Shadow Fire (Shadow Riders 7)

“A tie-in with ports,” she murmured aloud. “What about the freighters? The Santoro family ultimately owns them. They clearly are shipping to smaller ports like the ones here on Lake Michigan, but what are they shipping to the larger ports? Or are the larger ports, like Barcelona, supplying and then off-loading to smaller ports? What other smaller ports would they be using?”

She stared at her screen for a few more minutes and then leapt up to pace across the hardwood floor to the window. Outside, the sky began to appear troubled with dark clouds forming over the choppy waters. The clouds appeared blue and a deep purple, with breakout orange as the sun set dramatically, streaking red-orange beneath the clouds and reflecting on the water and sand.

Waves raced in angry succession toward the shore, rolling over before reaching the sand, the force creating loud slaps as the water folded over on itself. The wind hit the long stalks of grass growing along the shore, rushing through them so they bowed, first one way and then the next, a carpet of dancing green.

She was on the verge of a major discovery. She could feel it, that same buildup of tension in her stomach as she saw reflected outside in the churning water of the lake. Out of all the crime families to choose from, why had Stefano chosen the Colombo family to be investigated? He could have chosen gangs. Or bookies. Anyone in the world. Why them?

Brielle rushed back to her laptop to break into Dino Colombo’s private email account. She didn’t expect to find anything incriminating there. He wasn’t an idiot. In fact, by all accounts, he was a very intelligent man. She’d taken a look at the ledgers kept on port business and they appeared to be in order. She wasn’t going to get anywhere fast by going through his books. But . . . she knew from looking at his correspondence that she would find a way into his computer. That was all she needed. A way in.

He was a wine connoisseur—or thought he was. He had a buyer who regularly sent him offers for his favorites. One such offer was already in his mailbox unopened. She appropriated the email, attached her program to it quickly and replaced it, knowing Dino would open it because he opened every single one of the emails sent from that buyer. She had only to wait. Antsy now that she knew she was so close, she logged off and set her laptop aside.

She needed to do some stretches and run on the treadmill for a short while, then find more fruit to snack on. Hopefully, when she came back, she’d be in. She glanced out the window at the lake and the beautiful, brooding sky one last time as she retreated. Just inside the door, she stopped abruptly. The two boats she’d been watching earlier were racing across the waves, this time coming straight toward the back of the house to the two piers.

The boats didn’t look as if they were having any trouble handling the crashing waves and the choppy water was far rougher than it had been earlier. Without hesitation, she raced out of the office, pulling out her cell phone and hitting Elie’s name as she ran. He picked up right away. She continued down the stairs, taking two at time.

“Elie, two boats coming this way fast. I don’t like the look of it. Heading down to get the guards inside.”

“I’ll warn them, you stay inside.”

“Already headed out back,” she said. She was at the hall entryway. She knew one guard had stationed himself out back and she was going there first. “Warn the front guard.” She hung up on Elie and texted the guard out back to get inside even as she ran to the kitchen to exit that way, calling to him.

She yanked open the door, and the guard—a younger cousin of the Ferraro family named Leone Palagonia—shoved her back as the sound of gunfire erupted. He had his back to her and he returned fire. She yanked on his jacket, pulling him into the kitchen and slamming the door closed. Immediately she hit the security lock that dropped into place all the plates that supposedly protected the windows and doors from bullets and blasts.

Brielle turned and ran toward the front entrance, where Raimondo Abatangelo, another younger cousin of the Ferraro family, was assigned to guard her. He was already in the house and coming toward her. His gaze moved over her quickly and then to his cousin. Relief flashed over his face and then was gone.

“Elie doesn’t want us to do anything unless they manage to get into the house. He’s very certain that won’t happen, but he’d like you to go to the safe room, Brielle,” Leone said.

Brielle gave him her fiercest scowl. “I’m a rider, Leone. I can step into a shadow and I’ll be gone. You’re in far more danger than I am. I want to see who we’re facing, not act like some fainting damsel in distress.”

Raimondo coughed into his elbow and exchanged a quick look with Leone, who turned his head away, but not before she caught the faint grin he exchanged with his cousin. Her phone growled at her. If she didn’t answer the growl, it would turn into a roar. She’d programmed that to be the ringtone for Elie’s text messages because he reminded her of a saber-toothed tiger sometimes. Or a caveman.

She glanced down to read his message. You aren’t in the safe room, are you?

She counted to ten before she answered. A slow ten. Not yet. I want to get a good look at these jokers first. You said the house is secure and I believe you. I’m getting a picture for you. Leone and Raimondo will protect me. That was a line of crap. She intended to protect them.

Sheesh. She knew all riders were assigned personal protectors. Leone and Raimondo were Stefano’s first cousins. They were sweet, too. Both of them. She liked them, even though she felt it was silly to waste either one of them on her. She’d been told in no uncertain terms she wasn’t going to be utilized as a rider. That meant the Ferraros should free up these men to protect other shadow riders.

If Elie really insisted she needed a bodyguard, she’d accept one, but not one of Stefano’s elite guards. That was just plain silly. And a waste. Besides, Leone and Raimondo were just too sweet to be put in a position of taking a bullet for her. She wasn’t at all comfortable with that.

The tiger growled again. Somehow the sound managed to be increasingly scary. I’m on the way. Val and Dario are as well. We can get all the photographs and information necessary ourselves. They’ve called for a cleaning crew. Wouldn’t want anyone to shoot the wrong person. Stefano is informing Leone and Raimondo now, giving them instructions.

She wanted to do her own growling. She should be able to give her personal protectors instructions, not someone off the premises. How would Stefano know what to do when he isn’t even here?

Brielle clenched her teeth as she made her way back into the kitchen, ignoring Leone’s call to her. If they were going to insist she go to a safe room, she wasn’t going to make it easy on them, at least not until she had her picture and her laptop. Neither man wanted to put his hands on her. That was a distinct disadvantage to them. She could have stepped into a shadow and she would have gotten away with anything, but she was willing to play fair as long as she could.

“What the hell, Brielle?” Raimondo demanded. “You need to stay away from there.”

“I’m getting a few pictures and then my laptop. I can figure out who they are, Rai. That’s what I do.” She kept her voice calm and decisive. “It will only take a few seconds. Then I’ll head to the safe room and you can lock me in if it makes you feel better.”

“It will keep Elie from beating the shit out of us,” Leone said.

“Well, don’t slow me down then,” Brielle said. “And just so you know, Elie isn’t really as mean as he likes everyone to think he is.”

She moved through the spacious kitchen with its hardwood floors, white cabinets, white marble counters and the double sliding glass doors surrounded by rustic wood that matched the overhead hand-hewn beams. Outside, on the patio, two five-man teams were in the act of consulting with their team leaders in an effort to find a way through the house’s defenses.

“They obviously thought, with so much glass, it would be easier to gain entry,” Leone said. “The man in the blue is the team leader. He’s got a layout of the house.” He fit binoculars to his eyes to bring the document closer. “It’s newer, looks like they bribed someone Elie paid to make changes.”

“He wouldn’t have shown security changes,” Raimondo declared. “Emilio and our crews handled all of that. Whatever printout he has doesn’t show anything of use to him.”