Илона Эндрюс - Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy)

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, Leon. You know the situation. Right now, Houston PD must get a warrant to talk to you. The moment you leave, they’re free to approach you on the street. People are free to record this encounter, which will almost certainly devolve into a confrontation. People can post it on Herald, share it on Snapchat, and speculate about why the police are talking to you and then someone will mention Audrey’s name . . .”

Leon held up his hand. “You made your point. I will stay here and clear the Hoskins case.”

“Thank you.”

Leon locked his teeth. Muscles stood out on his jaw. He held up one finger. “One condition.”

“Yes?”

“When we find who did this to Audrey, I’ll kill them.”

“I’m counting on it.”

Chapter 7

At ten minutes before nine, I went to get Alessandro. I stopped by the guard booth first.

“Hi, Brittney.”

A clipped female voice responded, “Hello, Ms. Baylor.”

“Has he moved?”

“Prime Sagredo arrived at 06:54, rolled down his window at 07:12, answered a phone call at 07:54, rolled up his window and started the vehicle at 08:10, turned the vehicle off at 08:20, then started the vehicle again at 08:40 and turned it off at 08:50.”

Texas heat was no joke. It was already approaching ninety and the humidity only made it worse. Without AC he would be broiling in that car.

“Thank you, Brittney.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

I walked toward the Spider. I could see Alessandro through the windshield. He’d shaved. His hair was perfectly tousled. He wore a white shirt he’d left open at the collar. We would be treated to Prime Sagredo this morning.

He opened his door and got out of the car. He wore sand-colored trousers with expensive Italian loafers. A BVLGARI watch glinted on his wrist, about fifteen grand. The perfect picture of a House scion. He had money and he had taste, and he had to take care of business, but he wasn’t his father, so he saw no reason to be uptight about it. A year ago, before I got to know him, I would have mistaken it for his natural style, but now I knew better. Everything he wore and the way he wore it was precisely calculated. A spoiled heir of a prominent European House living on the cusp of fashion wouldn’t think to dress down to visit a building site and so Alessandro pretended to have no common sense.

I had traded my skirt and pumps for a more sensible beige pants, boots, and a blue T-shirt. To say we didn’t match would be an understatement. Alessandro looked like a wealthy spoiled heir to some corporation who came to bother his personal secretary on her day off just before she left to go hiking.

“Arkan’s person made their move,” I told him.

“Tell me.”

I did.

“True to form,” he said. His voice had the steady calm of a man who had expected the worst and was proven right. He wouldn’t waste time and energy being angry about it. He would simply kill everyone responsible, and I had no problem with that.

Of all the ways they could attack us, I would’ve never anticipated Audrey. We barely knew her. She was a complete innocent in this. They murdered a girl just for a chance to distract me. When I came face-to-face with her killers, I would eliminate them. It wouldn’t make me happy. Killing was a monstrous thing but sometimes it had to be done. I would kill for the sake of my family without any hesitation and I would kill for Audrey, so no other Audrey would die like her again.

An outraged honk tore through the silence behind us. We both turned. A green Mini Cooper sped up the road and slid to a dramatic stop before the security booth. The driver’s window rolled down, and Runa Etterson stuck her red-haired head out of it.

“Catalina! Step away from the dickhead!”

A strangled sound came from the booth’s speakers. It sounded suspiciously like laughter.

“I thought the Etterson matter was settled,” Alessandro murmured.

“It was.”

“Then what is she doing here?”

“She probably heard about Leon and came for moral support. She’s my best friend.”

Runa passed the sniff test and was marching toward us, her car abandoned. Her face promised war. I had kept things from my family, because I didn’t want them to worry, but I told Runa everything.

“You should run,” I told Alessandro. “You’re vastly outnumbered. It’s not too late to give up and go home.”

“You! Don’t you walk away. I have things to say to you.” Runa caught up with us. “Catalina, have you lost your mind?”

Probably. “How did you even know he was here?”

“Intuition,” she said and turned bright red.

Bern. Had to be.

Runa stared at Alessandro. “You saved my brother. I owe you a debt. If you need a favor, I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Catalina is my best friend. I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t get any ideas. She’s too good for you.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“If you hurt her again, I’ll find you and then I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

“Okay.” I grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her toward the front door. “Thank you for your input, Prime Etterson.”

“Dead!” Runa called out over her shoulder.

Chapter 8

Alessandro stared at Rhino. His eyebrows came together.

“Why don’t we just take my car?”

“Because we’re going to the Pit, which means we have to navigate the deserted and possibly flooded area with many hazards.”

“My car is fast and maneuverable.”

I raised my hand and held my thumb and index finger an inch apart. “And it sits this low to the ground.”

“Can you even reach the speed limit in this monstrosity?”

“Yes.”

He pondered the blocky SUV. The corners of his mouth curled a little. “What if something chases us and we have to jump a hole in the bridge?”

“If something chases us, I’ll reverse, ram them, and then drive back and forth over their broken body until it’s flat as a pancake.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“If you want to jump bridges, you can follow me in your car, but I’m taking this one. You want to roll up to the Pit Reclamation HQ in your Spider because it’s consistent with your character of House scion. It would make Marat think less of you, which is to your advantage. I empathize. Yesterday I wanted to appear incompetent and vulnerable and you told them that my powers gave you pause. We are taking Rhino.”

He raised his hands. “Fine.”

“Thank you so much for your cooperation.”

“You’re welcome.”

He strode to his car and popped the trunk. He dug in it and came out with an assault rifle.

“What is that?”

“This is an M4 carbine. It’s air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, and it fires 5.56 rounds.”

“I know what an M4 carbine is. What is that attached to it?”

Alessandro made a show of looking at the rifle. “Oh that.”

“Is that an M320 grenade launcher?”

“It appears to be.”

“Just out of curiosity, do you have a SAW stashed somewhere in that tiny car?”

“I don’t remember.” He leaned toward me, his amber eyes speculative. “Would you like to crawl around in there with me and look for one?”

Asking him things was clearly a mistake.

I opened the hatchback and he loaded the M4 into it. Two portable pistol cases followed. Then another case, which he stacked on top of the pistol ones.

“What’s in there?”

“Knives.”

I pulled my sword case open. Two feet high and four feet long, it unfolded like a toolbox, with the top shelf holding my favorite blades, the tactical gladius, the rapier, and a tactical machete. The bottom shelf offered a variety of knives in every shape and size.