Murder at Sunrise Lake

“If it ever came out that Marco had a hand in the killing of his family, damn straight he would kill him without batting an eye. He’d do it slow and ugly too, savoring every moment of his torture. His family died hard. First his father. Then his older brothers. He took care of his mother and sisters financially by fighting bare-knuckle in the death matches.”

Stella frowned up at him. “What is that?” A little shiver went down her spine because she had a terrible feeling she knew. “That’s not like those Hollywood films where they fight to the death, is it?” She tried to sound sarcastic so it wouldn’t be real.

“That’s exactly what it is.”

“I didn’t think those were real. He’s still alive so he must have won.”

“He won, but they took his money to pay his father’s debt every match. That left his mother and sisters without a roof and no food. He had to do other things to get money for those things, and still, life wasn’t good for any of them.”

They walked in silence, listening to the familiar sounds of the night creatures and the whisper of the wind ruffling the surface of the water. Bats wheeled and dipped, catching insects as they flew in the moonbeams above the water’s edge.

“You just never know how complicated a person’s life is, do you, Sam?” Stella asked. “Ever since the nightmares have started, I’ve been finding out all sorts of things about my friends, from Denver to Vienna, things I hadn’t known before.” She tilted her face up to his. “Things about you. I guess everyone has things in their past they prefer stay there. I feel for him now, for Vitale, and I don’t want to. I think he’s too much like your father. I also think he’s the man who broke Raine’s heart. I don’t know that, but if he did, he’s indirectly responsible for her father’s death and her being thrown out of her family.”

“I hope not,” Sam said. “Raine strikes me as the vengeful type. If they both are, that could be a very bad combination. Especially if they both are sitting at our holiday dinner table.”

“Since the talk didn’t go so well, I guess I won’t have to worry about that,” Stella said, feeling somewhat relieved.

“Actually, it went better than I expected. I had checked into his medical history before I went to see him. He does have a heart condition. I also put a couple of top-notch investigators on him to dig up as much as they could in an afternoon. It does look as if he’s considering retiring. He’s moved the bulk of his money, all legitimately his, into his offshore accounts. It looks as if he’s been having meetings with the man he would have take over for him.”

“You believe he is retiring?”

“He’s taking the steps toward it. Careful ones,” Sam acknowledged, turning them around, taking them back in the direction of the house. “He was looking into real estate here and he really has met a woman he seems to like. This one is closer to his age and doesn’t seem to be interested in his money, although it’s too soon to tell. It appears he was telling the truth about those things.”

“You’re taking a wait-and-see policy with him, aren’t you?” Stella guessed.

“I advised him to hire a very good security firm and gave him the name of one. I have friends I know who are excellent bodyguards. It’s up to him whether or not he listens. Raine’s father should have hired guards. Just because you retire doesn’t mean you’re out of the game. You still have a lot of knowledge. The feds can still decide to come after you. It isn’t like in the old days where there are shoot-outs all the time, but that doesn’t mean criminal activity isn’t taking place. It’s just conducted behind the scenes and the families look very legitimate and stay as low-key as possible. No one wants to draw attention to themselves. So, killing an old man who is living up in the Sierras by putting a bullet in his head would be stupid. Arranging an accident would be easy.”

He opened the door for her and allowed her inside. Before she got very far, his palm curled around the nape of her neck and he pulled her to him, his eyes dark with heat. Her heart immediately accelerated. His mouth descended slowly, in a way that always said she had the choice to stop him, but only made her burn hotter for him.

Then he was kissing her and everything disappeared but Sam. He could make her boneless in seconds, her body melting into his, her mind fading so there was only feeling, this sensation of free-falling, of fire in her veins and that ball of need building in her stomach and in her sex. He lifted his head and gently kissed both eyes and then the corners of her mouth and her chin, giving her time to find the strength to stand on her own again.