On The Rocks (27 page)

He'd always looked out for his little
brother. Through his every mistake Abrahan had been there to clean
up the mess and still Sanzio acted as though Abrahan owed him.

Santa Maria Mãe de Deus,
hadn't he
sacrificed enough? And what was all that talk of lies?

Forcing thoughts of Zio aside, Abrahan threw
open the door of the local Poste Italiane. With the day already
late, there were only a few people inside. Hopefully he'd be able
to take care of this matter quickly.

In the small box he rented, a white slip of
paper waited where earlier there hadn't been one. Thank goodness.
He wasn't sure how he'd handle things if this trip ended like the
first.

His shoulders relaxed a hair as he stood in
the line for the window clerk. And by the time he reached the
brunette, he was once again his composed self.

She smiled as she took the slip from him.
Then her face fell as her eyes grazed the space where his ear
should be.

Abrahan's shoulder's tightened again. He
didn't like to be stared at.

“The package,” he prompted in Italian.

Jerked from her staring, the clerk nodded.
She disappeared to the back to fetch his item. An eternity later,
she returned with a buff-colored mailer. On the medium-size box was
a white printer label, his alias and the postal address on it in
plain black font. No return address. No indication where it had
been shipped from.

No way to track Metis.

His source inside the CIA was a true
professional. Not once had Metis slipped and accidentally exposed a
weakness. He did not like the agent, but he admired him. Or
her.

Back outside, Abrahan headed to the car,
eager to know what he'd been sent. As he crossed the cobbles, a
young boy bumped him and spun around.

“
Scusi signore
.”

Abrahan grabbed the kid's hand before he
could back away. At the same time, the box fell and Abrahan reached
for the knife at his hip. The blade hissed as it pulled free of the
holster, and the kid's eyes went wide as pizza pies.

From nowhere, another kid —twelve, maybe
thirteen— ran over and snagged the box.

Dammit.

Abrahan looped his arm around the first
boy's neck, holding him in a headlock. With the same hand, he
gripped his little ear and pulled it away from his head. Lined up
the blade.

The boy screamed, and his friend doing the
snatch and grab screeched to a halt several paces away.

“You may keep the box,” Abrahan said, his
voice low and lethal. “But it'll cost your friend something.”

He tipped his head to show that missing ear
of his. A gasp from the free kid made the one in his arms struggle.
His body shook with fear.

“The pain is excruciating,” Abrahan hissed,
keeping his eyes on the boy a little farther away, but directing
his words to the one he held. “From this angle, I'll have to saw it
off. And that could take a while.”

He pushed down on the blade.

The boy howled.

“
Piccolo
, the more you struggle, the
nastier the scar. And the longer this will take.” He chuckled. “But
I don't mind. I have no plans this evening.”

The kid whimpered and —Abrahan sniffed— yes,
that was definitely the scent of him fouling himself.

Abrahan adjusted so the boy was no longer
pressed to his body. “At the end of this, I will have my wallet
back, I will have my box, and I will have your ear. Tell me, little
one, is it worth it?”

He shook his head, sawing his ear against
the blade. He screamed again.

“Please, don't hurt him,” his friend called.
“I-I'll give you the box. Just please let my brother go.”

Abrahan paused. His gaze bounced from the
boy in his hold to the other. He could see it now, the resemblance
between them. Same dark heads, same lanky builds. Absently he
wondered which of them was the oldest…

“Put the box there,” he snapped, pointing to
the spot he wanted with the knife. “He will toss you my wallet and
you'll put that on the box.
Capisci
?”

The kid got to work. Set the box down five
feet away. Caught the wallet. Set it on top.

“Back away. Now.”

As the other kid backed up, Abrahan goose
stepped over to his belongings with the first kid still under his
control. “You'll keep your ear this time. The next, though, I will
take both. Understand?”

A quick nod and Abrahan shoved the boy away.
He stumbled forward and his brother was there to catch him. One
holding his bloody ear, the other pulling at the first to 'come
on', they both eyed Abrahan half a moment and then took off running
down the sidewalk.

Abrahan snapped his shirt down and brushed
the back of his hand over his arms and chest.

“Napoli.” He spat.

Reclaiming his belongings, he double-timed
it to the car, more aware of his surroundings. The few people
around gave him a wide berth and that was their safest bet. Locked
inside the Porsche, he didn’t bother with pulling to a better part
of town. He ripped the package open right where he sat and dumped
the contents onto his lap: a new cell phone.

Another printer label had been affixed to
the outside of the device with the directions to dial *9 and hit
send. The connecting rings sounded once and then the series of
clicks that always came before the robotic voice.

“Why am I in Naples for a goddamned phone?”
Abrahan barked once the line had opened. He didn't greet Metis as
he usually did. He was too pissed with this trip to give that
courtesy.

“I couldn’t be certain what was compromised
with Sanzio’s brief incarceration. This way, I know the lines are
secure.” Metis paused, then, “Your brother is a liability, Abrahan.
Sometimes we must sacrifice those we love for the greater
good.”

“I won't betray him, Metis. He's my blood,
and not your concern. Where are we with the list?”

But the agent went back to his brother.
“Sacrifice, not betrayal. He's the crack in your armor, Abrahan.
You're just too blind to see that. He
will
be the end of
you.”

Abrahan ground his teeth and contracted the
thin muscle over his scalp. “Sacrifice and betrayal are one and the
same. Perspective makes them appear different.”

The automation hummed thoughtfully.

“Are you selling the list or is this call
simply to waste my time?” Abrahan asked. His voice was louder than
normal and he didn't like it. He didn't want the agent to know he
was flustered.

Metis gave one of his characteristic long
pauses. “The price has doubled.”

“Doubled? Why?”

“Because the risk has doubled. Intentional
or not, there is a leak on your end, Abrahan.”

“There isn't.”

“There is,” Metis insisted. “Whether it is
your brother… Maybe your wife?”

Abrahan's head jerked back on his neck.
Sabine? She wouldn't. Would she?

“That leak has the potential to expose me,”
Metis said. “Setting up this network is no easy task, so if this is
our last transaction, I want to be paid handsomely for all my
efforts.”

Abrahan scrubbed a hand over his face. At
double the price there’d be nothing left to pocket once he
collected Xander’s “half.” But considering it wouldn’t cost him a
dime when all was said and done, he could live with that. Once
Duquesne went about selling the information, he’d be making money
hand over fist, no further investment required.

“Do we have a deal?” Metis asked.

“
Sim
.” He nodded. “A deal.”

“Good. Once the funds are transferred, the
list will be released.”

“We can do this tonight.”

“I hear you’re having an anniversary party,”
the robotic voice said, the tone mocking even in its electronic
state.

The hair on the back of Abrahan’s neck stood
on end. How did Metis know?

The voice chuckled. “Half past ten. Night
of.”

Right in the heart of the chaos.

Abrahan took it for the calculated move it
was. How close was Metis now?

“It's dressy casual,” Abrahan goaded. “In
case you wish to attend.”

“I just might be there. Keep your ears
peeled.”

The line went dead on that last zinger, and
Abrahan's eyes narrowed to thin slits.

At best, Metis's leak was random. An off the
cuff remark made by a member of the staff. At worst, there was a
spy in his midst and he'd have to ferret the person out.

Then there was Sanzio.

Everyone knew him as the weak link in this
operation, and eventually they would attack.

Abrahan couldn't have that.

Using his old phone, he called to update
Xander.

Those riches he'd been striving for
would
be his. And if it came at the expense of his
brother…?

So be it.

SANZIO PADDED ACROSS the floor of his
bedroom, feet as bare as the rest of him. The moment he fell onto
the mattress, Sabine rolled over and slung her slim leg over his.
She curled against his chest and he draped his arm around her,
holding her close.

Moments like this were rare. Abrahan didn’t
leave his palace often, content to be king inside a bubble, and
even more rarely did he spend the night somewhere without taking
his wife. Something had to be happening with Metis. Something his
older brother was keeping from him.

Grunting, Sanzio considered his next move.
Abrahan would never respect him as he deserved. Would never
recognize his worth. It was time he figured out how to build an
empire of his own.

And every emperor needed an empress.

Sabine’s warm palm caressed his cheek. “What
are you thinking of, Sanzio?”

He loved when she used his full name, an
angel calling him a saint. The word dripped from her tongue like
the sweetest of honeys, calming him in an instant.

“We should leave him.” He trailed his hand
down the side of her neck, over her collarbone and lower to her
creamy breast. “You and I should run away together.”

Sabine propped herself up on an elbow,
looking down at him with soft brown eyes. “Where will we go?”

“Anywhere. Anywhere in the world.”

Her head tipped back and she smiled.
“Thailand?”

“Sure.”

“The Philippines?”

“Wherever.”

She laughed. “Maybe we can go to Cambodia.
Or Turkey?”

Sanzio narrowed his gaze. Her eyes were
bright and her cheeks bunched. She was laughing at him.

He shifted away from her and swung his feet
to the floor. His back to her now, he leaned forward, elbows
digging into his thighs.

Another giggle bubbled out of her. “We might
as well go to Oz while we’re making imaginary trips.” He whipped
his head around and she gasped. “You’re serious?”

Of course he was serious. He’d given it a
great deal of thought. There was life beyond these glass walls, and
they were both missing it living inside someone else’s idea of
perfection. That ocean out there wasn’t limitless. There were
places on the other side. They could go and make their way
together.

The sheets sluiced down her body as she
crawled up behind him. Her arms came around his chest, holding him
tight. “Sanzio,” she whispered, “There’s nowhere we can go that he
can’t reach us.”

“Belém. He hates Belém. It reminds him of
what he really is— a street urchin.” He waved his hand around the
room, indicating the entirety of the house. “Not this… king he
pretends himself. The fancy clothes and fancy house don’t hide what
he’ll always be.”

“No. He will come to Belém. He will come to
anyplace we try to hide. Because he will not live with this
betrayal.”

Her breasts mashed his back and she snuggled
her chin against his shoulder. “And how will we live? We’re both
too dependent on him.”

He’d already considered it.

“The diamonds.” She went still against him
and he turned to face her. “Abrahan is so focused on impressing
that outsider that he won’t be paying attention at the party.”

She blinked. “The door. How will we get
in?”

“I know you know the code.” She turned away
and he knuckled her chin back. “I know you’ve never taken anything,
either. Why do you go in there?”

Sabine shook her head. “You won’t believe
me.”

“I’ll believe you,” he whispered. Why
wouldn’t he. She was his angel.

“He never tells me anything. I wanted to
know
him, but he keeps everything locked up inside. I go
hoping I’ll find some way to connect to my husband, but it’s not
easy to be with him.” Her lids lowered, and then popped up again.
“Not the way it is to be with you. I knew the moment the vows were
exchanged, I’d married the wrong brother.”

Sanzio’s eyes widened, and then a smile
stretched across his mouth.

“We could go. We could get the diamonds. The
money. Leave him with his precious outsider and just take off to
anywhere in the world. Will you come?”

She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Can…
Can I think about it?”

“Only for a bit,
fava
.” He kissed her
neck. “We’ll have to go during the party. With so many people
around he won’t notice we’re gone.”

Guiding her back on the bed, he slipped his
hips between her parted legs, giving her a reason to say yes.

16

August
17
^th

LENNOX GRABBED THE bottle from the
refrigerator and padded across the tiled floor to Mission Control.
The electronics were gone, replaced by plates and glasses and
silverware that transformed the space from CIA operation central
into just another ordinary dinner table.

He set the chilled bottle down and surveyed
the area. Not too shabby given the short notice and limited
resources. Tonight’s mission was far more important than Metis.
Lennox had to make up for the time being stolen from them. Tomorrow
Kizzie would be done with her mission, and he’d be free to carry
out his.