lifted a folder in his hand. “Running some things down for you.”
Rafe moved from the window and dipped his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Thanks.”
“You look a little better, but not much.” A grin quirked one side of Pete’s mouth. “Barracuda keep you up last night?”
Pete didn’t know the half of it. “Yeah. Something like that. You get hold of Billy?”
“Yep. Sent him to Kansas City with Betty for a few days. Antique-gem show there she’s checking out. Told him he was running security for her.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. Betty, one of Pete’s employees, was one-hundred-seventy-five pounds of mean-ass woman you didn’t mess with. She could hold her own. And most likely, Billy’s too. “You get anything out of him before he left?”
“Not a lot.” Pete dropped the folder on the desk and sank into his leather chair. “He’s a bright one, our William. Never got names, was paid in cash. All he can tell me is the woman who hired him had an accent, although what type of accent, he can’t remember. The guy who threatened him after the fact was young, white, no accent. Good ol’ Billy didn’t ask questions, just met the man in Hialeah somewhere, paid the money back and left.”
“Jesus.” Rafe eased into a chair across from him. “He’s sure good with details, isn’t he?”
Pete chuckled. “Oh, yeah. One of a kind.” His eyes lit. “Speaking of details, where’s that sexy doctor?”
“At the house. She was sleeping when I left.”
Pete nodded, obviously curious about where she was sleeping, but not enough to ask. “You been to the hospital today?”
“Just came from there.”
His smile faded. “How’s Teresa?”
“Better. Probably be moved back to the care center this afternoon.”
“That’s good.” Pete twirled a pen between his fingers. “The private nurse you got for her has to cost a pretty penny.”
Yeah. And he didn’t want to think about that just now. He looked toward the folder next to Pete’s hand. “You get me what I needed?”
“Yes.” Pete leaned forward and placed a hand on the file. “You sure about this? You know all you have to do is say the word, and I’ll buy what you’ve got outright. No strings.”
It was the out he’d known Pete would offer. The same one his friend had tossed his way when he’d come back from Italy with Alecto. Take the money and run. No questions. No worries. A good deal. With both Furies, he’d have enough cash to do what he wanted for his mother, get himself set up for the next few years, figure out what the hell he wanted to do with himself in retirement. Pete would spread the word he was out of the game. He could walk away unscathed.
Except for Lisa. She wouldn’t quit. Not now. Not ever, from what he could see. He’d known his answer even before Pete had asked.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
Pete pushed the file across the desk and leaned back in his chair. “That’s what I figured. Had to offer it, just the same.” His expression hardened. “Okay, then. A few things you should know. Winters left Chicago yesterday on a flight headed for Miami.”
“Expected.”
“Yeah. What’s unexpected is the cops finding Landau dead in his mansion late last night.”
That got Rafe’s attention. “Shit.”
“Deep shit, my friend. No official statement yet, but my sources tell me it looks like a homicide. His death, coupled with his assistant’s murder only a week ago, is drawing a lot of attention. And the fact he bit it the night of that big soiree is more than coincidental.” He swiveled his chair. “You cover your tracks?”
Rafe ran a hand over his mouth. “Yeah. They won’t be able to link me to anything.” His brow narrowed in thought. “Winters was at Landau’s shindig. I assumed they were working together.”
Pete shook his head. “I’m not sure. I think we’ve got a couple players in this. If Winters is the one who did Landau, then either they weren’t working together or he double-crossed the guy—and both options are feasible, considering the way Winters works. Regardless, Landau knew something he shouldn’t, and since we know Winters is after Tisiphone, it’s safe to say Landau was wrapped up in all this the way your barracuda suspected.”
“What about Kimbel?”
“I don’t have a clue where he is.”
“Find him. He’s a loose cannon.”
Pete nodded. “I’ll work on it. In the meantime, you have the house as long as you need it. Lauren won’t be back for at least another five weeks at the earliest.”