Page 12 of Be Very Quiet

Luca hadn’t been a monk in the ten years since he last saw Liliana—far from it. He’d even considered marriage a few years ago, but something had kept him from asking Hailey to be his wife. It might have been because it was Liliana’s face he pictured in his mind when he asked a woman those four sacred words: will you marry me? Maybe it was that he didn’t love Hailey enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her. Whatever the case, Hailey had grown tired of waiting for him to ask, issued an ultimatum, and when he’d remained silent, walked out the door and never returned. He didn’t blame her at all.

“Can I help you find something, Luca?”

Luca turned to see Tank Hale walking over, and he realized he’d been standing there with his arm extended for a ridiculous amount of time. “Sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” He swiped the Kevlar vest he’d chosen for Liliana and held it up. “I think I’ve got everything I need.”

Luca chatted with Tank while he cataloged the items Luca picked out. As he headed to his apartment, a text chimed on his phone. BeBe had booked his flight already. He’d be in Miami by this afternoon.

Chapter Five

Liliana tried to go about the day as if nothing had happened, certainly not a killing that mirrored the one that had taken Erin’s life. She couldn’t believe she’d called Luca. Hearing his voice had sent her mind reeling back ten years to the worst—and best—time of her life. If only she’d been strong enough to stay and see if the intense attraction she’d felt for him could have morphed into something more.

Liliana wasn’t sure why she’d hung up on him. Maybe it was because her first impulse had been to ask him to come to Florida and protect her. She’d never felt safer in her life than when he was around. Rader couldn’t get to her because Luca wouldn’t let him. She’d worked hard over the years to become a fearless, independent woman. She’d managed for the most part. Weakness was no longer a part of her vocabulary . . . or it hadn’t been until Douglas Speke had pulled his idiotic stunt. Now she questioned her training. Rutger would be so mad at her. Hell, she was angry at herself.

Liliana put her worries aside to teach her dance class. The eight girls and four boys had learned the routine they would perform at the recital and were polishing it now. They were excited to join the students at Maria’s studio for a group number. Liliana had given them the information to share with their parents since they would have to go to Maria’s place of business to practice.

The music stopped, and she gave them a five-minute break before running through it again. She corrected form and timing issues and ensured they executed one clean performance before dismissing them.

Liliana took a drink from her water bottle and wiped a towel over her face. Teaching the students always resulted in a grueling workout. After she put the props away, she was headed for her office when Nina Poole, one of her closest friends, entered the building. Nina was teaching cardio burn tonight, and as always, her class would be packed. Her clientele leaned heavily toward men since Nina was a bubbly blue-eyed blonde with a killer body. She was friendly, outgoing, and stunning. She tended to fall in love at the drop of a hat and then grow bored and move on to the next conquest. Currently, she’d set her sights on Rex Raines. She’d been begging Liliana to set them up, but Liliana was afraid things would be awkward when the relationship fizzled out. Plus, she hadn’t mentioned to Nina how Rex had asked her out several times.

“Oh my gosh, please tell me he’s here to take my class.”

Liliana sighed. Rex usually exercised in the morning or sometimes around lunchtime. His afternoons and evenings were filled with house showings and meetings. She’d given him and the others in his office a hefty discount since he had found her the space . . . and owned the building. Theo Harvey usually worked out with Rex, while Georgia Perkins preferred the evening yoga classes. She had also been taking self-defense.

Liliana turned, bracing herself for Rex’s presence, but didn’t see him. A tall man with dark hair removed his sunglasses as he looked around the space. It was obvious he worked out, judging by his incredibly muscular physique. Wow, what a specimen. His gaze passed by her and then jerked back.

Liliana gasped and stumbled backward.No, it couldn’t be.

“Liliana, are you okay?” Nina crouched down and picked up the papers that had tumbled from Liliana’s lax fingers. “He’s coming this way!” Nina gushed, but Liliana barely heard her. Her heartbeat thumped madly in her ears, and her feet had grown roots and anchored her in place.

My goodness, ten years had been good to Luca Russo. He’d been handsome before, with the brash cockiness of youth, but he’d matured into a man—a gorgeous one. His short, spiky black hair stood up a little in the front. A polo shirt clung to impressive muscles. He’d hooked his sunglasses into the buttons at his neck.

When she gazed into his amber eyes, she felt herself reverting to the young woman who had worshiped him and practically melted into a puddle at his feet. He’d always had that effect on her.

“Hi, I’m Nina. Are you here to take a class? You’ll love mine. I’ll get your heart racing if you know what I mean.”

Luca’s gaze never left Liliana’s. “Hi, Nina. No, I’m here for Liliana.”

Liliana heard Nina’s surprised inhale, but she was powerless to say anything. She was entirely under Luca’s spell.

#

Luca studied notes from the police investigation of the recent homicide on the flight to Miami. The MO, ormodus operandi,appeared to be identical to Ted Rader’s style of murder. Rape, strangulation, exsanguination, heavily applied makeup postmortem. The only missing piece was the sewing of the eyes and lips shut. Rader had been meticulous with that step after he’d murdered his victims. That tidbit of information had never been made public with Rader’s killing spree ten years ago, and the police might be keeping it under wraps now, but Luca was looking at official notes and photos from the scene. He had no idea how Tyler had managed to get his hands on them, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t a cop anymore.

Luca scrolled to the photos, having long ago grown detached at viewing gruesome images like these. He’d seen death up close and personal too many times to count. It wasn’t that he was an uncaring bastard. The opposite, in fact. Constructing a shell around his feelings had been the only way he could cope, so he could do his job and deliver justice to those victims.

The woman was almost painfully thin, with her ribs and pelvic bones protruding through her skin. Close-ups of her arm showed noticeable track marks from long-time drug use. That was strange. Rader’s previous victims had either been successful, beautiful, from privileged families, or a combination of the three. The FBI had worked up a profile on him, and they deduced he had chosen those types of women because they wouldn’t give him the time of day otherwise. He might have even had unpleasant encounters with one or several during his formative years.

Luca came to the shots of the woman’s face. He couldn’t tell from the pictures if there were stitches in the lids or lips. Rader had always performed that step with surgical precision. They would be hard to see anyway since her face had been painted in garish hues of electric blue on the eyes, flamingo pink on the cheeks, and ruby red on the lips. That was another deviation. He’d perfected applying women’s cosmetics. Had Rader changed his MO over the past ten years? Was it possible that this was a copycat?

Tyler had included information on the detective in charge of the case, Diego Torres. Luca planned on setting up a meeting with him after he spoke with Liliana.

Due to a delay on the tarmac, it was late when Luca exited the aircraft. Because he’d brought two guns along, he’d checked his suitcase. More time was wasted waiting at baggage claim for it to appear on the rotating carousel. BeBe had an SUV waiting for him, and he loaded his bag inside.

He didn’t know if Liliana would still be at work or if she’d headed home to her condo. He had the addresses for both, but he typed in the location of her studio first into the onboard GPS.

Along with studying the case on the plane ride, Luca had dug into Liliana’s background over the last ten years. He was ridiculously pleased to note she hadn’t married. He remembered her major being psychology, with plans to become a therapist, but she’d changed career objectives and majored in business. She owned her condo, located north of Miami Beach in Surfside, and a three-year-old Jeep Grand Cherokee. She rented the building for her fitness academy but took out a substantial loan for the subsequent renovations.

Luca arrived at Liliana’s place, located in a group of shops in Miami Beach. Many of the spaces in the shared lot were full. He found a spot and glanced around as he stepped out. Other nearby businesses included a bank, a real estate office, and an upscale boutique. Several people were heading to the studio. He caught up with them and entered. After removing his sunglasses, he scoped the interior, looking for a beautiful woman with long raven hair. His gaze moved past two women before snapping back.

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