“I can feel it. Hard to explain. It’s kind of like when you’re being watched.” She drained the last sip from her glass. “I’m going to bed.”
“I’m turning in too. Lots to do when we get up.”
“That’s for sure.” She looked at the cat. “Lucky boy, time for bed.” He didn’t budge. He had one leg over his face, something she referred to as the paw of invisibility.
Pierce laughed. “I don’t think that cat’s going anywhere.”
“Not while that fire’s on.”
“You want me to turn it off?”
“Nah. Let it be. It won’t hurt anything. It’s behind glass, and it’s making Lucky happy. You could probably turn it down, though.”
“No problem.” He used the fireplace remote to lower the flames, then got to his feet and drank what was left of his wine.
She got up and took his glass, kissed him on the cheek, and headed for the kitchen. “Night.”
“Night.”
She put the glasses in the sink and padded up to bed. She wasn’t super tired, but she had the feeling she’d be out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
She was. But a man’s voice urgently speaking her name woke her up. She blinked and found Pierce at her bedside.
He frowned. “Sorry to wake you, but you have a visitor.”
“Cammie again?” She looked at her phone. Almost nine.
“No. A woman I’ve never met. And she won’t tell me her name.”
She sat up. “Russian?”
“Not by the accent. She seems more like one of the Villachis’ associates.”
“Great. One more reason to move. Did you let her in?”
“Yes, but just into the foyer. Do you want me to throw her out? Call the police?”
“No, no. I’ll be right down.” She was probably one of the wives, just coming by to see how she was doing. Big Tony’s way of checking up on her without doing the deed himself.
Pierce left, and she pulled herself together. One of the best things about being a vampire was always looking pretty good. So long as she kept herself fed, there were no bags under her eyes, no deep lines, no bleary first-thing-in-the-morning look. All she really had to do was run a brush through her hair and throw on clothes. She went with jeans, a sweater, and Gucci loafers. She added some jewelry, then, as an afterthought, a swipe of mascara and a nude lip gloss.
Wouldn’t do to have one of the wives think she wasn’t looking her best. Old habits died hard.
She went down the back steps that went into the kitchen, then went through the kitchen and out into the living room, where Pierce was at the ready. She stopped cold at the sight of the woman standing in her foyer. Donna was really glad she’d taken the time to fix herself up a little. “Why on earth are you here?”
Lucinda Villachi had a loaf pan in her hands. And she was smiling. That alone was enough to make Donna cringe. “Hello, Donna. You look well.”
That didn’t answer the question. And it wasn’t a compliment Donna could truthfully return. At best, Lucinda looked a little ragged around the edges. Stressed, even. “Thank you. Really, though, why are you here? I know you don’t like me, and after our little visit the other night—”
“About that.” Lucinda shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. I want to make amends.” She held out the loaf pan. “I made you another banana bread.”
Pierce held his hands out. “How kind. I can take that.”
Once again, Donna was infinitely grateful he was there. He’d answered so she didn’t have to. “Thanks, Pierce.”
He took the bread. “I’ll put this in the kitchen.” He left, giving Donna a distinctly sympathetic look as he walked past her. “Call me if you need me,” he whispered.
“Thanks.” She took a few steps toward Lucinda. “It surprises me that you want to make amends. That you even care after all these years. Especially with your brother deceased. You realize we don’t need to be friends. We don’t need to be anything. We’re not really family anymore.”
Lucinda put a hand to her heart. “Donna, you will always be family to me. You’re the godmother to my children.”
“Who are grown and couldn’t care less.” Not to mention, Alberto was in jail for running a chop shop, and Sofia had married and moved to California.
Lucinda persisted. “You’re my sister-in-law, even if Joe is gone.” She crossed herself. “May he rest in peace.” Then she sighed. “I haven’t been the best sister-in-law to you. I know that.”
Big Tony had either set Lucinda up to do this, or she was working her own angle. Donna didn’t know which it was, but something was up. “No, you haven’t been. What is it you really want?”
“For us to be friends. Or at least civil.”
Sure. That would happen. Donna crossed her arms. “What else? Because I know that’s not really what you came here for.”
Lucinda frowned. Then she sniffed like she was still deeply grieving. Which maybe she was. But the woman was normally as phony as a three-dollar bill, so it could all be an act too. “I was hoping for something of Joe’s. A keepsake. Would you let me look in his office for something of his that I might have? There was a picture of us as kids that he used to keep in there. I was hoping I might have that.”
There were some family pictures on one of the shelves in Joe’s office, but Donna hadn’t spent much time in there and couldn’t really recall the one she described. Although lately, she’d been in there more than she had been in years, mostly due to discovering the secret room behind one of the bookcases. The stash room. Where all the Russian money had been stored. Along with a hoard of guns, boxes of drugs, and a bunch of other paraphernalia. Most important, after the money, were ledgers detailing Joe’s years of working for the Villachi family.
And now Lucinda wanted to get into his office.
Right. That seemed logical.
Donna shook her head. “I’ll look for it. If I find it, I’ll drop it off at your house.”
A little spark of anger danced in Lucinda’s gaze, then she smiled. “That’s kind of you. But if I could just grab it now, then you wouldn’t even have to think about it.”
On a whim, Donna decided to indulge her. “Fine. Let’s go get it.”
Lucinda’s smile suddenly became real. “Great. I’ll just be a second.”
“No worries.” Donna let her mouth curve upward ever so slightly. “I’m going with you.”
Lucinda laughed. “What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?”
Donna kept her smile in place and spoke as sweetly as she could. “No, I don’t.”
Then she turned on her heel and marched off to Joe’s office. She prayed that she’d remembered to close up the stash room the last time she’d had it open.
She flipped the light on and exhaled in relief when she saw that everything was in place.
Lucinda pushed past her to stand in front of Joe’s office. She shook her head. “I don’t see the picture.” She looked at Donna. “Did you move any of his things?”
“Nothing on these shelves. Although I really do need to clear this room out.”