“Did you know him well?”
“Hardly at all.”
Sergei nodded and then pursed his lips. “Well, he’s an interesting man. Very interesting. A useful kind of man.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Sergei looked at my drink. “Not thirsty?”
I didn’t respond.
He sighed. “Very well. Let’s get you turned in for the night. Rada and I have a dinner to get to. The chef in the kitchen will prepare you whatever you need. Eat together,” he said, looking between me and Tatiana. “It warms my heart to see my daughters getting along so well.”
When I failed to respond, he gave a resigned dip of his chin.
“I know you are angry at me. I understand. I relied on Vargas and the safety of Hallow Hall for too long. You should have cometo live with me long before now, but honestly, it wasn’t safe. Men like me have enemies aplenty.”
“Aren’t you just the director of a business?”
He smirked slightly. “I’m a powerful man, daughter, and plenty of people would like to see a powerful man fall. I’m sure you’ve heard that proverb?”
I shook my head. He took Rada’s arm and started toward the doors.
“I’ve heard another, though, about power.”
He stopped on the threshold as Rada huffed about the delay.
“‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall.’”
He studied me for a moment and then turned away.
39
MASSIMO
Iwent back to my house to gear up and wait for the address from Giada.
Paolo fluttered around me as I strode down to the basement and punched the code into the keypad.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” he said, worried.
“What’s happening is that Katarina never made it to Florence,” I called to him, moving along the rows of weapons I kept down there. My stock was extensive. I had a private arsenal under the city and a weapon for every occasion.
Now I was dressed in black combat gear, the type with plenty of straps and hooks to fit ammo, knives, and guns into for easy access.
“You look like you’re going to war,” Paolo said miserably.
“Maybe I am.”
The phone rang somewhere in the distance, but I didn’t really register it until Paolo appeared and called to me.
“It’s Father Vittorio.”
I strode into the hallway and took the phone from him. “What?”
“What? I wanted to see how my friend was recovering. Is that a crime?”
“I’m fine.”