Page 106 of Forging Caine

“Now leave me to my work.”

He skulked back to his easel.

“Antonio.” Samantha beckoned me to her desk. “I reached out to a photographer friend of mine in Boston aboutStorm on the Sea. He’s working on a project to digitize his father’s professional photos from the Gardner in the ’80s and says he’ll—”

The door blew open and Fiori stormed in, Jason behind him. The other two bodyguards snapped to attention.

“You!” He pointed at Samantha, and my world stopped. “Did you really think you were that clever?”

She eased out of her chair, like a deer attempting to blend into the background. “I—”

“These are seventeenth century Baroque. And you’ve already dealt with the Vermeer, soGirl with a Pearl Earringhas no relation to this investigation.”

I darted in front of her, hands out and voice soft. “What’s going on Pasquale?”

“Get out of the way, Ferraro,” he growled. “You swore both of you’d abide by my rules. And yet she sent out a message.”

Marone, Samantha, seriously?

“I wasn’t going to, I swear.” The desperation in Samantha’s voice told me it was true. She’d been caught and she knew it.

“I’m tired of the lies. What is it you Americans say, Ms. Caine? That’s strike number two?” Fiori tore a handgun out of Bodyguard One’s holster and began unscrewing the thread protector from the end. That meant a suppressor was coming.

Samantha’s body moved behind me and I danced into her way. When we faced off with Jimmy on New Year’s Eve, she stood to my side, dividing his focus. But tonight, she was the only target. I had to stay between her and that gun.

“I deleted it, Pasquale. Yes, I wrote it, but I decided not to send it.”

Baptiste came barreling into the room. “I’m here. What’s up?”

His father ignored him. “And yet still, my men tell me you sent it.”

Samantha’s hands curled around my arm, but she didn’t try to get around me again. “Zane startled me and I accidentally hit the button. But I deleted right away.”

“You make it sound so innocent. Even using Zane’s account, so I wouldn’t suspect you. The problem is—he’s not smart enough for that!”

Zane moved, coming out of his hiding place behind his easel, his ego obviously stronger than his sense of self-preservation. “I studied at the—”

“Shut up!” Fiori put out a hand and Bodyguard One put a suppressor in it. “What is it, Ms. Caine? You think you can get away with all the same things here as you got away with in Cittavera? Giovanni and his minions may have fallen for your lies—Vincenzo may have fallen for you—but that won’t work here.”

“She’s telling the truth.” Cam-ron came around from the back of his easel, nervous hands fidgeting in front of his stomach. “Zane was yelling at her because she was working too hard. She jumped and got really stressed out.”

“And then I deleted it. Have your men—your IT staff or whoever—check. I was too fast for anyone to see it, I’m sure.”

The sound of metal gliding over metal as he screwed the suppressor onto the gun had never made me so sick. “She knows what’s at stake here.”

“Ididcheck with them.” Fiori gave the suppressor one final twist and held the gun up just to my side. “And fortunately for you, you’re right. However, I feel you need to understand that I will not tolerate a third strike.”

Zane’s cocky chin jut out, an even more obvious act that earlier. “I can do this job. You don’t need them.”

Fiori’s nostrils flared and he swiveled.

One shot. Straight into Zane’s forehead. The conservator went limp and fell.

Samantha shuddered behind me and I grabbed her hand.

Cam-ron screeched.

“It was the wrong blue, you useless piece of garbage!” Fiori shouted at the body before slamming the gun into his bodyguard’s hands. He balled his fist at me. “Four paintings is not that much to ask.”

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