His laugh indicates he’s amused by the question.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a no. I’ve known Declan for more than twenty years. He’s a dear friend.”
I eye him warily. “Uh-huh. And does your dear friend know about this clandestine little chat? Because it makes a lot more sense that you’d just talk to me out in the other room with him instead of skulking around women’s bathrooms.”
He studies me for a moment in silence. I feel his gaze going over me, up and down. One corner of his mouth lifts.
“You remind me of my wife. She stole a truckload of diapers from me. That’s how we met.”
“Fascinating.”
“It was.”
“Is there a point you’ll be arriving at soon? Because if not, I’ve got some champagne to get back to.”
Ignoring my comment, he says, “You’ll meet her. Her name’s Juliet. I have a feeling the two of you will get along like gangbusters.”
I decide I’ve had enough. If he’s going to kidnap me, let’s get on with it. If he’s not, I’m bored.
I turn and start to walk away, but stop when he says, “Lili and Juan Pablo are doing well down in Mexico, don’t you think? Sweet love story, that.”
My heart starts to pound faster. I turn and peer at him, wondering what the fuck this guy really wants. I demand, “What do you know about them?”
“I know they’ve decided to make Mexico their permanent home. And I know you met with Juan Pablo’s uncle Alvaro last week to discuss a deal between the Mob, the Mafia, and the Jalisco cartel.”
“Did Declan tell you that?”
He chuckles again. He seems overly fond of doing that.
“No, lass. I’ve got my own sources of information. And I have to admit, I’m bloody impressed at the deal you negotiated. You were born to twist men around your pinky finger, weren’t you?”
“Enough with the rhetorical questions. I hate rhetorical questions. Who are you?”
Instead of giving me his name, he says cryptically, “An interested third party.”
At first, I think he wants to get in on the Jalisco deal. But then I remember something Declan said the day at his office when he showed me the evidence that Gianni set up the kidnapping attempt and home invasion himself.
When I asked how he came by all the information, he said the same thing this Irishman just said. “An interested third party.”
All the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I say, “You were listening. That day in Declan’s office, you were listening in on our conversation.”
“Watching it over a hidden camera in the ceiling, actually. Don’t blame Declan for that. He didn’t know it was there. But your performance was impeccable. I’ve never seen a woman handle herself so well. Declan can be very intimidating.”
“Not much intimidates me.”
“Exactly. Which is why I’m extending you an invitation.”
He lets it hang there without explaining what he means.
I say sarcastically, “Here is where you’ll offer me riches beyond my wildest dreams or something, right?”
“There’s money involved, but that’s not why you’ll be interested.”
I’m about to explode with exasperation, but manage to remain calm. “Okay, I’ll play your silly game. Why will I be interested?”
After a moment, he removes his sunglasses. Without them, he’s even more handsome. He stares at me with dark eyes that drill straight through my skull.
“Because you’re a do-gooder, Reyna Caruso. You’ve got an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong.”
It’s official: he’s nuts.
“Since you obviously know so much about me, you must know that I’m the head of the Cosa Nostra. Tell me how being in charge of an organized crime empire makes me so ethical?”
“You sacrificed yourself to save the lives of your niece and her boyfriend. Do-gooding. You told the other Mafia families that at the upcoming annual Christmas Eve meeting of all the syndicates, the Chinese and the Armenians will be cut off if they continue their human-trafficking operations. Do-gooding.”
His faint, self-satisfied smile returns. “You ordered Declan not to kill Stavros because it offended your sense of fair play. Do-gooding.”
“That’s three things. Big deal. And it’s really creepy how much you know about me.”
“I know much more than that, but I’m trying to recruit you to join my organization, so I won’t creep you out any more by giving additional details.”
“What’s your organization?”
Stepping closer to me, he holds out a white business card.
I take it from him and look at it. “It’s blank.”
“Turn it over.”
When I do, I find nothing more on the back except a number printed in bold sans serif type in the middle of the card.
I glance up at him in confusion. “Thirteen? What’s that?”
“The name of my organization.”
“Oh. Okay, that’s weird.”
He sounds offended. “Why is it weird?”
“Thirteen is a feminine number. The number of blood, fertility, and lunar potency. The number of the Great Goddess.” I look him up and down. “You don’t exactly look like a Great Goddess to me.”
He sticks his sunglasses back onto his face, folds his arms over his chest, and sighs. “It’s also the number of the Death card in the Tarot.”
“So you organization has something to do with the Tarot?”
“No. Thirteen is just the number of members we have.”
I stare at him for a moment. “I feel like we could stand here until the end of time and go in circles while you avoid telling me anything at all about what this organization of yours does.”
His smile is mysterious. “I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, don’t tell anyone you’ve spoken to me. That’s your first test.”
“For the record, I hate tests. And considering I have no idea who you are, I’m not likely to tell anyone about you. I don’t even know your name.”
He lowers his head and gazes at me over the frame of his sunglasses. In a low voice, he says, “The name’s Killian Black, lass. And you’ll be hearing from me.”
Footsteps sound on the marble floor of the corridor. I glance down the corridor. When I turn around again, he’s gone.
Killian has disappeared into thin air.
I say loudly, “That’s even more creepy! And if I join your stupid organization, you’ll have to change the name to fourteen. You know that, right? Every time you recruit a new member, you’ll have to print up new business cards!”
I’m not sure, but I could swear I hear the sound of faint laughter echoing from somewhere far off in the distance.
42
Rey
Late that night, I’m lying in bed next to Quinn and staring suspiciously at the ceiling of the hotel suite with a growing sense of unease that a crazy person named Killian Black might have planted a camera in the smoke detector, when Quinn rouses and slides one of his heavy legs over mine.
His voice drowsy, he says, “Strange thing happened tonight.”
“What’s that?”