Love Inspired Suspense October 2015 #1 (16 page)

She whirled, one hand on the door handle of the truck. “I guess I'll visit him in jail and pray for him.”

“Okay, all right.” Blain reached up to touch her hair. “I'm sorry.”

“No, I asked for honesty,” she said. “And the truth is right here, glaring at me. No matter what happens with this investigation, one thing is for sure. You and I can never be together.”

“Why not?” he asked, his heart aching in a way that he'd never felt before. “Why not, Rikki?”

She hopped up into the truck and turned to stare at him.

“Because I will always be an Alvanetti.”

EIGHTEEN

R
ikki waited to make sure Blain had left.

They hadn't talked on the drive back to the estate. She was still hurt that he'd ask a question that implied what he'd felt from the beginning. Her family was bad news, criminals and immoral people. That her sweet mother shouldn't have loved a man who ignored the rules and did whatever he wanted.

That Blain couldn't love a woman who had deep ties with what everyone considered to be a Mafia family.

But isn't that the reason you left?

Rikki went to her room and sat down in an armchair by the window that had a nice view of the pool and the vast lake beyond. Two seagulls flew across the water, their white wings glistening against the blue sky.

Yes, she'd left full of self-righteous indignation and a misguided determination to free herself from her father's massive shadow. But she'd also left because she was heartbroken and still grieving for her young husband who'd died too soon. He'd died and no one could explain to her why. And she'd left because she had to do things her way so she could make her
own
way in the world.

But had she done that?

She was successful and able to take care of herself but she'd paid a high price for breaking free. She'd made countless mistakes, Chad being one of those, and she'd missed years of being with her family, years she couldn't get back.

But you're here now. You can make a difference.

They all needed her. And maybe she needed to be needed. But did she need her family?

It was time she faced the fact that she
was
an Alvanetti.

So she slinked her way into her father's office and found the key to the gun cabinet. And then she picked out a pistol that she knew she could fire. Her brothers had taken her to target practice enough that she remembered the feel of a gun in her hands.

She'd protect herself. She'd always done that, emotionally. Now it was time to do it to end this horror she'd walked into.

If Victor showed up and tried to kill her, what would he gain? She didn't have any expensive jewelry. Just a few sentimental pieces that she loved and some artsy pieces that she'd bought from friends over the years. Nothing that would net a fortune. And she didn't remember her mother owning anything that would be that extremely valuable. Valuable enough to kill over, at least.

Tired of fighting, tired of running, she called her clients and asked to move their meeting up a couple of hours. Then she packed up the loaded gun along with her samples and her design ideas and started down the hallway to check on her mom.

“You can take a break, Daphne,” she told the nurse. “I need to leave in a few minutes but we'll be fine until then.”

Daphne gave her a rare smile. “Okay, I'll be back in fifteen minutes.”

After sitting with Sonia for a while, Rikki leaned over to kiss her mother. “I love you, Mama.”

Sonia opened her eyes and smiled up at Rikki. “I love you, too, darling. I always have. I love all of my children.” She took Rikki's hand. “A mother's love is the strongest on earth.” Sonia clung to her. “We have to do what we need to do to protect and love our children.”

Rikki saw the fear in her mother's eyes. “Are you all right, Mama?”

Sonia slowly moved her head in a nod. “I'm gonna pull out of this. I'll be back on my feet soon and everything will be better then. You'll see.”

“I believe you,” Rikki said. “I have some errands to run. I'll send Daphne back in and then I'll be back to check on you before dinner. If you're sure you'll be okay.”

“I'm fine. Be careful out there,” Sonia said, her eyes beginning to droop. Then she opened them again. “Did you ever find my Bible, honey?”

Rikki shook her head. “I'm not sure I know which one you want. I'll try again when I get back.”

“And that key,” Sonia said. “I need the key and the Bible.”

“What key, Mama?”

“The key, darlin'.” Sonia was drifting off. “The key I lost. Thought you had it.”

“I only have my car keys and my house keys,” Rikki replied.

“Check your purse,” Sonia insisted. “Gold.”

Her mother drifted off again.

More confused than ever, Rikki hurried into the kitchen area so she could grab a set of car keys. Maybe she'd find her mother's missing key there. Yet one more sign that her mother was still frail and disoriented. Rikki hoped it wasn't something worse.

“Where do you think you're going?” Franco called from his chair in the corner.

“I'm going back to work,” she said, turning to walk toward him. His head was bandaged and he looked like he'd just woken up from a nap. “I'm tired of hiding.”

Her father gave her one of his frowns. “Where is Detective Kent?”

“He has other things to do today.”

Franco shook a finger at her. “You will not leave this property without a guard.”

“Papa—”

“I mean it, Regina. Do you want to get yourself killed?”

Before she could respond, he pulled out his phone and issued an order. “Murphy will stay with you at all times.”

When a giant of a man wearing a dark suit came through the door, Rikki wanted to scream her silent rage. Not that it would do her any good. Murphy didn't seem to blink at anything.

She hadn't planned for this. Rikki refused to wait for Blain to go with her, maybe because she wanted to prove to him that her own brother wouldn't kill her. But having one of her father's guards with her only made matters worse and proved Blain's point. The Alvanettis had their own code and they protected their own, no matter what it took.

Would her parents protect Victor? Was her mother trying to warn her of that possibility?

“You can leave as long as he's with you,” Franco said, as if he were reading her thoughts. He pointed to Murphy. “Don't let her out of your sight.”

Rikki stared at her father and then shot a frown toward the guard. “You have to stay outside while I'm conducting business.”

Murphy grunted and gave her father a nod. “I'll stay in another room.”

Rikki reluctantly gave in and followed the giant outside. Then she got in the back of a dark sedan and stared out the tinted window until they arrived at the beach house. They were late getting out here, due to the heavy weekend traffic but she saw another car in the narrow driveway.

At least she was doing something constructive. Something to take her mind off Blain and the memory of his dark, brooding expression when he'd left her earlier. He wouldn't like that she'd gone against his wishes, but what did it matter now?

* * *

She wasn't answering his calls.

Blain stared at his phone and wondered if Rikki would ever talk to him again. She'd seen through his efforts to get past her family dynamics but she hadn't allowed him to explain how his preconceived notions had changed over this last week.

She hadn't allowed him to explain anything. He might seem like the one with preconceived notions but she'd sure jumped to conclusions about him, too.

Now, his gut was burning with the sure knowledge that she'd go off in a tizzy and try to prove something to everyone. She was determined to either flaunt her courage to the world or to get herself into some hot water. That reckless streak
was
a true Alvanetti trait.

Blain asked God to keep her safe until he could get there, but then he figured God had this already. Still, his gut didn't want to accept that.

He was headed out of the police station when Chief Ferrier called to him. “Kent, get in here. We got some news.”

Blain whirled to go into the chief's office. “What is it, sir?”

“The crime lab called. The blood on the statue is Franco Alvanetti's, but then, we figured that. But they managed to lift some partial prints, too.”

Blain sat down. “And?”

“You won't believe this,” the chief said. “Try Althea Alvanetti.”

“What?” Blain rubbed a hand down his jaw, an alertness humming through him. “Are they sure?”

“Yes. Very sure. Apparently she had a checkered past before she married into the family. Her prints are on record for some shoplifting and other petty crimes back in the day.”

“Amazing,” Blain said. “So she tried to kill her father-in-law?”

“It looks that way,” Chief Ferrier said. “Now we just gotta figure how to tie this to those other murders.”

“Do you think she shot Chad Presley, too?”

“Don't know. We do know the slugs from both murders could have come from the same gun. Might be nice to find that gun.”

Blain gave an affirmation on that. “Yep. We've got a partial on the shoe prints we found at both scenes and they seem to match, too. That could prove the same person was at Rikki's town house and out behind the warehouse.”

“The murderer,” the chief said, nodding.

“So the shooter could definitely be the same person.”

“Yes.”

Blain stood. “I have to get out to the Alvanetti estate. Regina Alavanetti is not happy with me right now. I think she might have bolted.”

“As in, left the premises?”

“Yessir. She got mad at me earlier when I questioned her mother's loyalty to Franco.”

“Maybe you punctured a hole in Miss Regina's loyalty, too.”

“I think I did. And I believe she's just now realizing she is still loyal to her family.” And so was he at the moment.

Chief Ferrier's bushy brows did their usual frowning slant. “You might want to keep digging, son. From what I hear, Sonia Alvanetti always wore the pants in that family. And I'm pretty sure she still does. I don't believe she's ever had a problem with what Franco does for a living.”

* * *

Rikki and the hulking guard made their way up the wide steps to the broad porch of the stunning house out on Millbrook Island. Out here, the houses were big and spacious and pricey. The view of the Gulf of Mexico sparkled beyond the wide glass windows, the whitecaps crashing into bubbling foam against the creamy sand.

This house had been vacant for a while. What furniture the previous owners had left was sparse and covered with sheets. A blank slate for Rikki to decorate and pamper. She couldn't wait to throw herself back into work.

Murphy rang the doorbell and peered through the glass door at the empty entryway and the big room beyond. “I have to check things out,” he said, indicating he would be going inside with her.

Rikki started to protest and then changed her mind. She was behaving like a spoiled brat, coming out here on her own. She didn't want to get Murphy shot, too. “Okay,” she said, wishing now she hadn't been so impulsive and reckless. Wishing Blain was here with her in spite of their differences.

Blain cared about her. She knew that from his kisses.

She cared about him. She'd tried to show him that in her kisses and in all of her actions.

But it was too late to fret about Blain right now. When no one came to the door, she turned to Murphy. “They're supposed to meet us here. Maybe they're running late.”

She turned to search for any other cars. A luxury sedan sat in the short drive but no other vehicles were on the property.

“Try again, Murphy,” she said, her nerves wrapping around themselves.

Murphy rang the bell and then jiggled the door knob. The big door slipped open.

“Maybe they want us to go on inside,” Rikki said.

Murphy blocked her from doing that. “Not yet, ma'am.”

He went in ahead of her and walked like a shield in front of her through the sprawling one-level home.

“See? Nothing,” Rikki said, relief washing over her after they'd checked every room. “I'm sure they're on their way. I can do some measuring and take notes while we wait.” She gave Murphy what she hoped was a confident smile. “You could wait out on the terrace.”

“I stay here,” Murphy replied. “Where you go, I go.”

“Okay, then you can hold the tape measure for me.”

Soon Rikki was immersed in sketches and ideas. She typed notes on her electronic pad and got to know Big Murph—as he instructed her to call him. Murphy was soon laughing and talking and telling her about his six children.

“I never knew you had children,” she said. She'd seen him through the years, always hulking around but she'd never actually talked to any of the guards much. While they went from room to room, she enjoyed their banter and promised herself she'd reach out to the people around her more.

“It's been thirty minutes,” he said when they came back into the big kitchen and dining room area. “Whatta you want to do now?”

“I'll try to call again,” she said, a dagger of apprehension slashing through her. She left a message with the wife and then turned to Murphy. “I think this was a bad idea.”

He pulled out his revolver. “Yeah, me, too. I got a funny feeling and it ain't a good one.”

They were heading for the front door when it swung open and Althea Alvanetti walked in. “Hello,” she said to Rikki. “Long time, no see.”

“What are you doing here?” Rikki asked, a tremble of warning moving up her backbone. Her sister-in-law looked thin, her short white-blond hair curling around her cheeks. She wore a beige wool coat over winter-white pants. Her green eyes looked a little too bright.

“I thought Meredith would be here,” Althea said on a serene smile. “I did recommend you to her, after all.”

Meredith. The homeowner. A friend of Althea's. Rikki's stomach roiled in tune to the waves crashing below.

“She's late and we're leaving,” Rikki said, reaching a hand in her bag to locate her loaded gun. “I thought you had left town. I heard you'd gone to Miami.”

“Not yet,” Althea said. “Not that you'd care.”

Rikki gripped the weapon, not sure if she could shoot the mother of Santo's children. “I care about my brother and my nieces and nephew.”