She looks at the envelope. I can tell someone like Leonore has particular systems in place to keep her safe. After all, dealing with the four families is no easy feat. Ask all those who are sprinkled in the graves behind this very building.
She ignores it and walks past me toward her prep room. Once again, I silently follow her. She puts on some gloves and heads over to the morgue cooler.
“Now I just need to confirm the body you’re here for,” she says, as if it were a business deal. When she opens the cooler, she watches me expectantly.
“Is this some kind of joke?” I ask, irritated now. I can deal with a little attitude, but disrespecting me in such an obvious way will get anyone fucking killed.
“Excuse m—” The moment her eyes look at the empty body tray, her jaw hardens. “That… That can’t be.” Her eyebrows knit together. “I saw it here yesterday.”
My stomach begins to sink as I watch her frantically pull open multiple doors and check the bodies inside—none of which belong to my uncle.
“How does a body just suddenly disappear?” I grit through clenched teeth.
I promised my sister and my crew that we would give Pietro the respect he deserves, and this nightmare of a woman has lost the goddamn body.
“They don’t. Not in my morgue,” she growls, giving me a fierce glare. “Only my assistant and I have access to this place.” She slams the cooler door closed and rips off her gloves.
“And where is your assistant?” I demand, walking behind her.
One of the families has to be behind this.
“She’s visiting family in New York this week. And don’t even get some grand ideas. She doesn’t even like looking at the bodies, let alone touching them.” There’s a dangerous and protective edge to her tone.
She hurries toward her office and I follow her.
“Don’t walk away from me; I’m not done with?—”
She turns and faces me, a heated flush over her cheeks. “I don’t have time for your macho shit, okay. Bodies don’t go missing. Not here. Not under my care. I’m checking my cameras.”
My jaw locks. The balls of this woman to speak to me like that. But I bite my tongue and follow her into the office.
She opens her laptop while I watch over her shoulder.
She shifts slightly, so she can see me in her peripherals, as if she doesn’t like anyone standing behind her.
“At midnight last night, all of the cameras went blank…” she says.
“They’ve been hacked,” I tell her.
“No shit,” she snaps. Her fierce irritation takes me aback. It’s not her uncle, but this feels more like the breaking of the things she has structured in place. If one person does it, others might try it too. “Who the fuck? I had the best security installed. This has never happened.” It’s only there for a split second, but I see the panic take over, before her expression is clear again. Tenminutes after the footage originally cuts out, it’s reinstated on all eight cameras as if nothing happened.
She stands from her desk and begins pacing back and forth on the floor, biting at the tip of her nail. “I was here on Sunday. You were the only one who visited. Everything’s where it’s meant to be. Not even the locks are broken.” She comes to a stop, and her eyebrows sink. But if she’s come to a conclusion, she’s not sharing it.
“Who brought the body in?” I demand.
Her gaze slides to mine. “I can’t share that information.”
“Who?” I demand. My temple pulses. I promised my crew I’d bring him home. I’m not wasting time with anymore pleasantries. “Which fucking family?”
Her gaze is scathing, and I give her credit. When most would at the very least flinch, she only sneers. She collects the envelope of money and throws it at me. I catch it at my chest.
“I don’t know. I’ll find that fucking body, though.” She’s all venom.
“How do you not know!” I demand.
“Cash exchange,” she reminds me. “No questions. Just get the job done. The person who brought the body in was covered and wearing a mask. I don’t ask questions. I choose who I do and don’t work with.”
“How much did they give you?”
