On The Rocks (21 page)

He hit PLAY, and voices rose from the
speakers. Kizzie grabbed a pen to jot notes.

Sabine had a good day in Rome —whatever the
hell that meant— and a friend was coming in to see her new jewelry
pieces. Abrahan wanted “them” over for lunch. One friend, but
them
? Hm…

A party— possible way to access the house
and Abrahan’s phone? When was it?

Sanzio and Abrahan had a couple of
arguments: first over Sabine who, as Bill had assumed, washed
Abrahan’s dirty money in Rome. Abrahan didn’t trust her, or anyone
else. Then they argued over a
forasteiro
who was going to
help them part out the NOC list. Abrahan was all in with the
mystery man. Sanzio sounded like whoever the outsider was could
skip the eat shit part and just die.

Sanzio
still
hadn’t found “the
woman.” Kizzie’s brow popped up and a tingle went down her spine.
What woman?
Her
?

Abrahan received a call and sent his brother
away. The conversation was one-sided, but it sounded like a deal of
some sort was happened. And then Abrahan said the one word they
were searching for: “Metis.”

The audio cut out abruptly.

Kizzie snapped her head up. “What happened?
Where’s the sound?” She mashed the volume button but it was already
at its max.

Lennox’s face pulled into a grimace. “That
might’ve been where I dragged you overboard.”

“No, the deviation was bad but the beam was
still on the window. It would have been low but would have picked
up. Something else happened, like he suddenly left the room
without… leaving the room.”

Frowning, she rewound the tape. Hit PLAY:
“Go.”

Three beats passed and she stopped it.
“There. Did you hear that?”

Lennox shook his head.

Rewound again. Hit PLAY:
“Go.” Curses.
Footsteps. Scraping. Solid clang.

She stopped it. “That’s the door. When
Sanzio leaves, that scraping sound has to be the door sliding back.
Like it’s on a track or something. And then he drags it closed and
it slams the wall or… no, that’s the cliffside, since the structure
of the house is integrated with the cliff itself.

“Abrahan never left the room or we’d hear
that same series of sounds. So he’s still in there, but where?”

Frowning, Kizzie leaned back and mulled it
over.

The office had the equivalent of two and a
half glass walls. The west one was the largest and faced the sea.
To the south, facing the garage, was another, though it wasn’t as
big as the first. But on the north side, the glass was half that of
the south. It disappeared into the cliff at that point. Did Abrahan
have a hidden room in there?

“A panic room, maybe?” she muttered. Another
rewind, back to when Sabine was in the office. Hitting PLAY, she
combed through until there was another vague sound, a soft squeak
and a chafe, like a heavy door swinging back on its hinges.

What
was
that?

“I’m not sure,” Kizzie mumbled, head
shaking. She let out a breath. “Either way, Abrahan was still in
that room. And he was definitely talking to Metis. So what’s our
ne—”

Lennox stared at her, green eyes only half
visible behind his low lids, like he hadn’t been listening in a
long time. Like he really didn’t have a care to spare where this
mission was concerned.

Like his point in being here wasn’t to catch
Metis at all, but someone else.

He licked his lips.

She grabbed her beer. Went to get a swallow
and stopped. Her lips around a phallic-shaped object probably
weren’t going to help matters at the moment.

That heat between them was there, not
scorching but warm, like a blanket she’d outgrown but just couldn’t
let go of. She inhaled a shaky breath through her mouth. See, being
aware of the attraction made this entire thing so much easier.

Not.

“Rook,” Lennox blurted out.

Kizzie blinked. “What?” He’d called her that
when they first met. Before she’d made him learn her handle.

Before she’d made him scream it.

“What?” she asked again when he didn’t
respond.

“Not you. You’ve already got a name,
chuchu
. Don’t be greedy.” He held the cat up in one of his
huge hands, the cute little bugger’s legs and arms dangling toward
the floor. “The cat. Rook’s a good name for a cat, right?”

“Perfect,” Kizzie said, triple jumping over
the not so subtle parallel between her and the kitty. Whatever was
between them was a long long time ago. And just because there was
an attraction now didn’t mean anything would come of it.

Honest.

Oh, hell, she’d said that already, hadn’t
she…

She thumbed over the knuckles of each
finger. Cracked her neck.

Lennox scratched over Rook’s head, and the
cat cuddled his face against that tattoo, like a miniature version
of the thing on his chest had come to life.

Kizzie looked away. Too many memories with
that tattoo…

“What do you think? Think the boat’s worth
another go?”

“No,” Kizzie yanked the bottom of her tank
away, fanning herself. “No idea when the lunch with the ‘outsider’
is. Or the party. We might end up spinning our wheels.”

Damn, was the heater set to Hell? Why was it
so hot in here all of a sudden?

“I think our best bet is to go after
Sabine,” she said. “Hit the jewelry store and see what we come up
with.”

Christ, she was going to melt in this
place.

She pushed out of her chair and paced over
to the fridge. Water would be great. Ice cubes. A glacier.
Neptune…

“More recon, huh?” Lennox said, his voice
deep and close like he was right behind her. She could almost feel
him pressed against her, chest to her back.

Something brushed her calf and she jumped.
Looked down. Rook was doing figure eights between her legs, that
soft fur dragging across her skin over and over. She looked back at
Lennox.

Both he and his panther had her in their
sights.

“Keep looking for smoke?”

“Yeah.” She inhaled a breath. “Until we find
fire.”

She just prayed the fire didn’t find her
first.

11

August 14
^th

FAR ON THE south side of La Casa Sulle
Rocce, Xander looked around the table as a flute of creamy ice was
set before him. Lunch had gone well, just two couples out on a
beautiful veranda surrounded by lemon trees, chatting like
everything was nice and normal.

And Sanzio making snide remarks the entire
time.

Clearly the man had had too much to drink,
his face red and a little puffy. And if that wasn't enough of a
tell, there was the never-empty wineglass in his hand and the
distinct aroma of alcohol seeping from his pores.

“Do you
really
?” Naima said from her
spot beneath Xander’s wing. After yet another slow breath through
her nose, she twisted a hair to address him, shifting the fall of
his arm over her shoulder. “Luv, the limoncello is from lemons off
these trees. Sabine makes it herself.”

“Then I’m sure it’s as delicious as the rest
of the meal,” he said, smiling at Sabine.

He wanted to curse.

Naima took another slow breath in. Let it
out. She swallowed hard and then downed a scoop of the lemony
dessert. “Oh… that’s scrummy.”

“
Scrummy
,” Sanzio echoed derisively.
He huffed a breath through his nose.

Xander cocked a brow. Eyed Abrahan in the
chair across from him.

The elder Galletti leaned over to whisper
something that didn’t carry, and Sanzio rolled his eyes. Adjusted
in his seat like a petulant child.

About time Abrahan said something. The Dom
in Xander made him patient as hell, but Sanzio here was testing his
limits.

Naima rightly ignored it all. “Have some,”
she said, feeding him a scoop off her spoon.

Xander took the bite and pegged Sanzio with
a head on stare. “Scrummy.”

Sanzio pulled another mouthful of wine from
his glass.

He’d made it clear from the outset he didn’t
want them here, Xander just didn’t know why. And even if he had a
damn to give, he wouldn’t.

But he
was
worried.

Beside him, Naima took another mouthful of
the desert and her lips turned up at the corners. Then she eased
back, settling into the crook of his arm, her warmth seeping into
his chest.

It made him miss Kizzie.

“I’m an absolute klutz in the kitchen…”
Naima lied, keeping up the constant chatter with Sabine. The two of
them giggled over something and he pasted on a grin. He couldn’t
tell if Naima actually
thought
they were friends, or if she
was just happy to have someone to talk to who didn’t come with a
built-in French accent.

After her next slow breath he made up his
mind. Time for Naima to go.

“They’ve become fast friends, haven’t they,”
Abrahan said.

Xander nodded. “I appreciate you having
us.”

“Pleasure’s mine.”

“But Nai has to get going. Phil,” he
called.

Angling her head up at him, Naima pinned him
with a gaze cold enough to freeze. Phil, on the other hand, looked
like he would melt. Dressed in his dark shades and a black suit he
swore he’d be buried in before he’d ever wear, his bodyguard came
over and stood at his shoulder.

“Take Nai back to the boat for me.” To
Naima, “You’ve got to get ready for the play.”

“The play,” she repeated, nodding. She
wasn’t pleased but she hid it well. At least from the other people
at the table. Xander would have a lot of smoothing over to do once
he got back to the boat.

“Right. It’s a surprise— well, it
was
a
surprise.” He winked. “And I’ve got something to discuss with
Abrahan.” He turned to Galletti. “I trust you can get me down to
the docks in a few?”

Abrahan’s brow winged up, but he nodded.
“Very well.”

Polythene smile in place, his wife stood and
extended her hand to their host. “Thank you for the hospitality,
Abrahan. It was a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is mine, Naima. I hope you’ll
come back and dine with us again.”

“Oh!” Sabine cut in. “Our anniversary party!
We’d love for you to attend if you’re still in town.” Her bright
eyes shifted from her husband to Xander and back again.

But it was Sanzio who had something to say.
“Yes, because this is Italy and
everyone
is always invited,
even the
forasteiros
. Maybe I should invite some friends of
my own.”

“Sanzio, enough,” Abrahan said calmly. His
brother took yet another drink and fell back in his chair with a
distasteful grunt.

“Can you?” Sabine asked again.

“That would be up to my husband,” Naima said
tightly. “I’m never sure what he’ll spring on me next.” Stepping
behind him, she dug her fingers into his shoulders and pressed a
kiss to his cheek.

As she started away, Xander hooked her wrist
and dragged her back. He smoothed his palm over her cheek, then
pulled her close to peck her mouth. “I’ll see you shortly.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Sabine said, beaming.
She tossed her napkin on the table, and in short order Phil and the
two women disappeared through the lemon trees.

“Excuse us,
maninho
.”

Sanzio’s wine hole popped open. “But,
mano
—”

“If you continue to embarrass me, little
brother,” Abrahan said in Portuguese, “I will gut you where you sit
and let the birds peck out your eyes.”

That’s exactly what Xander had been
thinking. He kept his expression neutral as Sanzio sneered. The man
shoved away from the table, jostling the water glasses. The liquid
spilled over and seeped into the tablecloth. He stumbled away,
mumbling.

“I apologize for my brother’s rudeness.
He’s…” Abrahan paused as though searching for the right word.
“Difficult lately. Do you have any siblings, Xander?”

“No.” He ignored the ache in his chest.
Shifted his shoulders but the pain held on.

It would take a minute.

It always did.

“Consider yourself lucky, then. You wanted
to discuss something?”

Pressing forward, he lifted a small brown
craft bag from the ground and set it on the table carefully.

“Ah, the jewelry.” Abrahan steepled his
fingers together. “Your wife seemed thrilled with your purchases
for her. “

“My pretty little thing likes pretty little
things.”

“Happy wife happy life?”

“Mm. But you buy enough of these, you learn
a trick or two.” Xander pulled the velvet box out and set it on the
table with equal care. Cracked back the top and spun the case
around so the necklace inside faced the other man. “For instance,
this piece, the one you so casually suggested.”

Abrahan frowned. “Do you not like it?”

“It’s beautiful. But this stone here, the
centerpiece. It’s not a full carat. Might not even be
three-fourths. It’s also not an investment-grade stone as this
certificate indicates. The occlusions are visible at twenty
paces.”

One side of Abrahan’s mouth lifted.

Exhaling roughly, Xander leaned back against
the cushioned chair and stared out at the sea. “I thought, like our
wives, you and I could also become—how did you put it? Fast
friends? I thought maybe you and I could be of mutual benefit to
each other some time down the road. So I was willing to overlook
the snipers, the cameramen... I figured, someone like you has
someone like me in his backyard, he probably wants to be sure there
won’t be any problems. I understand that— I
respect
that.”

He zipped his gaze back to the other man.
“But when you try to sell me piss and tell me it’s lemonade, the
problems start. Why the test, Galletti?”

Abrahan chuckled. At least one of them
thought this was funny.

“We have a mutual friend in Ri Nguyen. I was
discussing you, for a business opportunity, and he virtually sang
your praises. Said you were so good at what you do because you pay
attention to the little things. Naturally, I was skeptical, and
so…”