Rachael turned her face away, her hand going to her throat in a protective gesture, a sound, much like strangling, emerging.
"This gun is getting heavy, Rachael," Delgrotto said. "I think you and your brother should be alone. I doubt if he poses much of a threat, but Rio might come back unexpectedly. I'll go onto the verandah."
"Rio couldn't possibly return before dawn."
"He travels with those small leopards. It's likely one went to warn him."
The color drained from Rachael's face. "You have to go, Elijah. Get out of here right now."
Elijah waved her words away. "Look at me, Rachael. Turn your head and look at me. I want to see your face when you tell me you believed I sent those men out to kill you. Damn it." His fist hit the tabletop. "I spent my life fighting to keep us alive."
"You said you wished I was dead."
"I never said that." He glanced at the elder, frustration plain on his face. Delgrotto took the hint and slipped outside to leave them alone. "All right, the truth is, I don't know what the hell I said to you that day. I was terrified for you and angry at you for not confiding in me. I had to shoot Tony right in front of you." Elijah swept a hand over his face. "I knew what that would do to you, shooting him in front of you."
Rachael faced her brother across the table. "You killed him, Elijah. You killed Tony because he was with me. You became the very thing we both abhorred."
"You aren't thinking, Rachael." He dragged his hands through his hair in agitation. "He knew about us. He knew what we were. Worse, he belonged to Armando's crew. He was feeding him information."
"You don't know that."
"Who was he Rachael? How did you meet him?"
"Marcia Tolstoy is his sister. She introduced us. We weren't dating. He was just a nice man, lonely like me."
"He wasn't a nice man, and he wasn't Marcia Tolstoy's brother. Armando paid her to tell you that, and before you say she would never do that, remember everyone has a price. Armando found hers. If you'd told me about Tony, I would have checked him out quietly and let you know to break off the friendship. By the time I found out about him, you were already in the car with him. I didn't have time to take him down easy. He was taking you to one of Armando's warehouses."
"We were going out to dinner."
"Have I ever lied to you? Never, Rachael. It's always been the two of us, ever since we were children and there was only us."
"How do I know you're telling me the truth? How do I know what's the truth and what's a lie? My uncle murdered my parents. I thought he loved us. I thought he loved Mom and Dad. Dad was his brother. What does that tell a child, Elijah? The world isn't a very safe place and you can't trust anyone. Not even family." Rachael swung around and filled a glass of water for him, needing something to do.
"I would never, under any circumstances, order your death. You're my sister, my only family, and I love you. You don't have to believe me, Rachael. I know you're hurt and angry and very mixed-up. I didn't have time to talk to you."
"You had time to pull me out of the car before you killed him. And you had time to lock me in the house afterward."
"You were hysterical. He went for his gun, Rachael. You didn't see him make his move because you were fighting me as I pulled you out of the car. You wouldn't listen to me and you were threatening to go to the police. I did my best to carry out Dad's wishes and make the business legitimate. It hasn't been easy. I know too much about Armando, just as you do. He can't allow us to live. As long as he thought I was with him, that I could control you, we both were safe. Once I made my move against him, Armando wanted to kill you not only to punish me, but to silence you. You should never have talked to Tony."
Her dark eyes flashed. "I would never tell an outsider our business, certainly not a man I knew nothing about. I wouldn't risk your life or his. I went out with him."
"And he never asked you questions about me?"
"He asked if you were my brother and I said yes. You are. It's common knowledge. It shouldn't have gotten him killed."
"Rachael, let's start with something we know. Tell me you know I love you. You must know everything I've done in my life I've done for you. For us. To keep us alive. I was a child too. I had no power. No one to help us. I had no choice if we were to stay alive. I had to join with Armando or he would have killed us both on the spot. I traded my soul for a chance for both of us to live."
She flung herself into his arms. "I know you did. I know you did it for me. I knew you could have gotten away if you didn't have me to try to protect."
"Does it really make sense to you that I spent all those years protecting you and now I'd suddenly want you dead?" He wrapped his arms around her, hugged her hard.
"It was so awful. I felt responsible and I didn't know why you would do such a terrible thing. Power corrupts, Elijah. I've seen you fight it. You tried to make the business legitimate, but at the same time, you had to do the things that allowed Armando to think you were a part of the business."
"I had no choice but to run the business the way Armando wanted. We inherited half of everything, Rachael. Armando wanted it all, and he wanted it to remain his. When he found out Dad wanted to get out from under it, he had them followed. He discovered Mom could shift into the form of a leopard. He found his perfect assassins. Stealthy. Cunning. Intelligent."
"So Dad took us all to Florida."
"That was because Mom was afraid her people would harm Dad. So he moved us to the Glades. Mom could still run, and he was out from under the business. But of course it didn't work that way. He owned too much and knew too much. He was slowly trying to get out from under the companies. Armando wasn't going to let that happen. All the while I was out with my wonderful uncle, doing his little tasks for him because he let me run free. I was so stupid. I told Mom and Dad that Armando knew about me shifting, that I did it all the time in front of him. Mom had been so secretive and I wanted her to know it was okay, that he didn't mind. They were both so upset, and they must have talked to him. Armando arranged to meet with Mom and Dad and he killed both of them."
"And I saw it." Rachael pulled away from him. "I'll never forget his face when he turned and saw me standing there."
"Do you think I liked doing the things I had to do? He held you hostage, Rachael. He never bothered to hide what he did from you. The more you knew, the more of a liability you were to him and the more I had to do to make it worth his while to keep you alive. He needed me. I was like Mom and a tremendous asset to him. And he knew that he couldn't kill both of us and get away with it. As soon as possible, I made certain he knew there was proof, if something happened to either of us."
"But Elijah, I saw you do things just like he did them. You're not the same. You've grown distant and colder. I tried to talk to you about it and you brushed it off."
"He was making another move against us. And I was planning to kill him. I didn't want you involved." He said it bluntly. "If you knew, you'd be as guilty as me. You couldn't know the things I had to do. One of us had to be something Mom would be proud of." He looked down at his hands. "If it makes you feel any better, I never killed an innocent. I never stooped that low."
"You ran drugs, you smuggled weapons. You trained assassins." She flung the accusations at him, stepping away, pain breathing in her lungs.
He took a step toward her, wanting to shake her. "Damn it, Rachael. If you don't want to believe me about Tony, don't, but don't look at me as if I'm some monster you don't know. Armando isn't going to let you live. He can't. You're a knife poised over his head. You're an eyewitness to murder. I have no intention of leaving here without you. Armando's men are swarming up and down the river. He imported a couple of the best trackers. Men like Duncan. You can't stay here, Rachael. Come home with me where I can keep you safe."
There was no sound other than the wind and rain. The door was partially open and the wind blew in, stirring the mosquito net, setting it dancing. Rachael felt the wind on her face. Elijah felt the blade cut into his
throat. Hot breath fanned his cheek. A soft growl rumbled dangerously close to his ear. "She isn't going anywhere with you."
18
RIO pressed the blade deeper into Elijah's throat. "She isn't going anywhere with you." His voice was gravelly, a growl of sheer menace. "Not now. Not ever."
"Rio, no, you can't hurt him," Rachael protested. "This is Elijah, my brother."
Elijah didn't move a muscle. He stayed perfectly still, feeling the burning sting of the blade across his throat. Instead of loosening his grip at Rachael's command, Rio tightened his arm until it was a steel band, a vise squeezing ever tighter.
"Stay where you are, Rachael. This gentleman and I are going outside together. If you want to live, Elijah, take very small steps in exact sync with mine. One wrong move and you're a dead man."
"Rio, what are you doing?" Rachael took a step toward them.
The knife drew blood. Elijah held up his hand to his sister, halting her progress instantly. She watched with enormous eyes as the two men moved together out the door, back onto the verandah. Rachael followed at a safe distance, her heart pounding.
"I know you're armed."
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Gun at the small of my back. A second strapped to my leg. I have a knife up my sleeve and a second under my left arm."
Rachael blinked. She glanced at the elder, who remained sitting quietly on the sofa as if they were all having tea. She had no idea her brother was armed. Where had all the weapons come from?