Page 40 of Degrees of Power
“They had helicopters flying around the Larussio estate, too, but stayed on the periphery,” Chase says, reading a text on his phone.
“Yeah, probably knew Carlos Larussio would drop them right out of the sky,” Matt says. I glance up just in time to see Sheldon’s fleeting look of disapproval as we set down on the helipad.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” Chase says, lifting me by the waist from the helicopter. We are immediately encircled by a blanket of security guards who walk with us the short distance to the front entrance. The house looks magnificent with its broad pillars and archways set against a backdrop of towering spruce trees, whose branches are now heavily laden from the fresh snowfall.
Chase thanks the men inside the door and shakes hands with Matt who is anxious to return to the airstrip and get back to L.A. “We’ll do everything we can to find her, Kate,” Matt says to me.
“I know you will, Matt. Thank you,” I say before Chase closes the door and we walk into the kitchen.
“I thought I heard a lot of commotion out there,” Gaby says, wiping her hands on her apron before pulling the two of us into a hug.
“What smells so good? We’re starving,” Chase says.
“I just made a fresh batch of clam chowder and sourdough bread. Take a seat,” she says.
“That sounds excellent, Gaby. You sure you don’t need any help?” I ask.
“Sit, sit, sit. It will give me something to do,” she says, bustling over to the stove where a chrome pot of soup is simmering. She lifts the lid and the aroma wafts through the air permeating the kitchen.
Chase looks down at his phone, scowling before he texts a message. “Jay just left L.A. Apparently he and Brian went to question Ty and Jay had to literally pull Brian off of him,” Chase says, the tension in his jaw revealing his agitation.
“What’s going on with him?” I ask, blowing on a spoon full of the thick creamy soup that Gaby has placed in front of us.
“I don’t know. Brian keeps his personal relationships to himself, but something’s clearly got him uptight,” he says.
“Did they learn anything from Ty?”
“Nothing. He even invited them in to take a look around,” he says.
“Smug asshole,” I say.
“Any word about Jenny?” I ask, nodding to the phone in his hand.
“Not yet, Baby,” he says.
“Who were you on the phone with?”
“Your dad. I wanted to make sure he knew I was planning to fill you in on the details of the plan for Alfreita,” he says, his gaze measured.
“And, what pray tell did he say to that?”
“You know how he feels about this, Katarina,” Chase says.
“Yeah, he wants to keep me blissfully ignorant,” I say.
“Katarina, he cares about you and how you view him. He would do whatever it takes not to ever feel the pain of Karissa or you walking out of his life,” he says as we finish our meal.
“I won’t think less of him or you. I just want to know,” I say, watching the fleeting emotion pass over his handsomely chiseled features.
“Thanks for the nice lunch,” Chase says, guiding me upstairs with his hand on the small of my back and closing the door behind us when we reach our bedroom.
“Your father’s family is in an outright war with Alfreita. He crossed the line when he kidnapped Karissa and the Larussio family snapped back with a vengeance. They severed all supply chain relationships and made it almost impossible for Alfreita to move product which he desperately needs if he is to fulfill commitments.”
“I don’t understand how that’s helping us.”
“Baby, Carlos used that as a means to draw him out. He wants to completely put Alfreita out of business. If you recall the men in Miami, they were being blackmailed by Alfreita. They’ve been working for your father since that time and the intel they provided allowed him to take out Alfreita’s largest manufacturing sites.”
“God, Chase. I thought he was done with that life,” I say, changing out of my travel clothes and into my robe, climbing into bed and sliding my back against the headboard. “He promised my mom that he wasn’t running drugs. She believed him, Chase. I believed him,” I say.
