Chapter 2 - Keep the Lights On
The footsteps stopped directly above the basement.
Roman's men became silent.
Sienna understood immediately.
They weren't waiting for friends.
Roman raised one finger.
Nobody moved.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Then disappeared.
Sienna stared at the damaged electrical panel.
Something wasn't right.
The main breaker hadn't failed.
Someone had removed two control relays.
Deliberately.
She leaned toward Roman.
“Whoever cut your power understood this building.”
His gray eyes sharpened.
“You're certain?”
“Yes.”
One of his men, Marco Santoro, looked toward him.
Roman's expression changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Someone close to him had arranged this.
“Can you bring back only part of the building?” Roman asked.
Sienna nodded.
“What part?”
“The stage.”
She stared at him.
“Why?”
Roman looked toward the ceiling.
“Because whoever is upstairs thinks we're hiding in darkness.”
Five minutes later, Sienna bypassed the damaged circuit.
The enormous chandelier above the abandoned auditorium suddenly illuminated.
Voices erupted upstairs.
Roman's men moved.
Sienna stayed beside the panel.
No dramatic confrontation followed.
Only footsteps.
Shouting somewhere distant.
Then silence.
Several minutes later, Marco returned.
“They left.”
Roman tried standing.
His knees almost buckled.
Sienna caught his arm instinctively.
The effect was immediate.
Roman stopped.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
His breathing changed.
His shoulders loosened.
For several seconds, the feared Roman DeLuca simply stared at her hand around his forearm.
“What?”
Sienna released him.
“Nothing.”
Roman caught her wrist.
Not violently.
Almost desperately.
“Do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Talk.”
“You're joking.”
“Keep talking.”
“About what?”
“Anything.”
Sienna stared at him.
Then she noticed his breathing becoming uneven again.
So she talked.
About voltage.
Circuit breakers.
The terrible wiring inside hundred-year-old buildings.
Lucy leaving cereal bowls in the sink.
Her father's obsession with Miles Davis.
Anything.
Roman closed his eyes.
His breathing slowed.
Marco watched from across the room.
Something like astonishment crossed his face.
Roman opened his eyes again.
“How much debt do you have?”
Sienna stiffened.
“Excuse me?”
“Your truck has three collection notices on the passenger seat.”
“You looked inside my truck?”
“My men did.”
“That's incredibly creepy.”
“How much?”
She folded her arms.
“None of your business.”
Roman glanced toward Marco.
“Find out.”
“Don't you dare.”
“Too late.”
Twenty minutes later, Roman was inside a black SUV.
Before the door closed, he looked back at her.
“Come to my house tomorrow night.”
“No.”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“No.”
“Twenty.”
Sienna hesitated.
Roman noticed.
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
His answer surprised her.
“Sit in the room.”
She frowned.
“That's it?”
May you like
“And keep the lights on.”
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