“It’s scalable.” She locks her phone and places it face down on the table, then she crosses her legs and ignores the servers,a whole dozen of them,as they buzz through the room and deposit plates in front of each of us. “It’s good,” she concedes with a small dip of her chin. “I wouldn’t say it’s scalable tomost. But I’m not most, and I managed a peek behind thecurtains using just my phone and the five minutes it took for us to exit our cars and arrive in this room.”
Silence falls across the room like a blanket laid over rustling grass. Tension builds, and Cordoza’s guards take up position a mere four feet behind their charge. More wait in each of the four doorways leading out of this room, and I know for a fact a dozen more walk the grounds outside.
“Had I known this place existed, I wouldn’t have been caught on a plane with an unscheduled guest earlier today.”
“Which is precisely why a man in my position knows to diversify.” He glances down at his plate and studies the steaming pile of brightly colored vegetables, baked potatoes, and lamb shanks, I think, all smothered in rich gravy that smells of rosemary and heaven.
If only I were hungry.
“I’ve heard rumors about you, Ms. Solomon. While you busied yourself with eavesdropping on my organization, I conducted a little research of my own. You are an exceptionally beautiful woman, just like your sister.” His eyes flicker Ellie’s way. “And just like your sister, I’m left with no other conclusion except that beauty is the least remarkable thing about you. I wondered how you would handle that small mess in Copeland.”
“That small mess… as in, Anthony Agosti?” I question.
Archer bristles on my left, his broad hand dropping to my thigh and squeezing just tight enough to communicate his anxiety. His fear.He’s scared, but it’s not his life he’s scared for.
“The man you made a pawn, and Soph and me, the chess pieces assigned to wipe him off the board?”
“Mmm. I don’t recall ever being surrounded by so many beautiful women, Chief Mayet. Not when those beautiful womenalsoboasted brains.” He looks across to Soph and tips his chin. “I knew of the business Anthony was conducting out of that second-rate hotel, but even cheap hotels have security cameras in place. That would’ve been the first hurdle you needed to scale before you could move forward with your plans.”
“So you tested us?” While the men remain silent, disinclined to challenge Cordoza on his own turf, Soph broadens her shoulders and lifts a demanding brow. “Step one: deal with the tech. Step two: rope Mayet in and see how far her loyalty, not only to me, but to her mission, goes. Step three: see if we’d pull the trigger?”
“Step four: call this family out for murder and see how each of you handles yourselves.” He brings his probing stare my way. “You arguedyour husband’s innocence with professionalism and passion, Chief. You looked me in the eye and denied his involvement, all without incriminating yourself, and you maintained your composure under pressure much the same way I’d expect you to do inside a courtroom.”
“I’ve provided my expert testimony in front of a judge and jury many times.” I reach for my empty water glass and hear, instantly, the crackle of a fresh bottle opening. The movement of a server bustling closer. Then I catch the gentle perfume of a woman dressed all in black as she leans past me and fills my glass. “It’s not uncommon for a dirty defense attorney to call my work into question in their quest to absolve a guilty client. I have a lot of experience arguing death in all its forms.”
“Like I said, beautyandbrains.” Swallowing, so his Adam’s apple bobs with the movement, he draws his gaze around. “You come with your own gifts, don’t you, Doctor Emeri? It’s not something we’ve discussed, but it exists.”
“We can typically sense when we’re in the presence of someone just like us.” Aubree settles back in her chair and holds Tim’s hand in her lap. “Though, I wonder how far your gifts stretch? If you were like me, no test would’ve been necessary. Simply knowing them would’ve answered all of your questions.”
“In an ideal world, yes. But often, wethinkwe know how we’ll act in a certain situation. We evenintendto follow through. But when the moment arrives, when the pressure is on, and the consequences of one’s actions become a stream of consciousness in the back of our minds,doingbecomes an entirely different matter. It’s not a flaw. It’s just a simple matter of reality. Not everyone cando.” He brings shrewd eyes to Ellie. “And then there’s you.”
Troy lays his arm across the back of her chair. His jaw grinds, and his shoulders swell with adrenaline. To fight. To defend.
“My sweet, sweet Michelle. I knew from the outset that you were very special. I knew your heart, and though it could’ve been exceptionally dangerous for me, being in the position I was in, I knew you’d be your father’s undoing.”
“Not my father.” She runs a soothing hand across her still-flat stomach and juts her chin forward. “Tony was never my father. He was a man too weak to carry his grief after losing his daughter to violent crime. Worse, he was the reason she met the end she did. It was too much for him, so instead of burying his little girl and searching for a semblance of healing, he tricked a vulnerable fifteen-year-old into believing she had nowhere else to go.”
“So you assimilated.” Pride glitters in his eyes. “And then you conspired to destroy a man who destroys others. Each of you,” he looks from Ellie to Aubree. Me. Soph. “Have proven you will protect those who need protecting. You’ll fight for those who need to be fought for. And you willdo, even when doing could cost you everything.”
“I’ve done nothing to earn your confidence,” Aubree challenges. “Them? Sure. But you haven’t tested me.”
“Haven’t I?” He brings a shaky hand up and presses it to his heart. “I know the things I know, Doctor Emeri, for the same reasons you know the things others don’t say out loud. Chief Mayet’s single-minded determination to exclude you from the Agosti mess speaks volumes about her faith in your abilities. Sophia’s sensible avoidance of all candy, at least until October, bolsters that belief.” His eyes glitter and dance with mirth. “We’re supposed to use our gifts for good, Doctor Emeri. But I also understand the importance of lessons learned.”
Aubree’s cheeks flush bright pink.
“And then there’s the turmoil spinning in Michelle’s mind due to the secret she keeps in her pocket tonight. A secret she has not yet shared with her beloved.”
Stunned, Troy’s eyes whip down to hers. “What?”
“Aubree wrote the sex of our baby on a slip of paper,” she murmurs sheepishly. “I haven’t looked, but?—”
He swings his gaze across to Aubree. “You know?”
She nods.
Then he looks to Cordoza. “You know, too?”
Pleased, Cordoza drops his chin and smiles. “I do. But only because Ellie is entirely incapable of lowering the volume of her thoughts. And your child…” He exhales a happy sigh. “Is louder. I tolerated Tony’s Michelle for the decade and a half I knew her. I considered her an entitled brat and an expensive socialite I hoped would marry well, because as Tony’s only child and the intended heiress to his businesses, the best I could hope—for us all—was a man with half a dozen brain cells to work with and an ability to manage her. But then…” He turns his focus to Ellie. “She disappeared, and you arrived, and with your arrival came a tidal wave of grief I had no choice but to bathe in alongside you. Mancino had changed: he was suffering, I felt it. Then I met you and realized you were not her.”
