Page 76 of The Lieutenant

“Do you think I should go and talk with her?” she asked.

“Maybe that will calm her down. Keep her occupied as well. Just remember, whatever you say to her might be used in a story against us.”

She smacked Dimitrios’ chest. “None of you have any faith in humanity. I don’t think that’s what she’s doing. I’ve read her articles. They’re fantastic.”

I shook my head. “She’s in my bedroom.” Willow had an entirely different take on the world. It was useless to argue with her.

“I’ll grab something to drink and stay with her,” Willow said as she squeezed Dimitrios’ arm and walked off.

“What is going on, boss? Did you get a good look at the shooter?” Tobias asked.

For all my keen observation skills, I’d fucked up that as well. “The shooter’s face was shadowed by the dark side of the street, the license plate covered.” It was a classic assassination attempt, a method used by dozens of syndicates and hired assassins.However, the real reason I’d been unable to get a better look was because all I’d been able to think about was saving Kara.

Then everything had turned to a blur.

Tobias looked at Jonas who cleared his throat. “I’ve already got feelers out on the streets. We’ll hunt these bastards down.”

“In the meantime, find Marco. I need to have a discussion with him. If he tipped off the police, he will be handled.” At least I could take out my anger on someone who deserved it.

Jonas nodded. “Can do. He’s not tough to find.”

“Make sure you do. We don’t need that kind of snitch on our payroll,” Christos said in reply. He was sitting on the couch, wringing his hands.

“Retrieve Ms. Banning’s things from her hotel room. Bring them here,” I further instructed.

“Boss?” Tobias questioned.

“Just do it!” I wasn’t in the mood to be questioned about any order I gave.

Jonas swallowed and Tobias shifted from foot to foot. They knew when I’d reached a point of no return. It wasn’t often, but when I did, heads usually rolled.

Or worse.

“I assume you haven’t had an opportunity to talk with Kara about her family?” Christos asked.

“I certainly wasn’t going to do that in the middle of the club. I was taking her back to the apartment when the shooting occurred. I’ll do it when she feels better.”

“You need to make it a priority.”

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do. We have no clue if she’s involved in this. Why would she risk her life to try and save mine if she was working for Bernardi?”

“Just stop, both of you. Havros is right in that without talking with her, we won’t know. What we can’t do is make any rash decisions. But I do think it’s a good idea if you handle the meeting in Paris. We’ll see about Milan after we discover if the recent press has altered any decisions.”

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at Dimitrios. “I don’t think now is a good time to leave town.”

“I think it’s a perfect time. You’re not under arrest, but I checked with my buddy at the police department. There is an active investigation. It’s only a matter of time until they believe they have enough to arrest you for Theo’s murder.”

Christos nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. Maybe by then we’ll have a definitive answer about who hired Aldo to handle Theo’s assassination.”

“Well, I certainly can’t tell the police the man responsible is now in several different boxes that have been disposed of.” Now I was beginning to wonder if I should have shipped the boxes straight to Bernardi’s door.

“No, I guess not.” My younger brother chuckled. “The tangled webs we weave.”

I glared at him. He could joke about this all he wanted, but someone wanted us dead.

“Another reason to seriously consider leaving town at least for a few days is because you know what happened tonight wascaught by several cameras. My guess is the shooting will be on the last news broadcast. You’ll be embroiled in a shutdown, and I don’t think that’s what you want. From Paris, you can head to Milan and if the information comes back that Bernardi is behind this, then things may change.” Dimitrios was becoming almost insistent.

“I won’t leave her here,” I told him. “We have a contract. Remember? She has a deadline.” Since when would that have mattered to me in the least prior to meeting her?

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