“Tony was the only family I had left.”
“And you hated him.” Luca moved in a little closer. “So, I’ll ask one last time. Why are you here?”
“What I do is of no concern to you.”
“It is if you plan on sticking that pretty little nose of yours into my business.”
“I couldn’t give a shit less about your business, Luca.” Mac crossed her arms casually in front of her. “Although, from what I hear, you’ve been expanding Tony’s empire for a while, now.” She’d done her research before coming here. “Slowly gaining control over the past couple of years. In fact”—she glanced at the gravesite and back to him—“if I didn’t know any better, I’d almost think you were expecting this to happen.”
“You think I gave Tony heart disease?” He laughed. “Even I’m not that good, sweetheart.”
“You’re a smart man. There are all sorts of ways to kill someone without it being detected.”
This time he didn’t laugh. Instead Luca leaned in, attempting to use his size to intimidate her.
“Be careful, little girl. Your uncle may be gone, but some things haven’t changed. Go around pushing the wrong buttons and you might find yourself in one of these.” He glanced around at the nearby graves.
“Something you should know about me, Luca.” Mac stood her ground. “I don’t do well with threats.”
“I don’t make threats, Abigail.” His dark eyes gleamed. “You of all people should know that.”
No, he made promises. Ones he always kept.
“Oh, I remember.” Mac smiled. “But this isn’t like last time, Luca. As you can see, I’m not a scared little teenager anymore.”
“Trust me, sweetheart.” His eyes ran the length of her body again. “I noticed.”
“There’s something else that’s changed.” Inching closer, Mac kept her eyes locked with his. “You don’t scare me anymore.”
Liar.
A slow smile crawled across Luca’s face. “We’ll see. You should come by the house for dinner. It’d give us a chance to”—he gave her another once-over—“talk.”
“Don’t you meanmyhouse?”
Understanding flared behind his stare. “I see Henry spoke to you about the will. Your being here makes perfect sense, now.”
Mac didn’t understand why he continued with his charade. Everyone else had left, and they were alone. Why didn’t he just get it over with and ask for the money, already?
Maybe he isn’t the one who sent the pictures.If not Luca, then who?
Ignoring the thought—because, who else could it be—Mac continued playing along.
“I’m sure Uncle Tony appreciated you looking after him.” She smiled. “But since he’s gone, there’s no need for you to continue living there. I expect your things to be out of the house by the end of the day tomorrow so I can put it on the market. I’m sure you can find some strong arms nearby to help you with any heavy lifting you might need.”
Mac nearly smiled at her choice of words, considering Luca had strong-armed countless people for Tony over the years. Was she pushing him too far? Perhaps. But she needed to play the part of the greedy mobster’s niece to perfection.
It was the only way to figure out if he was, in fact, the person behind the threats she’d received.
“Like you said”—he gave her an agitated smirk—“it’s your house.”
The deadly man tipped his head before turning and walking away. She paid close attention to the black SUV he got into, mentally cataloging both it and the two goons sitting in the front seat.
Everything she’d found on him was right. The assholehadmoved up on the food chain.
* * *
From the driver’s seat in his rental, Coop dialed Trevor’s number and put the phone to his ear. While he waited for his friend to pick up, he used a small pair of binoculars to keep an eye on the woman who’d skipped out on him two days ago…leaving him naked and asleep in her bed.
