“I guess God liked the masterpiece he created so much that he made two of us.”
DeLuca’s smile dropped just a little.
“Cut the crap. Where’d you stash it?”
“The black box? I don’t have it.”
His head inclined slightly. “If you’re not Alicia, how is it that you know about the black box?”
I couldn’t answer that without giving away the fact that I knew people at a security company. That would only place him on edge. Instead, I glanced around the room curiously.
“I really expected there to be a large tarp on the floor, waiting for me.”
“No need,” he shrugged. “Carpet can be replaced.”
“Yes, but the blood would seep into the carpet padding, the subfloor, and all the other additional moisture barriers,” I informed him.
Internally, I was thanking my family for giving up ranching for this new venture. Without it, I wouldn’t know anything about building houses.
“The subfloor,” he grinned. “That’s nice. Did you look that up?”
“Oh, I could tell you all kinds of things about housing. See, my family owns a ranch in Montana, but cattle ranches are a dying breed. No pun intended. It’s not as profitable, and it never really was, which meant that if my family wanted to continue living on the ranch, we had to make some changes. So, we sold off all the cattle and turned the ranch into a destination vacation spot. Guess who has the privilege of cleaning the cabins after the guests leave?”
I pointed to myself, rolling my eyes. “Well, I honestly wouldn’t expect my brothers to lift a finger to clean up after guests. However, with a little manipulation, I can usually get some help.”
DeLuca looked at me strangely, then his eyes flicked to the man behind me.
“I know. You’re wondering if this is all a prank. I get it. I do look just like her. Well, except for the makeup. No woman needs that much shit on her face. And the clothes. As much as I like her taste in shoes, I prefer cowboy boots.”
“Is she for real?” DeLuca asked the man behind me.
“She was just walking down the street,” the guy answered.
Spinning around, I held out my hand. “We weren’t properly introduced down there. You know, when you basically attacked me on the street. “Krista Parker.”
The man just stared at me like I was a lunatic. And frankly, I was. I agreed to this. But the more I went with it, the easier it was, so I kept going.
“Okay, in Montana, we consider that rude. It’s just a handshake.”
I turned back to DeLuca. “So, the reason I stopped by today was to ask you to kindly leave me out of this crazy thing you have going on with Alicia. Having the same face as her is really no reason to make my life a living hell.”
He just stared at me, so I continued.
“My sister was having a baby the first time you sent men after me. I didn’t even get to tell her I was leaving. Again, that’s pretty rude in Montana.”
“You really expect me to believe that you’re not Alicia? That you somehow have the same face?”
“It’s a conundrum, I know. But it’s the truth.”
“Conundrum.”
I nodded, staring at him seriously. “It means a confusing problem.”
Irritation flashed in his eyes, and I quickly pivoted.
“That wasn’t an insult. You’re Italian. Not everything translates the way you’d think.”
“You had help,” he said, getting pissed off at me. “You really expect me to believe that a woman from Montana just picked up some rich guy and got involved in my business?”