by Angie Derek
A man in a rumpled suit stepped in. "You're a long way from home, Miss Noelle."
"Can I make a phone call?" Lessa blurted out. Might as well start exercising her rights.
"Who do you need to call?"
Lessa almost said Marc, but sucked his name back in. "My attorney?"
"Do you need one, Miss Noelle?"
"If I'm being arrested, I get a phone call."
He smiled. "You haven't been arrested, Miss Noelle. We're just having a friendly chat."
His voice didn't sound very friendly to her. "Then I can go?"
"Of course, as soon as you answer a couple of questions."
"I still think—" Lessa was about to ask for an attorney when the door opened again.
As if it couldn't get any weirder, she actually recognized the man entering the room. More than recognized him. Sean Matthews had been her neighbor when she was a kid. He looked the same. Older, but the same.
Sean frowned at her and didn't even offer a hello. "You gonna tell me what the hell you're doing hanging out with mobsters?"
Well, crap. The Mafia. Her worst fears were confirmed. She shoved her panic down. "It's good to see you, too, Sean."
The other detective looked briefly confused, but quickly covered it up with a professional mask. "Detective Matthews?"
"Miss Noelle and I knew each other several years ago." Sean set the file down on the small table. "She babysat my daughter back when I lived in Florida."
"How is Ivy?" Lessa asked.
"She's a teenager now," Sean said, "and you're running with a bad crowd."
"I'm not running with a crowd." His paternal tone amused her despite herself.
"What would you call running around with Miss Tazio?"
"Brunch and shopping."
Sean sat in the other chair across from Lessa. "How do you know Clarissa Tazio?"
She hesitated briefly. Marc had drilled it into her to keep a low profile, and she found it difficult to break her silence. Especially now that all of his harping made so much more sense. "She's my sister."
Speechless, Sean stared at her in complete shock.
"We weren't aware of any other children," the other detective said.
"Neither was I." She directed her answer at Sean. "I learned about it a week ago."
Sean wasn't stupid, and she could see him connecting the dots with what he knew about her and her mother. "No wonder Erin lied."
She frowned in resentment. She didn't appreciate him jumping to judgment so quickly when she was still struggling with it.
"How did you learn you were a Tazio?" his partner asked.
She crossed her arms. "That's personal."
"We'll get into that later," Sean said, cutting the other detective off. "How much do you know?"
She decided to play stupid. "Know about what?"
Sean sighed. "So, they've already drilled it into you. Okay," he pulled a picture out of the file and slid it in front of her. "Recognize him?"
Lessa couldn't stop the startled gasp as she looked at the picture of a dead man. It wasn't pretty. What made it all the more distressing was the last time she'd seen him, Marc had been dragging him out of the house. She shook her head to indicate denial. Sean probably didn't believe her, though, after her shocked reaction.
"Are you sure?" Sean asked. "He was found a couple of hours ago. See this mark here? It was left as a warning to others, an extra punishment for his crimes."
"As if being murdered wasn't punishment enough," the other detective added.
"I don't recognize him," she insisted. "Should I?"
"He worked for the Tazio's," Sean said. "Looks like he pissed someone off. It's just a matter of narrowing down the list to see who he pissed off bad enough to get knocked."
She shook her head again. "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize him."
The weight of her lie settled on her. Sean clearly didn't like her answer, but he held his tongue and maintained eye contact. He'd been more than a casual neighbor. Her mother had trusted him. If Lessa told the truth about what she saw, he'd protect her. She was no longer sure she was safe with her new family and Marc.
As if sensing her indecision, Sean said softly, "Look closely, Lessa,"
The truth worked its way up her chest, but she couldn't release it. The secret wouldn't be revealed. If Marc had been involved, she'd be the one to testify against him and put him away. She just couldn't do it. "I'm sure. I've never seen him before."
His partner pulled out another stack of papers. "How about him?"
The picture was of Marc leading her away from the graveyard. Her hair blocked her face.
The police had been at the funeral taking pictures. Of her. "That's Marc." No use lying about that one.
"Her?" His partner pointed at her.
She laughed, wondering if this was another test, or if they really didn't know it was her. "Me."
Sean frowned at the picture, before directing his frown to his partner. They hadn't known it was her. "You know Marc."
"Yes." It was a balancing act. What should she lie about and what should be the truth? "He brought me from Florida."
"Interesting." Sean tapped his fingers on the table. "And then?"
Lessa shrugged. She wasn't going to tell them he was supposed to be her protector, but Sean wasn't stupid and could probably tell from the photo at the funeral. "I don't know what you mean."
"Where was he late last night?" Sean asked.
"I wouldn't know, since I was in bed." She almost said by herself, but caught herself before she did. It sounded defensive. Sure sign of a lie.
Sean sighed. "You know who they are and what they do?"
She almost played dumb, after all she hadn't been certain until now, but decided it would be counterproductive and gave a small nod.
"You don't need to protect them." Sean leaned forward to emphasize his point. "We can protect you. I'll protect you. Come on, Lessa, we're friends, aren't we?"
"Thank you for the offer," she said with a smile, genuinely appreciating it even though she wouldn't take it. At least not right now. She needed to figure out what all of this meant. "But I don't need help. I'm perfectly fine. Sorry I can't help you."
"You don't understand the ramifications of what you're doing, Lessa. If you need help, you give me a call, okay?" He wrote a number on the back of a business card and passed it to her. "Any time."
"Thanks." She took the card into her hand as a knock sounded at the door.
"That would be the Tazio lawyer," the other detective said with a grunt.
A uniformed officer opened the door and Ryan stepped through. He nodded to Lessa before turning to the detectives.
"Surely, you have no need to question Miss Noelle," he said in a disgruntled voice as he waved her to get up and come with him.
"We were just keeping Miss Noelle company," Sean replied coolly as he turned back to Lessa. "I'll check her out."
"That won't be necessary," Ryan objected.
"Interesting," Sean said. "You seem more concerned about Miss Noelle being questioned than Miss Tazio."
Ryan frowned, as if realizing he'd revealed too much. "Don't say anything, Miss Noelle. I need to make sure Miss Tazio and the guards are also being released." He waited in the doorway until Sean stood and Lessa followed suit. Ryan leaned over her as she passed. "I'll be with you in a minute. They can't bully you into saying anything you'd regret."
Once Ryan had walked to the next door in the hallway and banged on it, Sean steered her in the opposite direction.
"Remember he's the Tazio's attorney not yours," Sean said quietly. "He's looking out for their interests, not yours."
"Okay," Lessa said, unsure how to respond as they entered the station's lobby area.
"Listen." Sean looked around and lowered his voice even more. "It'd probably be better not to mention to them that we know each other. They won't like you being friends with a cop."
She pondered his words. "They might already know."
&nbs
p; "Let them bring it up. Downplay it if they do. You don't want them to think that your loyalty can be compromised."
Ryan marched out of the other room with Clarissa. Well, she didn't march, but strutted.
Clarissa hooked her arm with Lessa's and glared at Sean. "Detective Matthews, it was not a pleasure to see you again."
"Miss Tazio," Sean drawled. "As long as you're in town, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. You should run back to your little school if you want to avoid these meetings."
"That's enough." Ryan stepped forward. "You'll refrain from engaging my clients in conversation. The guards?"
"Were armed, without permits," Sean said. "They'll have to go through processing."
"They were armed for my protection." Clarissa stepped around Ryan to go nose to nose with Sean. "I demand you release them at once."
Ryan reached forward to grab her arm. "Clarissa."
"Sorry." Sean rocked back on his heels. "No can do. The law's the law. Next time you might want to make sure your guards have concealed weapon permits and aren't violating parole."
Clarissa let out a low growl, and Lessa blinked in surprise. Her sister's face was beginning to glow red as anger overtook her.
"Clarissa," Ryan said even more firmly. "The family is waiting for you."
"Can't keep them waiting, Mizz Tazio." Sean's voice held a distinctly mocking tone.
Lessa was even more surprised by Sean. He was baiting Clarissa. Trying to make her lose her temper. She wondered what he hoped to accomplish, but she didn't get to find out as Ryan finally gained control of Clarissa and propelled her past the detectives.
Lessa glanced back at Sean as she followed them. His smile dropped to a concerned frown. A car waited for them in front of the station, and all three of them slid into the back seat. Lessa wondered if the driver and guard in the front were carrying guns and whether they had the permits Sean spoke of. She did not feel like going back to jail.
"You can't let him bait you," Ryan scolded Clarissa.
"That man," Clarissa spat out, "needs to have his badge pulled."
Ryan turned to Lessa. "What did you tell them?"
Clarissa stopped whatever else she was going to say and looked at Lessa curiously.
"Nothing." She crossed her arms and leaned back.
"Are you sure? You might have told them something and not realized it."
"I told them I didn't recognize the dead guy in the photo and that I had no idea what Marc was doing last night since I was sleeping—" Then it hit her. She'd lied to the police. The full implication of that sank in as she sat on the chilly leather seat. Shit, what was she going to do? She'd been thinking about Marc, her protector, when Sean was questioning her, but Marc The Protector was not the same Marc who worked for Jio.
"They asked you about it?" Ryan questioned.
"Yes. I played dumb and they believed me. Why shouldn't they?"
"Wait a minute," Clarissa interrupted. "What did you see?"
"Nothing." She refused to be drawn out. She might as well stick to the story no matter who asked her.
"Ryan?" Clarissa questioned.
"She saw more than she should have," Ryan confirmed.
"This is about that guy," Clarissa said. "The one they showed me a picture of."
"Yes," Ryan said.
"Oh." Clarissa turned to her. "Oh, that just sucks. I'm sorry, Lessa."
She wasn't sure exactly what Clarissa was apologizing for, but she was sorry, too. Sorry about almost everything.
The pull to return home and forget everything was building inside her. She remained silent for the rest of the drive, despite Clarissa's attempts to draw her out. By the time the car stopped, Lessa had decided she was going home.
Nina hurried down the steps, face taunt with anxiety, and rushed forward to sweep Lessa into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're all right." Relief and sincerity were obvious in her emotional tone. "We were so worried."
Lessa could guess at what they were so worried about. The house didn't seem nearly as welcoming as she stepped through the main door.
"Where's Jio?" Ryan asked.
"In his office with Marc. I told them to wait." Nina turned back to Lessa. "She needs a little fussing over."
Nina took Lessa's arm and marched her away from the study, toward the kitchen. Virginia and Clarissa followed while Ryan headed for the study.
"How are you feeling?" Nina poured a cup of tea from the set already on the table near the window.
"Numb," Lessa said truthfully.
"Jio is going to rake me over the coals." Clarissa sat down next to her. "But what else is new?"
"For what?" Lessa asked.
"For taking you out of the house." Clarissa sighed. "You could have told me, you know."
Lessa shrugged in answer. She was already plotting her escape back to Florida.
Nina stirred her tea. "This hasn't made a very good impression of us on you, has it? You're going to go home?"
She nearly choked on her tea at the correct assumption. "I haven't decided."
"I understand," Nina said, tears filling her eyes.
Lessa set her tea cup down gently in the saucer. "Is everything okay, Nina?"
"Of course." Nina brushed the tears away. "We were just worried about you. But now that you're home, everything will be fine."
"What about me?" Clarissa gave a slight pout.
"You always land on your feet." Nina smiled. "I never have to worry about you."
"How long a reprieve do you think they'll give her?"
"Not long. Marc was especially worried about you," Nina paused, "More so than Jio."
"Afraid I'd talk and point the finger at him?" Lessa asked.
Nina looked surprised by her cutting comment and angry tone. "No. He was nearly frantic when he discovered you weren't in the house. Virginia said he actually swore in front of her. As soon as we heard you'd been picked up, he called Ryan to get you two out."
"Well, we're out now. So, no need to worry." She could feel her energy draining and regretted the flip comment as soon as she uttered it.
All she wanted to do was climb into bed and pull the covers over her head. Her own bed would be even better. She needed to figure out how to get away from here and home as quickly as possible. With the way they kept tabs on her, she'd have to tell Jio. She thought uneasily about what she'd do if he objected.
"Alessandra." Ryan stood in the doorway.
Lessa looked warily at him. "Yeah?"
"Jio would like to speak with you."
She sighed and didn't try to come up with an excuse to delay the meeting. She might as well get it over with, then she could go to her room and plot her return home. With a brief smile at her sister and sister-in-law, she followed Ryan to the study. He didn't step in with her, but gestured her inside before shutting the door, effectively locking her in the room with Marc and Jio. Both men waited for her by the desk.
"Lessa." Jio beckoned her into the room. "We were worried about you."
"So I've heard." She'd performed in front of crowds with tens of thousands of people. She could handle two men. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up to them. "I'm fine."
"I can see that." He motioned her to one of the chairs and moved to sit behind the desk.
Lessa refused to show fear and sat down in the chair without looking at Marc.
Marc's insides were twisting. He'd lost her. She wouldn't look at him. She wasn't even avoiding his gaze. To her, he simply wasn't in the room. What would she do if he stepped into her line of vision and forced her to confront him?
"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Jio asked.
"I was hauled into a police station for questioning." Her voice was brittle.
"Yes, I know." Jio nodded in encouragement.
Marc held back his own response and let Jio lead the questioning. They couldn't pretend she hadn't been questioned, and had to know what she'd told the police. But the fact she'd returned to the house spoke vol
umes. The police would never have let her return if she'd revealed any of what she saw last night.
"They wanted to know about the man who was here," she said in a monotone. "I told them I'd never seen him before, and I wasn't privy to Marc's movements last night since I was asleep. That seemed to satisfy them."
"Did you have a good visit with your friend?" Jio asked.
"I had a good brunch with Clarissa," she countered.
"I was referring to your detective friend," Jio growled.
"I don't have friends here."
"Detective Sean Matthews."
Marc watched her reaction to Jio's statement. She hadn't realized they knew about her relationship with Matthews back in Florida. Of course, they wouldn't have known if Jiovanni hadn't made a note in her file about the friendship between the detective and her mother.
"He isn't a friend." Lessa's expression didn't change. "He was a neighbor a long time ago."
"You didn't speak with him?" Jio asked.
"He and another detective questioned me. I told him the same thing. Look, I didn't tell them anything. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Not inform on you?"
"We appreciate your discretion, Lessa," Jio said, his voice soothing. "I realize you don't have the family loyalty that was drummed in to the rest of us since birth, but you showed yourself to be a Tazio today. I'm sorry I doubted you." He hesitated. "I generally wouldn't make this offer, but we're treading in uncharted water. Do you want to discuss last night?"
"No."
Jio nodded. "Good. It'd be better for everyone if we all just forget it, right? Right. I'm sorry your shopping expedition with Clarissa was interrupted. Perhaps, the two of you can head out again tomorrow."
"Is that all?"
Jio glanced at Marc in question, but Marc remained quiet. Everything he had to say to Lessa needed to be said without an audience.
"Yeah," Jio said.
Without a glance in his direction, Lessa stood up and left. Marc was torn between chasing after her and not appearing to care. No one in the family was aware of their relationship. If it was still a relationship.
