Page 122 of Forging Caine

My body ached from the stun gun. That was an experience I was happy to never have again.

“So…” I said, “are we sleeping here tonight?”

Bodyguard One, who’d shot at me at my Zio Gio’s place in January, stepped forward. The glower in his eye suggested he was about to punch me, but one of the guards stopped him.

Fiori entered, with Baptiste on his heels.

“Is this necessary?” asked Baptiste.

Fiori spun on his heel and raised a finger to his son’s face. “This is how you run an organization. If you don’t learn, I’ll have to replaceyouwith someone else.”

Baptiste grimaced, his gaze roaming about the room. What was going through the poor man’s head? What didreplacemean to his father, perhaps?

“Ms. Caine.” Fiori came to stand in front of her, rolling his neck. “There are those whose loyalty comes easily.” He waved his hands toward the men surrounding him. “In my experience, for people who choose not to give that loyalty to me, threatening their loved ones is the most effective way to ensure they don’t betray me. A reasonable person would hear that threat, understand I’m serious about it, and help me with whatever job I’ve requested.”

“No one’s ever accused me of being reasonable.” Samantha preferred to play dangerous games. It was something I’d have to encourage her to stop.

“Parker Johnson.” He paced away from Samantha, beyond the wicker and glass table, toward a Grecian statue at the end of the room. “Jimmy Slater. Vincenzo Romano. Do you know what they have in common?”

“I’m not sure. Could you give me a few hints?” Her jaw was set tight. What was she thinking? “Their names don’t all start with the same letter, I know that much.”

Of course. She was delaying. She hoped Elliot would arrive and rescue us. But talking wasmyspecialty, not hers. “No, bella. Johnson and Jimmy both start with the same letter. Maybe you’re onto something there.”

Fiori patted the cheek of his statue and continued his pacing. “All of them betrayed me by telling you what they knew. I don’t know what it is about you—you’re abrasive, lack humility, and you’re not all that attractive.”

“That’s not true, at all,” I said. “At least not the last part.”

Samantha almost laughed at that.

Fiori continued, ignoring me. “I knew there was a leak in my organization and I’ve been trying to ferret it out for a year. Tighter security didn’t work. Cameras and hidden microphones didn’t work.”

“Plus Mom wouldn’t talk to you until you got rid of them,” muttered Baptiste, while his father continued talking.

“The solution dawned on me when Vincenzo returned from his job in Cittavera. You were the key, Ms. Caine. I neededyouto uncover the traitor for me.”

That was why he’d given us the run of the place. Hewantedus to attempt an escape.

“I was convinced it was Dr. Ivan. That’s why we used the drugs. And when he went along with that ridiculous plan, I started marching everyone out in front of you, in case someone acted. If no one contacted the police or tried to help you escape here, you would have been moving along to my residence in France next.”

That explained the changing faces in his staff on the yacht and then at the mansion through the day.

“It surprised me Cam-ron was brave enough to run with you, but truly…” He held his arms wide to the sky and looked up, a broad smile sweeping across his face. “I never would have suspected Jason, so thank you.” He pulled the hands in, clasping them over his chest. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping convince my traitor to reveal himself.”

“No problem.” Samantha forced her professional smile into place. “That tips our scales back into balance, right? Or would you like Antonio and I to go back to work? I have some information coming from a friend in Boston.”

He neared Samantha, and she drew her head back. He took her face in his hands. “My only question is whether I should keep you alive until we find Jason and Cam-ron or dispose of you before you can turn one of my other men.”

At least that meant neither of them had been found yet. There was still hope Cam-ron had contacted the FBI.

Baptiste leaned toward Bodyguard Three, the one who’d taken him after Zane’s death. “Dispose?”

How long a delay could we eke out? Where was Elliot’s team? “Pasquale, I’ll do anything if you let her go. I swear, you’ll have my complete loyalty. Forever.”

He let her go and strolled the few steps to me. “As much as having you work for me would be a feather in my cap—and how much it would piss off your uncle–you’re not that valuable. There will be a long line of conservators begging to take Cam-ron and Zane’s place. Who wouldn’t want to work on the pieces that come through my doors?”

This man had seemed so kind and genuine during our first meeting, all those months ago in Capri. But that was not the real him. This was not like my Zio Giovanni, who was concerned with money and power. Fiori genuinely believed the world owed him things. How did he make his money? Was he born into it? Did he have parents that created this monster in front of me, who thought human life was less important than his artwork?

That was it. His artwork!

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