"I told him. Who I was. I told him before he went over. I've never done that before." She made the confession when she had never considered telling him, but he would think she was moody and edgy because of that.
She never deviated from her set scripts. Patrice Lungren killed, not Lissa. Not Giacinta. Patrice didn't feel personal toward her targets, she brought justice to them when the justice system had failed. It had to be that way. Patrice never talked to the targets. She arranged an accident and made certain it happened.
Lissa went to the tall cabinet with the display of ornate shot glasses. She touched one, traced the etching and turned toward her uncle once she knew she was composed enough to face him. "I couldn't help myself. I wanted him to know."
"Good, good, Lissa. He needed to know. I hope he died hard on those rocks, the bastardo." Luigi pounded his fist on the desktop. "There is only one left, just one. We have gotten every single one of those responsible for that dark day. You should feel proud of yourself."
"Not until it is over," Lissa said. "Not until the last man responsible for the deaths of my parents and all those who served them are gone. Then it will be over."
"Aldo Porcelli. He is now head of the Porcelli family. He won't be easy to get to. I've studied him and he has no set routines. He changes appointments at the last minute. This weekend he will be very vulnerable, but only this weekend. I believe it will be your best chance to take him."
She frowned and once more crossed the room to drop into the chair across from him at the desk. "No. No, we can't do that. It's too soon. We never do two jobs so close together. If his family puts it together, they'll come after you. Not me. No one knows about me, but they remember you, Tio Luigi. We can't take that chance."
"Sometimes, cara, we have to take chances if we want to win. Aldo is difficult. He is surrounded by protection at all times. He is never alone. I've spent the last few years studying him, collecting as much information as possible, and believe me when I tell you, if you don't get to him this weekend, it could be a full year before we have another chance like this one."
"I don't like it," Lissa said. "We've taken our time. That's what has kept you safe. Deviating from that rule is dangerous. We've waited this long, what's another year?" Let him have to convince her. She wasn't just going to hand a victory to him, he was going to have to earn it.
Luigi sighed and studied her face. "You can be stubborn."
"I have to be. It's just as important to me to keep you safe as it is for you to keep me that way."
She smiled at him. He smiled back. All teeth. Cat and canary. Her uncle planned on killing her. Lissa knew he couldn't afford to keep her alive. Not after he succeeded in taking out the heads of both families. They'd played chess for years together. Luigi always won. Unbeknownst to him, she'd been letting him win since she was sixteen. They were still playing chess, only the stakes were much higher.
"Lissa, I understand what you're saying, but I want this over with. I'm willing to take the chance. You go to your hotel meeting and sell your beautiful chandeliers. They'll want them, of course. Then you come home, take care of Aldo Porcelli and go on with your plans. Go to Germany. Stay in the castle. Go see the hotel in St. Petersburg. I will have an alibi like I always do just in case. No one will suspect an old man getting his revenge after seventeen years. No one. The idea is ludicrous."
She sighed, letting him see she was on the verge of capitulation. "I don't like it, Tio Luigi."
"No one knows about you, Lissa. And if they did, they would never suspect a young woman, especially a woman who lives in the United States and blows beautiful glass chandeliers she sells worldwide. This is our moment to strike." He closed his fist, hit his desktop again. "Smash him. Crush Aldo Porcelli. It will be the end. We'll both be free of this thing we've vowed. You will have your life back. You can marry. Have babies. Bring them to see your Tio Luigi. I have never been to the States. I would like to see this place where you live. This farm. I could meet the women you love as famiglia."
"I would like that," she murmured, and pushed at her hair, hoping the gesture covered the expression on her face. He was an excellent actor. He'd fooled her father and mother. They'd both loved him with everything in them. He'd fooled her. She'd loved him. She could almost believe it wasn't true, that he was passionate about bringing those responsible for his brother's death to justice.
"It isn't too late for you to find someone, Tio," she ventured, wondering what he would say. "You aren't so old that you couldn't marry, have children of your own. I always wondered why you didn't."
"No. No. Not with this disease. So terrible. I would not want to put this on any woman. No. I will stay alone, and you will give me babies to dote on in my old age. I will be their favorite tio."
Lissa pressed a hand tight against her churning stomach. She couldn't take the game they were playing much longer. "Why this weekend?"
She watched the tension drain out of him. She hadn't realized just how tense he'd gotten until he relaxed. She twisted her fingers into a fist and massaged the hard knot at the nape of her neck threatening to destroy her composure.
"Aldo has a mistress." Luigi leaned forward, hissing the accusation. "He cannot even be faithful to his wife."
He delivered the condemnation in a voice of utter contempt. Evidently, now that she appeared to capitulate, he was back in his element. She was fairly certain if he'd taken to the entertainment industry, he would have gotten far.
"He sees her regularly, but never at the same time or day. He doesn't like routine and neither does his protection squad. He always has four bodyguards with him. They're good and very thorough. You'll have to find a way past them."
She nodded. Waiting. Making him give her the details without encouraging him in the least. She wanted to yawn. Luigi was so predictable.
"This Saturday is the anniversary of his finding his mistress. He never misses it. Never. She's been his mistress for the last eight years. When he isn't banging his wife, he's with her. All the time."
She couldn't resist. "So he's faithful to his wife and mistress. It's just the two women?"
Luigi made a sound, a snort of derision, and crossed himself. "I wouldn't call it faithful to break the holy vows of matrimony, Lissa. Aldo cheats on his wife, and she is very devoted to him. This is your chance. He will go to his mistress this Saturday."
She shook her head. "You know it's risky trying to plan something so quickly, especially when he has experienced bodyguards with him."
"He doesn't ever allow them into her apartment. I have gathered all the details you'll need to plan this. Aldo might not stick to a routine, but his bodyguards do. I have provided each of their locations when their boss visits his woman." He leaned even farther across his desk. "You can do this, Lissa. For your father and mother. My beloved Marcello and Elizabeta. You have an opportunity to end this thing once and for all. He is the last and the guiltiest."
"Don't you think it strange that he killed an entire family because my mother refused to sleep with him, yet he's faithful to his wife and mistress?"
Her question was met with absolute silence. She knew immediately she'd made a terrible mistake. Luigi's face turned expressionless, his dark eyes searching her face for something she feared she couldn't hide. He looked sharp, piercing, very cunning. In the lines of his face she read evil. She knew she looked at the real man, not the mask.
That was the strangest thing of all. They all wore masks. Luigi had f
rom the moment she'd entered his home. She did. When she went after those responsible for killing her parents. When she was on the farm with the women she loved as family. Casimir went through his entire life with a mask. No one saw them. They were hidden away, players on a stage - and she wanted off.
"What are you saying, Lissa? Do you not remember him being there? Directing the entire event? He orchestrated the murders. I showed you pictures and you pointed him out. You did that. I spent years making certain we had the right people."
"I know." She hung her head, covered her face with her hands for a moment, wishing for Casimir. Wishing for his arms to get her out of the study where evil permeated every bit of air. Evil smelled and it was sandalwood and spice, the cologne her uncle always wore. "I'm just so tired, Tio. I spoke to Cosmos. I broke a long-standing rule. I don't know if I can do this again so soon."
"You will do this," Luigi declared in his hard, authoritative, most commanding voice. "You will find a way into that house and you will kill this man who murdered your family."
She nodded. "I know. Of course I will. I'll start work tonight. I'll need to do recon. Will Arturo be back? When I'm scouting around, I usually take him with me, that way I can concentrate on what I need to do instead of constantly watching my back."
No one ever went with her when she did the job, but Arturo guarded her while she did the setup. Still, even with the setup, she was careful. Betrayed by a trusted family friend, watching Cosmos help to murder her parents, had taught her to be extremely cautious, even with those she loved. She always made certain Patrice Lungren did the reconnaissance, not Lissa Piner. No one went with her to the storage unit when she changed beforehand. She wanted no hidden cameras, no surprises later on. If she thought she was under surveillance by anyone, she aborted instantly.