Page 17 of Lethal Beauty

I grinned, thinking about the pranks Alessia had dolled out so far. “Is she always like this?” I wasn’t sure exactly how to put my thoughts into words, but Keene seemed to know what I was asking.

“She’s never been shy about letting you know where you stand with her. If she likes you, she likes you. If she hates you, stay the hell away, and when you mess up …”

“Be prepared for the consequences.” I finished his sentence, reaching for a chip. We ate in silence long enough to order, still working our way through the chips and salsa. I’d played enough poker with Keene to realize he was mulling things over and decided to give him the time and space to do it.

“I really fucked up, didn’t I?” he asked suddenly, motioning for another beer.

“Yeah,” I said, not about to sugarcoat it.

“Shit,” he hunched over. “Didn’t mean to hurt her. Gideon’s pissed, and I don’t blame him, either. We went around him and left him out of this. If she leaves for good over this, it will be on me.”

“You didn’t act alone,” I reminded him. “And while I have no doubt you have some hefty damage control to do on several fronts, I think you have the ability to repair what’s broken.” I thought about our lunch conversation that afternoon. “Alessia loves y’all. She’s angry and upset at your opinion of her.” Keene flinched at that, but I wasn’t about to shy away from it just because the truth hurt. “But I think what’s worse is she’s mad at herself for being blindsided by it.”

Keene ran a hand over his face. “We picked on her for not caring enough about the company. She’s been pulling away from us, from A.T. She thought she was coming in to spend the day catching up on what she’s been missing.”

Well, that explains the business attire, I thought. And added another tick in the box of ways her brothers had screwed her over.

“I did say you had some hefty damage control.” I sipped my beer. We were quiet again as our server set our food in front of us. I was starving, but Keene barely picked at his meal, clearly upset. I could see what Alessia meant, how she loved them even though they’d hurt her feelings time and time again. The love Keene had for his sister was clear on his face. I had every confidence that the Accardi family could get past it, provided the brothers learned their lesson.

“Brody?”

“Yeah, Keene?”

“You really think I missed something?” His eyes bore into mine, and I knew instinctively he was talking about my observations that afternoon about Alessia’s skills.

“Yeah, I really do.”

Chapter 10

Alessia

UnabletogetBrodyout of my mind, I was ready to go so early the next morning most people would still consider it the middle of the night. I had hoped for another night of real rest before leaving, but instead, I’d woken after just a few hours, remembering snatches of dreams with Brody in various stages of undress. Grumpy and unable to go back to sleep, I’d packed and re-packed since I couldn’t bring some of my more specialized items. Then I checked and rechecked that nothing in the contents was anything other than regular, everyday crap. Except for the garrote that was hidden in the lining of my suitcase, the knife hidden in one of the ridiculous high-heels women were expected to wear in the name of fashion, and my tracking implant—something that would only help me if someone knew I was in trouble since it wasn’t like it had a panic button—I was completely naked. At least, I felt that way. I would feel better strutting down the street in my birthday suit than I was right now, getting ready for a mission with none of my normal equipment. Granted, it was just a little mission. It wasn’t like I was planning a kill, just gathering intel, but I would have felt a lot better with my usual tools of the trade. I had just shoved a stun gun that looked like a tube of lipstick into my purse—because I figured the drops I typically carried would be a little too obvious with someone watching my every move—when the perimeter sensor chirped.

Slinging the purse over my shoulder, I grabbed my rolling bag and oversized purse before stepping onto the covered front porch as Keene’s black SUV pulled to a stop. I waited, clearly expecting someone to get out and help me with my bags because, hello, manners were always expected—I was a lady, after all.

However, Keene sat stonily in his seat, glowering at me through the windshield, his face bright red and splotchy. Hiding my grin, I tapped my foot in a show of exasperation, looking at the delicate watch on my wrist. I couldn’t read its face in the darkness, but I was making a point.

The door opened, but it was Brody who strode to the walkway to grab the bags. “Good morning,” he said, barely glancing at me.

I pouted. I had hoped that my appearance would at least rate a double take. If he was bothering me—intentionally or not—the least I should be able to do was bother him right back. My minidress ended barely halfway down my thighs. I’d have to be careful how I moved, or I would flash my goodies to king and country, but I knew I looked good. Gold heels that added four inches to my already impressive height put me eye to eye with Brody. I’d left my hair loose to fall around me in gentle waves down my back. Other than the watch, the only piece of jewelry was the necklace Gia had made for me in art class. The plaster was rough, asymmetrical, and hung at an awkward angle from the chain, but Gia had been so proud to give it to me for my birthday last year that I couldn’t help but love it. She’d chosen the color to be as close a match to my violet eyes as she could get, mixing several colors to get just the right shade. “Morning,” I replied as he took both bags from me. “How was your night?”

I smirked as he tried to hide a smile as we walked to the SUV. “The yelling started about an hour after I retired for the night. What did you do to him? I can see the results, but he hasn’t spoken an intelligible word yet.”

I snuck another glance at Keene, who was studying the dash as if he’d have to recreate it from memory. “Itching powder on all of his bedding. He’s slightly allergic. I also dusted it in his underwear drawer and stole his coffee supply.”

Brody choked, coughing as he stopped at the trunk.

I left him to deal with the bags and got into the back seat. Between my still simmering anger, Keene’s foul mood, and Brody’s long legs, I figured giving him the front seat was a good move on all fronts. “Good morning,” I said as I slid in, buckling my seat belt and avoiding so much as a glance at my brother.

“Boone called me,” Keene said, ignoring my greeting completely. “He needs me to take all of his meetings today.”

“Oh?” I faked concern. “Is he all right?”

“He’s been up all night sick.” Keene’s voice was flat. “He ate enchiladas for dinner after drinking a shot of whiskey and spent the rest of the night alternating between running to the bathroom and praying to God.”

“Poor thing.” My sympathy sounded fake even to my ears. “He must have gotten a touch of food poisoning.” I hadn’t touched the food, so I knew good and well food poisoning wasn’t the problem. Brody got into the passenger seat, shutting the door softly as he buckled up.

“A touch of something,” Keene muttered, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the drive, reaching up to scratch his face. It was so irritated he hadn’t even shaved, something my military-ridged brother never went without doing and was probably adding to his crabby mood.

---