Instead, he was miserable. Battista and Carlo had escaped with Francesca and the children as hostages. According to the police, after fleeing the palace in their speedboat they’d left the country in Battista’s private jet. Destination unknown. The dead and wounded from the masquerade ball had b...
FRANCESCA HELD HER breath as she watched the scene unfold. The grayscale infrared image of the thirty-five-foot cruiser filled the screen. The bow wave rippled and jumped as the boat pushed through the water. The three occupants were on the compass bridge of the yacht. Suddenly, the glow of the h...
Killed again. The game timer ticked down. Thirty seconds to go. Like each of the other games he’d played over the past hour, the free-for-all game had been a slaughter, at least from his point of view. While he’d stumbled this way and that trying to teach his brain to control his movements, the o...
“Dammit, Marsh. How in the hell did Battista get Papa’s home phone number?” “You got me, man. The dude has been one step ahead of us the whole time.” Skirting past the oversized table in the breakfast nook, they ran through the kitchen and past Carmen—Papa’s stout wife—and her young niece, Opheli...
It felt good in a way I’d never felt before, like I was stronger somehow and everything was going to be all right. I’d known all along Dad had taken it from the island, and I’d been tempted to ask him about it several times. But he’d wanted to keep it a secret, even from Mom, so I let it go. “It’...