It tookthree days before they finally left me alone. The crime scene techs had come and gone. The attorneys and investigators had exhausted their attempts at getting information from me or access to the house.
Thankfully, Liyana’s father—Mehmet al-Qadiri—had started a rumor that Saleem had upset a powerful opposition group when he’d begun pushing a new profit model for his father-in-law’s oil holdings in an attempt to reap more of the earnings for himself. And it seemed Esteban Alvarado had helped him find the group to pin it on, because now the authorities were chasing their tails, investigating a bunch of leads that would never pan out.
The feint had worked in part because it was based in truth. Al-Qadiri hadn’t been content to wait for his father-in-law to hand over control of their vast fortune. In the end, his greed had led to his downfall.
I could only imagine the guilt and pain Mehmet al-Qadiri was feeling. He’d brought Saleem into the Paxis Council. Taught and mentored him before letting him take the family’s place at the table. He’d thought he’d known who his son-in-law was and believed he was trustworthy.
And he’d been wrong.
Maybe this would finally change al-Qadiri’s opinion about Liyana’s abilities. After all, she had to have understood enough of the game to recognize her husband’s betrayal and act on it.And she’d shown her loyalty to the sanctity of the council over any affection for her husband.
I imagined sacrificing Jett for the council, but that was a nonstarter. I would never in a million years choose the council over Jett. Maybe this was selfish. The Paxis Council saved countless lives and prevented wars. What was one man’s life in comparison? Still, I knew without a doubt I wouldn’t have been able to do what Liyana did.
No matter how much it hurt to know that Jett had lied to me, I still missed him every damn day.
“Please eat, stellina.” Concetta’s voice was laced with concern as she stepped out on the balcony and eyed my untouched dinner. “I am beginning to worry.”
I looked up at her and attempted to smile, but before I could reassure her that I was fine, a familiar voice came through the balcony doors, accompanied by my sister’s rapid steps.
“Maybe he just needs some good dinner company.”
Celeste was a sight for sore eyes. She was sun-tanned and healthy, dressed in a simple light blue T-shirt and soft, wide lounge pants with stylish sneakers. I stood immediately and moved to embrace her.
“Shit, Johnny. Since when are you a hugger?” she murmured into my chest.
The old nickname on her tongue made my eyes sting for reasons that had nothing to do with her.
“I’ve been practicing,” I admitted. “And I could really use one.”
She pulled back and fake-punched my chest. “Why didn’t you call me? I didn’t hear about the explosion until we docked in Grand Cayman.”
I held out a seat for her to join me. “You hungry? Roberto made one of my favorites.”
She glanced at my full plate and up at me. “So I see.”
Concetta had already gone off to the kitchen, not giving Celeste an option of saying no.
We settled into our seats, and I gazed out at the sea, lost in thought again without realizing it.
“Concetta’s worried about you,” she said unnecessarily.
“I’m fine.”
“What happened?”
I turned back to face her. “Saleem al-Qadiri’s car blew up. Killed him instantly.”
“Right, but why?”
I shrugged. “He has some powerful enemies. Apparently.”
“How did they get access to the vehicle? Your security is meticulous.”
That was a great question. One the authorities had asked numerous times. Fortunately, I literally didn’t know the answer, so I could answer truthfully.
“I have no idea. My only guess is that it happened off-site. Liyana took the car into town right before it happened. There’s no telling who had access while she was in the shops.”
Celeste made a sympathetic noise. “I spoke to Liyana on the way here. She seems to be holding up okay. Her family is around her. Their kids are obviously devastated.”
