We get up and he makes a beeline for the three girls standing to the side of Kira Ivankov’s casket. Savio goes right up to Kristina, pulling her into his arms and then embracing the younger girls. He speaks quietly to them and I watch as they solemnly nod their heads, each one wiping their eyes with tissues.
He turns toward me, waving me over, and my gaze immediately tangles with Kristina’s teary-eyed one. She manages a quivering smile, wringing the tissue in her hands.
“Kristina, your father was one of my closest friends. I can’t tell you how devastated I am over this, how sick it makes me that someone would commit such a travesty against your family.” Savio shakes his head, holding her hands in his. “But they were my family, too. And so are you and the girls. That’s why I think it would be for the best if you invest in personal security. You need someone who can watch over you and protect you until we figure out who did this. It is too dangerous for all of you to be alone right now.”
“Uncle Frank has been staying with us,” Kristina says, a flicker of doubt in her pained expression.
Savio nods. “And I am sure he is being helpful in that department, but I’m talking about someone who has been properly trained. Money is no object. I will take care of everything.”
“I don’t like the idea of some stranger skulking around my house, especially with the girls.”
“The girls are two excellent reasons why you absolutely need someone watching over you. You have responsibility for them now, and what happens if the people who did this come back for you?”
Kristina’s jaw tightens and she grips the back of the chair so tight, her knuckles turn white. “I’ll think about it.”
Savio nods. “I can assure you with Massimo watching over you, everyone will be completely safe and protected.”
Cue the record scratch sound effect.
Did I just hear him right?
Kristina’s eyes rake over me, the fierce green flames blazing. “You’re the security?”
“He’s the very best,” Savio interjects. “And please don’t take too much time to think about it, Kristina. There are a lot of lives at stake, and the most important thing is finding and punishing the guilty.”
“Like I said, I’ll consider it.” She backs away. “Thank you for coming.”
I turn and stalk out of the room with Savio on my heels.
“You didn’t tell me that your plan included turning me into a fucking security guard,” I hiss.
“I knew you’d never go for it.”
“You were right.”
We stand toe to toe, facing off in our own perpetual battle of the wills.
“I’m not a pawn in your game, Savio,” I growl.
“That’s where you’re right, Massimo. You are most definitely not a pawn. You are about to become the most powerful piece on the chess board. Consider yourself the queen.”
I guess Savio doesn’t play much chess because if he did, he’d know that as the king, he’s the most vulnerable.
The weakest piece.
The one with the most to lose.
And as the most powerful, I will be sure to take everything.
Chapter Nine
MASSIMO
“You are such an insufferable asshole!”
I do a double-take when I walk out of the restroom awhile later and hear those caustic words.
I’d been desperate for an excuse to get the hell away from Savio and all of the people kissing his ass at every turn, so I ducked into the bathroom to escape.
Turning me into a fucking security guard.
It took everything in me not to pull out my gun and shoot him in the knee for making me his goddamn peon.
I peer around the corner to find out where the terse, one-sided conversation is coming from, the back door of the funeral home cracked open enough that I can hear a tight, choked voice.
Kristina’s voice.
I creep closer to the opening, not really needing to strain my ears since she makes no attempt to keep her voice down.
“I don’t give a shit about the lab project right now! And I don’t know when I’m coming back, either! What does that do to your OCD, Nick? Huh?” A brief pause and I can see Kristina’s arms swinging around in the air, glossy dark hair shaking as she punches the air in anger at this Nick person.
And Nick seems like a real dick.
“My parents were murdered! In my fucking house! How insensitive can you be?” She lets out a frustrated yell. “You know what? I’d say go fuck yourself but I’ve got one better. Go fuck the dead guy, instead!” She stabs something on the screen and collapses onto the back step, screaming into her hands to muffle the sounds.
I don’t know why she bothers.
It’s not like she was trying to hide those vocals a few seconds ago.
I peek over my shoulder where Savio is still standing in the center of his adoring fans and let out a snort. I definitely don’t want to go back there as a member of the studio audience for the Savio Shit Show, so instead, I duck out the back door.
Kristina’s head pops up, her eyes darken, the curious and dare I say, lustful, spark from a few days before when she stared up at me fully extinguished.
“What the hell do you want? I said I’d think about security. I never said it was a done deal, so you don’t need to babysit me.” She rolls her eyes. “The last thing I need is you reporting every little dipshit thing I do back to Savio.”
“I just came out for some air. No charge.”
She flicks her thumb behind her, a shell of the sexy, snarky girl from the other day. It’s like she was nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Then again, I know all too well how it feels when your life crumbles before your eyes and you’re suddenly thrust into some alternate reality where darkness and uncertainty reign.
“The front door is that way,” she says flatly. “And you’re not very funny.”
“I know. It’s a real problem when I go to open mic nights in the city.”
“You do standup?”
“Not very well.” I shrug. “Maybe I should just stick to my day job.”
She stares at me for a long second. “I hope you’re better at the whole protection thing. But I’ll give you another chance. Tell me a joke. I need to laugh. Let’s see if you can make it happen.”
I don’t know why I decided to go down this path because 1. I don’t actually do standup, and 2. I’m not at all the comedic type. But it piqued her interest and got her focused on something other than Nick the Dick, so I go with it.
It’s a little white lie compared to every other slab of bullshit she’s heard from Savio.
“Okay. An old woman walks into a dentist’s office, takes off all her clothes, and spreads her legs. The dentist says, ‘I think you have the wrong room.’ The woman says, ‘You put in my husband’s teeth last week. Now you have to remove them.’” I pause, a half-smirk lifting my lips.
The corners of her lips curl slightly upward, her bloodshot eyes crinkling a tiny bit in the corners. “That was good.”
“Clearly not good enough.”
“Trust me, under other circumstances, I’d be hysterical.”