“Yes, sir,” I whisper.
He groans, and it’s filled with longing and need, and it makes me smile.
“Dinner. Then upstairs for dessert.” He plants a kiss on my mouth that makes me forget about any hunger I had for dinner.
“You’ve lost your fucking mind, Sienna!” Kara yells through the phone at me as I park my car half a block down from Tony’s house.
“If you think yelling at her is going to stop her, you’re the one who’s lost her mind,” Rosa snaps.
This three-way call seemed like a good idea when I answered it and had I not clued them into what I’m about to do, it probably would have been.
“Okay, okay, no yelling.” Kara blows into the phone. “Sienna. Sneaking into Tony’s house and digging around is a horrible, dangerous idea.”
“How else am I supposed to find what I’m looking for?” I unhook my phone from the car’s system and climb out.
“I don’t know, but doing this yourself isn’t smart.”
“Can’t you call his sisters-in-law? They sound like they’d be up for this,” Rosa says.
“Too much risk that they’ll slip up and tell their husbands. And besides, I have the code. I’ll just get in and get out before anyone even knows I was there.”
“Do you have a gun with you?” Kara sounds exasperated, but we both know she’s only envious that she isn’t here with me.
“No, I don’t have a gun. Where would I get a gun?”
“Seriously.” She scoffs. “You’re married to the Russian mafia, and you don’t think you have access to a gun?”
“Okay, you have a point, but I actually don’t know where he keeps his guns.”
“You haven’t searched the house?” Rosa pipes in. “I would have been in every closet and room the first night. Especially since you had all that time alone in the house.”
“I wasn’t going to search his house.”
“But you’re going to search your dead brother’s house?” Kara butts in.
“I thought you’d be more supportive of my adventurous side. You always said I needed to take more risks.”
“Yeah, with men, not your life!” Kara shouts. “What if your cousin or your uncle finds out.”
“I already explained this.” I open the pedestrian gate of the property fence easily with the key I still had. “If someone does catch me, it’s me—Tony’s bereaved sister. If someone catches Kaz or his brothers, then it’s a whole thing.”
“It’s already a whole thing.” Rosa supplies. “Crap. I’m sorry, I have to go—promise you’ll be careful and you’ll text as soon as you get out of there.”
“Rosa! We need to talk some sense into her.”
“I’m already at the back door,” I inform them. “I will talk to you right after. I promise I’ll be safe.”
“I don’t like this. Be careful. One sign of anything going wrong and you get out of there!” Kara sounds ready to jump on a plane and come out here to shake me.
“I promise. I’m hanging up now.” Before she can berate me anymore, I end the call and tuck my phone into the side pocket of my fleece lined leggings.
Finger poised over the keypad lock, I say a small prayer that no one has bothered to change the passkey.
A pause then the little green light flashes and the locks disengage. I heave a sigh mingled with relief and excitement and shove the door open before anyone walking by has a chance to see me.
The place is eerily silent. It’s clean, though, with no dust or grime build-up. He’s been gone two months now. If the staff wasn’t working anymore there’d be signs.
“Hello? Maria? Theresa?” I call out for the housekeepers Tony kept on staff.
