"It is good to see you, Seor Diego," Rafael said, bowing his head.

Yes, even though everyone suspected he was Pablo's son, he still had to call the man Seor Diego, as if he were nothing but a paid employee.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Pablo asked, getting right to the point.

"Alejandro wishes that I speak with you about an extremely promising investment opportunity," Rafael said, experiencing an unsettling dryness in his throat.

"Investment," Pablo said with a brittle laugh. "Why would I want or indeed need another investment? We have the pharmacies, the food company, Alejandro's club."

"It is always prudent to have more opportunities to make our money legitimate," Rafael pointed out.

Pablo raised a thick black eyebrow, dyed to match his thinning hair. "Our money?" he spat. "Since when is it our money?"

"I am so sorry, Seor Diego," Rafael said apologetically. "Sometimes I use the wrong words. It is stupid of me."

"Is this an investment that Alejandro has come up with?" Pablo inquired, signaling for the stablehand to fetch him his mug of coffee. The boy did so, and Pablo took a sip before handing it back. "What is this investment?" he said, fingering his mustache.

Rafael noticed that a dribble of dark-brown coffee had landed on Pablo's silk shirt. Should Pablo be aware of this, it would send him into a fury. Studiously, Rafael avoided looking at the dreaded stain.

"Alejandro has the opportunity to produce a movie," he said. "An important movie."

"A movie!" Pablo roared. "What does Alejandro know about making movies?"

Nothing, Rafael was tempted to say. Instead he said, "It is something he has wanted to do for some time. Now he has surrounded himself with top professionals who can make his dream come true. All he needs from you is the money to allow this to happen."

"Money!" Pablo snorted. "My son has plenty of money."

"He requires twenty million dollars," Rafael continued, keeping his voice low and even. "He also suggests that you come to L.A. for a visit. He says to tell you the women are very beautiful and very available. He would like you to see for yourself."

"That's a lot of money," Pablo grumbled. "A big investment."

Rafael knew for a fact that it was not a lot of money to Pablo. His drug empire brought in billions of dollars a year. Twenty million was meaningless to him.

"Alejandro wants you to know he would welcome your presence. He will make sure your visit is memorable."

"Ha!" Pablo exclaimed. "A memorable visit with my son in California. It is tempting. But Alejandro knows that I do not care to travel."

Rafael's shoulders slumped. He was doing his best, and yet Pablo was not jumping at the idea of coming to L.A. And if Rafael couldn't persuade him to put up the money for Alejandro's "investment"-did that mean that Elizabetta would be receiving a package in the mail?

Rafael shuddered at the thought.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE.

Lucky drove herself to the airport, even though Lennie had insisted that she take one of the guards with her. She'd agreed, then she'd jumped into her red Ferrari and taken off by herself.

Sorry, Lennie. That's the way it is.

She drove the freeway as if it were a racetrack, dodging in and out of lanes with an expert flick of her wrist, Marvin Gaye and Al Green blasting away on her iPod. Nothing like old soul to temper her mood.

She couldn't get the images from the DVD Chris had shown her out of her head. The man who'd shot Gino was clear in her mind. Even though she'd barely seen his face, she remembered every other detail. His Nike running shoes. His silver watch. The way he'd calmly walked away after shooting Gino in the back of the head.

One day she would find him.

Then what?

Was she capable of killing him just like he'd killed Gino?

Yes. She was capable of taking revenge for his unspeakable act of cowardice.

Arriving at the airport, she parked and made her way inside, heading for the arrivals area, striding through the crowds, excited about seeing Steven. The two of them shared a bond that could never be broken. Way back, Gino had spent one memorable night with Steven's mother, Carrie, and Steven was the result. It wasn't until they were both in their twenties that they'd discovered their connection.

"Hey," she called out as soon as she spotted her half brother walking toward her.

"Hey," Steven responded with a big smile. "It's little Lucky."

"Little Lucky my ass," she said, throwing herself into his arms and hugging him tightly. "It's so great to see you."

Steven Berkley-a well-respected attorney with a thriving practice in Rio, the Brazilian city he'd finally settled in. Tall. Handsome. Cafe-au-lait skin. Green eyes like his niece, Max. The phrase "Black is beautiful" must have been invented for Steven.

"How was your flight?" she asked, clinging on to his arm.

"Bumpy," he replied. "And way too long."

"You're here, that's all that matters."

"I wish I would've been here six months ago," he said with a rueful shrug. "You got to spend time with Gino. I didn't."

"Not his fault. It was you who kept postponing your trip."

"You know how it is. Family, work."

"Gino missed you. He spoke about you often. He was really looking forward to your visit."

"Too late now," Steven said.

"Not to worry. I have this strong feeling that he's watching over us," Lucky said softly. "He knows you're here for him."

"Always the optimist," Steven said, throwing her a quizzical look.

"Let's go to the car," she said, still holding on to his arm. "Bobby's coming over, and I want to be there when he arrives."

They started making their way toward the exit.

"Still driving your Ferrari?" Steven asked.

"The best car ever," Lucky said enthusiastically.

"You do know that you're a shit driver."

"Screw you, Steven," she responded. "I'm an excellent driver, a hell of a lot better than you."

"I'll choose to ignore that."

"Wise."

"So..." Steven said. "What's going on with Lennie and the kids? Fill me in."

"Lennie's in post on his movie. Gino Junior is growing like a tree-he's over six feet. Leo's catching up fast. Max is doing a big modeling job in Europe. Oh yeah-and Bobby's fresh out of jail."

"Jail?" Steven exclaimed.

"I kid you not."

"Maybe you should tell me everything."

"If you're ready for a long and crazy story."

"I'm used to crazy stories. I'm a defense attorney, remember?"

"One of the best, I might say."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Because everything happened at once," she explained. "Bobby got arrested, Gino was shot..." She trailed off.

"Any news on who shot Gino?"

"We do have one lead," she offered.

"What kind of lead?"

"We've got the shooter on a security camera."

"What do the cops have to say about it?"

"Christ!" she exclaimed impatiently. "You're beginning to sound exactly like Lennie. What the fuck is it with you guys and the cops?"

"You do remember the trouble you were in once before," Steven said with a stern shake of his head. "You've got to keep it legal."

"Fuck legal," she snapped. "I do things my way."

"C'mon, Lucky. You're no longer an impetuous kid," Steven said, his handsome face serious. "You're a grown-up, and it's time for you to play by grown-up rules."

"Never have," she said with a derisive laugh. "Never will."

"And she refuses to change," Steven sighed.

"Got no plans in that direction," she said flippantly.

Steven shook his head again. Like Lennie, he knew there was no arguing with Lucky when she had her mind set on something.

"Hey," he said, moving on. "Sitting on the plane, I was thinking about the first time we met."

"Oh yeah, fun times," Lucky drawled, remembering being trapped in an elevator with Steven during a big New York power outage, way before they'd discovered they were brother and sister. She would never forget the nine hours they'd spent together locked in a dark box of a prison. They'd bantered, argued, flirted, and finally been rescued.

"Neither of us knew we were related," Steven said.

"Yeah," Lucky said. "And if I recall correctly, you came on to me."

"No, lady," he objected. "You came on to me."

"Thank God we didn't fuck," she said lightly.

"Because of me," he insisted.

"You always were a bit of a prude," she joked.

"And you always had a filthy mouth."

"It's comforting to know we're both still following our paths in life," she said drily.

They exchanged smiles as they reached the Ferrari.

"How about I drive?" Steven suggested, standing beside the car. "After my flight I'm not in the mood to sample your death-defying skills on the road."

"Get in," Lucky ordered with a wicked grin. "I promise I won't go more than a hundred. Too much traffic."

Steven grimaced and once more shook his head.

Within minutes they were on their way to the Malibu house.

A car met Bobby and Beverly Villiers at the airport in L.A. After dropping Beverly at the Peninsula, Bobby went straight to his house in the Hollywood Hills. In spite of the fact that he was still furious with Denver, he'd kind of been hoping that she would be there waiting for him-waiting to apologize.

Too bad. No. She wasn't around.

He phoned Lucky and told her he'd come by the Malibu house the next day.

"Why not now?" she said, sounding disappointed. "I can't wait to see you, Bobby."

"Gotta detox, Mom," he responded. "Gotta figure some things out."