lessons he was given in life. Luca’s leadership was carved out of evil and nothing frightened him. Well, nothing except Frankie.
Leo was strong, loyal, and cunning, but he couldn’t stomach the dark stuff. That weakness made him the money man. I was in charge of Luca and Ciro’s finances, along with the majority of income that came through the Benetti name, but Leo saw to Giovanni’s money and a few other ventures that still remained under Gio’s control.
Sal wasn’t quite ready to sit at the Devil’s table, but he was a sadistic sonofabitch, and he lived for drawing blood. He was quite comfortable around dead or mutilated bodies. He had no conscience that I could see, but his disassociation from human life made him the perfect fixer. Sal was in charge of the cleanup crew, and he was good at it.
The cleanup crew didn’t just dig holes and dump bodies, though. No. They had sophisticated technology that could take someone’s fingerprint and pull up everything you needed to know about the person, much like law enforcement data bases. They would then figure out the best way to make the body disappear without calling the attention of family, friends, or the cops. They also had several cops on the payroll that would help with staging a car accident, or suicide if need be.
Basco had taken the two dead bodies to Sal after leaving Cedar Creek, with the confidence that Sal and his crew would know the best way to dispose of them. Ciro, having the wicked smart mind that he did, had manipulated the wires at the farmhouse to short and start the fire. The house was old and falling apart, so it wouldn’t be too farfetched to believe the wiring had been neglected and faulty, as well.
From there, Ciro had been dropped off a mile away from Robbie’s house, where he made his way through the darkness and was able to get Frankie’s purse, keys, and car. I’m not sure what had transpired between him and Robbie, but when he had called to confirm he had Frankie’s things, he had sounded cold and empty.
Bad sign.
Martin was also gone. When I had found out how easily Frankie had manipulated him into letting her leave unattended, I acted on an impulse I rarely gave into.
I had beat the man to death.
And, now, we were standing inside Ciro’s favorite hangout, tired as fuck, where Randolph Masterson hung limp from the chains suspended from the ceiling.
“How are you hanging in there?” Luca asked, his voice quiet. He was probably wondering how close I was to killing Frankie.
“If I could bleach my eyes to rid me of the image of her battered and beaten, half undressed, tied to that fucking chair, I’d do it,” I answered.
“She fucking scared ten years off my life,” Ciro mumbled.
“And what do you think of the girl?” Luca questioned. We both knew handing her the keys to the truck and giving her the freedom that he did was a test. He wanted to see what she was going to do. Even if she went to the police, the evidence and plans were already in motion to blame her for Randy’s death should she choose that route.
“I honestly don’t know,” I told him. “I was too worried about Frankie.”
“Ciro?”
“She got my sister kidnapped,” he spat. “She obviously doesn’t have any of the good sense God gave her. How in the hell do you just advertise that kind of information about your best friend?”
Luca cock his head. “You’ve never pillow-talked?”
“He’d have to fuck them in a bed in order for a pillow to be available, Luca,” I snorted. “Ciro’s more of an against-the-dirty-wall-behind-a-nightclub kind of guy.”
Ciro flipped me off.
Then he looked at Luca. “Have you?”
It was known to both of us that Luca had a steady piece of ass. They weren’t in a relationship, by any means, but she was the only one he slept with. He might get his dick sucked randomly from time to time, but he only stuck his dick in Beverly. He met her around the time Frankie had taken off, and he always met up with her when he needed to take the edge off.
She was about ten years older than he was, and she was very fit and beautiful. The best thing about her though, was the fact that she couldn’t have kids. Luca never fell prey to a pretty face or hot body. He was too controlled and disciplined for that. He also knew the