirt. To say we didn’t match would be an understatement. Alessandro looked like a wealthy spoiled heir to some corporation who came to bother his personal secretary on her day off just before she left to go hiking.

“Arkan’s person made their move,” I told him.

“Tell me.”

I did.

“True to form,” he said. His voice had the steady calm of a man who had expected the worst and was proven right. He wouldn’t waste time and energy being angry about it. He would simply kill everyone responsible, and I had no problem with that.

Of all the ways they could attack us, I would’ve never anticipated Audrey. We barely knew her. She was a complete innocent in this. They murdered a girl just for a chance to distract me. When I came face-to-face with her killers, I would eliminate them. It wouldn’t make me happy. Killing was a monstrous thing but sometimes it had to be done. I would kill for the sake of my family without any hesitation and I would kill for Audrey, so no other Audrey would die like her again.

An outraged honk tore through the silence behind us. We both turned. A green Mini Cooper sped up the road and slid to a dramatic stop before the security booth. The driver’s window rolled down, and Runa Etterson stuck her red-haired head out of it.

“Catalina! Step away from the dickhead!”

A strangled sound came from the booth’s speakers. It sounded suspiciously like laughter.

“I thought the Etterson matter was settled,” Alessandro murmured.

“It was.”

“Then what is she doing here?”

“She probably heard about Leon and came for moral support. She’s my best friend.”

Runa passed the sniff test and was marching toward us, her car abandoned. Her face promised war. I had kept things from my family, because I didn’t want them to worry, but I told Runa everything.