Diamond Fire (Hidden Legacy #3.5)- Ilona Andrews Page 0,22

still got into our cars and drove every day. We built illusions of safety around ourselves and believed them or we would go insane.

A home was one of those vital illusions. It was our shelter, the place where we let our guard down. Nothing bad was supposed to happen to you in your house. When our warehouse was attacked by mercenaries, it felt like my world was cracked open. It made me feel weak and helpless.

Valentina and Carlos were feeling helpless now. The financial loss was crushing, but the violation of their kitchen was likely worse. This was a small business. The employees were probably more like family than hired help. They spent a lot of time together in this kitchen, making delicious food and beautiful cakes. Someone had smashed all those happy memories to pieces. The idea that one their own might have done it was too much.

“Are there any bottles left?” Leon asked.

Valentina reached under the counter and pulled a heavy bottle out. Leon grabbed the bottle by the neck and smashed it against the wall. The bottle held.

“Hey!” Carlos yelled.

I held up my hand. “We’ll reimburse you.”

It took Leon two more tries before the bottle finally broke.

Panting a little, he held the bottle out to me. “Two hundred, like this?”

I turned to Valentina. “If you’re just kids breaking in to steal some wine, you’d grab a few bottles and get out. This took a lot of time and effort. The question is why.”

“Yes, why? Why would anybody do this?” Valentina asked.

“Two possible reasons,” I said. “First, they were covering up the sound of what they were doing, and second, they counted on you concentrating on the loss of the wine. Our contract with you specified that you were to call us immediately in case of any complications. Why didn’t you call us?”

“We called the police,” Carlos said.

“You don’t understand,” Valentina said, her face plum red now. “We came in and there were piles of glass on the floor. All this wine, the smell . . .”

And she had wanted to clean it up as soon as possible, to erase the desecration of their beautiful kitchen.

“It’s misdirection.” Leon nodded at the broken glass on the floor. “Smashed bottles, broken glass, expensive wine on the floor, everything smells, everything is stained and sticky. You see this and if nothing else appears disturbed, you just concentrate on cleaning things up.”

I looked at Valentina and Carlos, and my insides tried to squeeze themselves into a tight painful ball. There were things I had to say now, harsh and unkind things, and I had to say them to two people who were already desperate and traumatized. I felt mean and shitty. But it was my job. I promised I would do it.

“You’re in breach of contract,” I said. “You were hired by House Rogan. This is House business. Normal rules do not apply here. We were crystal clear when we went over the contract with you. My sister and I sat at this table and read the contract to you paragraph by paragraph and you said you understood and you signed it. First, you failed to set the alarm.”

Carlos sucked in a lungful of air, about to say something, but Valentina put her hand on his arm.

“Second, you failed to notify us of the break-in. The contract specifically spells out that we are to be informed in the event of any problems prior to any contact with law enforcement, unless it’s a life-threatening emergency. Third, you cleaned up, destroying the evidence.”

Nobody said anything.

Valentina bit her lip. “If you cancel everything now, we will be ruined.”

I knew exactly what she was thinking. She was looking into the future and seeing the death of her business. And I was the person who decided if it lived or died. I had never wanted to teleport more in my entire life. If I could, I would have run away and pretended this never happened.

“Is there anything we can do to fix this?” Valentina asked.

“It depends,” I said. “I would like access to your computer. I will be able to tell you more depending on what we find. Under the terms of our contract, I cannot compel you to grant me access. You can refuse.”

“And if we do?” Carlos asked.

I raised my hands. “We walk away.”

“Go ahead.” Valentina waved at a desktop in the corner by a small desk.

I activated the recording function on my phone. “This is Catalina Baylor. Today is April 20th. I am here