8. Brie

CHAPTER 8

Brie

My entire body feels numb, like I’m watching everything from inside a glacier. Only the sharp throbbing at the base of my skull tells me I’m still here, still breathing. Still processing the bomb Frank just dropped.

Terry wanted me to take over. Terry believed in me. Terry saw past the showgirl smile and designer dresses, to something underneath that even I didn’t recognize, not at first.

Later, I’ll be furious. Later, I’ll make Frank regret keeping Terry’s wishes from me. But right now, surrounded by men who’d love to see me break, I need to think.

I turn to Sophie. Her glasses flash as she shifts nervously in her chair. “Did you see the contents of the will?” I ask her. “Can you corroborate Frank’s story?”

Sophie hesitates, dark eyes flickering with regret. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Colombo. The document was covered—I only saw where to sign. He told me it was a will, and I witnessed Terry and Frank’s signatures before adding my own, but I saw nothing of the contents.”

I soften my expression. “Never mind, Sophie. And—thank you for confirming my alibi for the night of my husband’s murder. You can go.”

No one stops her as she rises and makes a rapid retreat to the door. She knows when to make herself scarce.

Nik strolls forward. The sound of her sure, heavy boots alone steadies my racing heart, just like her presence has anchored me since the moment she stepped into my life. “So, fellas,” she says, “seems like you got a little ahead of yourselves. Mrs. Colombo had an alibi for the time of the murder. So if there’s a brain cell between you, you’ll let her go in peace— after you apologize for accusing her of murder.”

The silence that follows is delicious. I watch their faces—Larry’s confusion, Vince’s surprise, Frank’s guilt. Good. Let them squirm. Let them wonder what else Terry might have told me, what other secrets might be hidden in that missing will.

“We had to be sure,” Frank hedges at last.

That’s about as close to an apology as I’m going to get—and I have other things to worry about right now.

“I’m taking over the investigation into my husband’s death,” I announce. Protests overlap: Larry’s bark of objection, Frank’s uncomfortable mumbling. I cut through it all. “No. I’m serious. Frank has gotten nowhere, and you all have more important decisions to make—such as who’s going to run this Family.”

Larry blinks, thrown off balance. “You’re not gonna try to take over? Even after Frank’s bullshit story about the will?”

I give him my best self-deprecating laugh, the one that makes men feel like they’re in on the joke. “You said it yourself, Larry. How could someone like me possibly take over a Family like the Colombos? No; I’ll have my hands full with the casino. And you’ll be very busy, too, won’t you? Unless I’ve misunderstood; perhaps Vince is happy to simply stand aside for the sake of unity, and let Larry take over?”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Vince demurs—exactly as I hoped he would. I need to keep that debate alive while I regroup.

“Then the Family has some conversations to have. But before you move onto that, Larry, I believe you promised to escort me personally to Juno Bianchi’s suite?”

“Yeah, but—” Larry’s eyes keep darting to Nik, who hasn’t moved a muscle. She makes him nervous, this woman who moves like a soldier and protects like a lover. He comes to a decision. “Okay, fine. But you don’t leave the casino without letting us know.”

“Of course.”

The walk to Juno’s suite is tense but mercifully brief. When we reach the suite, Caitlin answers Larry’s knock immediately. She yanks me inside without a word to Larry, ushering Nik in, too, and then cuts off Larry when he starts to ask after Juno.

“She’s busy!” she says, and then slams the door in his face, going immediately to the peephole as she gestures for us to wait quietly. A few moments later, she gives a sigh of relief and turns back to us. “Oh, my God. We’ve been so worried .” Her hands grip mine. “Are you alright, Brie?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” The lie comes easily, even as exhaustion threatens to overwhelm me. My body aches from everything the last twelve hours have thrown at me, from the destruction of the house at Solara—which is going to be a headache all of its own —to the tension of the conference room, holding myself together through revelation after revelation.

Terry made a new will?

But I can’t think about that right now. Right now I have to assuage Juno and Caitlin’s fears, and find a way to explain what’s been happening.

“I’ll get Juno—make yourselves at home.” Caitlin disappears through an inner door, leaving me alone with Nik for the first time since the desert.

I throw myself into her arms, burying my face in her neck, and her arms wrap around me just as tight. But she’s oddly quiet.

“I didn’t expect you to let go of the leadership so easily,” she says into my hair at last, her voice soft, careful.

A laugh bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me—half hysteria, half triumph. “Oh, honey.” I pull back to meet her eyes, those clear, clever eyes that usually see straight through every mask I’ve ever worn. Nice to know I can still fool her some of the time. “I’m playing the long game. I fully intend to rule over those clowns— and make them toughen up, just like Terry planned. But I want Larry worrying about Vince, so he takes his eye off me.”

The relief that floods her face makes my heart ache. She crushes me against her, and smiles against my neck. “That’s my girl,” she murmurs.

God, I want nothing more than to drag her to bed, get rid of this tension that’s been tying me in knots?—

But the door opens with a soft click, and Nik’s arms loosen around me as Juno Bianchi enters. Even after these hours of alleged worry, Juno looks immaculate, though the relief in her dark eyes is genuine. That’s something I could learn from Juno—how to wear power like a second skin, how to make concern look elegant.

“Thank God.” Juno’s cool composure cracks only slightly as she crosses the room and pulls me into a brief but fierce embrace. It reminds me of all the late-night conversations we’ve shared, the stories she let slip about New York. All the lessons I absorbed while everyone thought I was just Terry’s decorative wife. “When I couldn’t get hold of you?—”

“I’m fine,” I say, feeling like a broken record. “But I need to speak with you.” I look directly into her eyes so she’ll know I’m serious. “Privately.”

Something in my tone makes her eyebrows lift, and she leads me into the next room without question. It’s a sitting room of sorts, quite like the layout of my own suite, and through the window I can see Las Vegas below us, glittering like colorful, broken glass.

“Say the word,” Juno says without preamble, “and the Bianchis won’t just back you up—we’ll make the Colombos one of our associated branches. They’ll be absorbed into us, and you’ll have my full protection.” Her wedding ring clinks against the handle of the coffee pot as she pours out a cup for me and then one for herself.

The offer is generous, and exactly what the old Brie would have jumped at. Security, protection, a neat solution to all my problems, and an avoidance of all responsibility. There’s a part of me, a frightened teenager, that wants to grab it with both hands and forget all about the Colombo Family. Let them do their thing, and I can do mine—run the casino, giving them their due cut, ignoring them, and enjoying the same lifestyle I had before everything went to hell.

But I’m not that frightened sixteen-year-old anymore. And I can’t go back.

Terry saw that I’d changed, that I’d grown, enough to want to leave his legacy to me to carry on. And Nik…Nik wants me to claim my throne. Was disappointed to think I might not.

“I don’t want you to take over the Colombos.” I meet Juno’s eyes steadily, leaving my coffee untouched. “I want…well, I guess I want to be you .”

Surprise flickers across her face. “Brie?—”

“Terry changed his will before he died.” I don’t have time to be subtle. I have to explain exactly what’s going on. Exactly what I want. “He wanted me to take over the Family. And even if I never find that will…I’m going to do exactly that.”

“Running a Family isn’t like running a casino,” Juno says carefully, studying me over the rim of her cup. “The stakes are?—”

“I know exactly what the stakes are. I know who owes us what, who’s likely to turn on me, who’s loyal.” I tap my temple. “And it’s all up here. I know things that would make half the Family nervous. Terry never hid things from me, not once he knew I was trustworthy.”

Juno’s expression shifts from skepticism to consideration. “Well, well.” She leans back, studying me with new eyes. “You’ve been a player longer than I realized.”

So even Juno Bianchi saw me like most people saw me. Party girl. Airhead. Gold-digger. But once again, it feels good to know I can fool even the people who know me best.

“If you’re going to do this,” she says softly, “you need to understand that our friendship will change. We may even come into conflict sometimes. The job has to come first.”

“That’s not entirely true, is it?” I allow myself a small smile, thinking of the way Juno looks at Caitlin, like she’s the only thing in the whole world. “You put Caitlin before the Family.”

Juno’s answering smile is wry, softened by the mention of her wife. “Touché.” She sets aside her coffee cup, considering my words. “But between us , things will change. They will have to. We will have room for compromise and partnership in some areas, as your late husband and I found, but competing business interests in others. You think you can handle what that change will mean between us?”

“If you can.” The challenge in my voice is subtle but clear.

She gives a slight nod of approval. “You know…Terry would be proud of you,” she says at last. “He always said you were smarter than any of his men. I see now what he means. And I wish you the very best of luck.”

The words hit me harder than I expect, and I have to swallow past the sudden constriction in my throat. “Thank you, Juno. I really appreciate that.” I rise, adding in a voice that would have made Terry even prouder: “But if you ever approach Larry Caruso again as though he’s head of the Colombo Family, we’re going to have a problem.”

Juno throws back her head and laughs, the sound rich. “I was under the mistaken impression he would be the new Don.” Her eyes shine with something close to pride. “But I was wrong. Caitlin and I will leave later today—I find I have no need to stay in Vegas after all.”

And as she shows me out, back to where Nik is waiting anxiously, I make sure I keep my shoulders back, my head just as high as hers. Juno and I are equals now, after all. Time for me to act like it.

But first…I need to find out what happened to that will.