Page 25 of Assassin's Heart
Angelo hadn’t seemed angry. He’d just seemed…normal. Sure, on the dangerous side, dominant, but not in a threatening way. At least not toward me.
“A couple of scrapes in juvie, but that’s about it,” Eli was saying. “Not even a speeding ticket. Nothing until the investigation into his death.”
Remi leaned over to eye the screen. “An investigation that went nowhere.”
That didn’t surprise me. Ross could even have been the one to somehow block the investigation.
Eli clicked through the case file. I didn’t know how he’d gotten ahold of it, but nothing the brothers did really surprised me anymore. When Eli got to the autopsy report and photos, I hastily looked away.
Right into Remi’s eyes.
It hit me like a lightning bolt every time that happened. Our eyes would meet, and something electric would pass between us, something so strong it scared me. I’d felt it the first time he opened his eyes from the coma, and every time after until Levi had set me free. And I’d tried to forget. But with him right in front of me, with that electricity sizzling in the air between us…
Did it bother him to hear about Angelo? I’d certainly never imagined Remi with other women, but that wasn’t realistic, was it? This man was no longer an invalid, and there had to have been women.
And you have a child. If it hurts him, tough shit. We need this info to get Brooke back.
“No mention of mob activity, previous dealings with Fiori or the mob.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Eli click the file closed, and I turned to face the computer again. “It was assumed it was a random robbery gone wrong because of the state of the house. Cold case, unsolved.”
“They searched that night,” Remi said.
“Everywhere.” I stared down at my hands clasped on the desk, my white knuckles. “If something had been there, surely they’d have found it.”
“Did Angelo have a secret hiding place?”
I dug my nails into my palms, trying to contain the memories. “Not that I know of, but I wasn’t living there. We talked about it, but…” My throat closed up.
“What about outside of the house? Safety deposit box, favorite place to visit, anything like that?”
“I don’t know about a box. We walked to his cousin’s Italian restaurant every couple of days.” Angelo had loved food as much as I had back then, before caring for a child and lack of time had made me more cautious. “That was our only regular hangout.”
Remi grunted, the rasp of his thumb tracing his stubble a harsh complement. “Did he ever give you anything?”
“All the time.” Most of it had been left behind, but… “Angelo liked to give me things—food, clothes, books.”
“Any jewelry?” Eli asked.
I shuddered, the memories flooding over the dam I’d built to keep them back. “He…he gave me a ring that night. An engagement ring. But…they took it, before they…started…” A wave of my hand filled in what I couldn’t get my tongue to explain. “You know.”
I brought a hand to my lips, holding back words and emotion I had no desire to share.
“Eli”—Remi straightened—“give us a minute?”
I didn’t look up, didn’t want to see what Eli thought of me, of my past. And God, I didn’t want to see sympathy. Pity. I’d lost a lot, yes, but I had gotten through it. That was my focus, not—
A hand appeared in front of my eyes. “C’mere.”
The fingers were thick, strong. They looked like they could weather any storm, and probably could. But when this was over, there’d be no hand to grab hold of. I wouldn’t let there be.
But right now? I needed that hand. So I took it.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Eleven
Remi —
My basic philosophy in life, given my past, wasshit happens. I deserved it. Leah didn’t.
