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Jennifer pulled up a chair and sat down across from her. She said, “I know the fear you felt. I know the sense of helplessness. I have literally been there. Pike is the one who prevented it, just like here. Since then, I’ve followed him to do the same. I was the one on the other end of the computer who gave him the intelligence to save you.”

From the chair, Lia looked at me and said, “Who is this?”

I smiled and said, “My protégé. Trust her. We penetrated your house last night through some things I can’t discuss, but it’s the reason you’re alive. Talk to her.”

She flicked her head to Knuckles and said, “Who’s he?”

“He’s with me.”

She took a deep breath, let it out, then said, “I can’t do this right now. I’m still... a little screwed up.”

Knuckles took a knee in front of her, grasped her hand, and said, “I understand, but sometimes you don’t get the chance to quit. Sometimes you just have to keep going. For the others. For the other women.”

And I saw he was connecting. Jennifer looked at me, and I shook my head, telling her to let Knuckles work his magic. He had some weird ability with the opposite sex, and I wasn’t going to question it. He was always hooking up with women, but unlike a simplistic barhound, he wasalwayssincere in his efforts. He had no ulterior motives other than a connection. While he might have used his charms in another situation that would end up with the woman in bed, in here, it was completely different, more like a priest.

Lia nodded, then said, “So what do you want?”

Knuckles asked for a tablet, Jennifer gave it to him, and he went through what had happened to him the day prior. He showed her the picture of the killer with his pants down, and she inhaled, the shock of the night coming back home.

He said, “This man was at the Knights’ headquarters right before a bomb was placed on my car. I think he was the trigger for the attempt. We can’t do anything because we aren’t law enforcement. But we thought you might.”

She took the tablet and said, “You’re sure this man was there? At the headquarters for the Knights of Malta?”

“Yes. Right before my car exploded.”

I said, “Is that enough?”

She stood up and said, “Yes. That’s most definitely enough. You’ll have to testify to his presence, and we’ll have to get the crime report from the explosion, but that’s enough for me to arrest him. Let me contact my department and we can go. I’ll have a carabinieri team meet us at the palace.”

She saw the change in the room and said, “What? Do you want my help or not?”

I said, “We want your help, but you can’t contact the police and he’s not going to the Italian justice system. He’s ours.”

“Who are you?”

I said, “Well, we aren’t CIA or FBI.” I pointed at Shoshana and said, “Some aren’t even American. But we’re most definitely on your side here.”

She said, “Are you really Israeli?”

Shoshana said, “Yes. I am. Will you help us?”

She said, “Let me get myself together.”

She went back in the bedroom and we sat around looking at each other, wondering if she was on a phone calling a SWAT team to come get us.

Shoshana began pacing, rubbing her hands together. She said, “This is going to be good.”

I said, “Not yet. It might be good, but not yet. Don’t force this.”

She looked at me with a little bit of venom, then said, “He’s there, and he’s mine.”

I said, “Shoshana, if you screw this up, you’re not in the wedding. I mean it.”

Jennifer glared at me, and honestly, I couldn’t believe that had slipped out of my mouth. It was cruel, but it was the only thing I had. Threatening her with an ass-beating would have only been a challenge. Jennifer was right about her. She wanted to be a bridesmaid, and so I said it.

Shoshana looked at Jennifer, then at me. Jennifer said, “He doesn’t mean that.”

Shoshana said, “Okay, Pike. I’ll follow your lead right up until that lead doesn’t work. Agreed?”