Bed of Bones (A Sloane Monroe Novel, Book Five) Read Online Free PDF Page A

my astonishment.
    Maddie passed me and whispered, “I’ll stay with her. Go find him.”
    A game of hide-and-go-seek commenced wherein I dodged the hospital staff, snooping inside the staggered patient rooms as I made my way down the hall. I’d successfully crossed half a dozen off my list when someone tugged on the sleeve of my sweater. I stiffened.
    “Going somewhere?”
    The masculine voice was a familiar one. I turned, venting a sigh of relief.
    “Carlo, I was hoping to see you here,” I said. “Did you fly in to help with the investigation?”
    Carlo had wavy, black hair, just like Giovanni, a strong but slender build, and the kind of tanned skin women went to the beach all summer long for. With his FBI status, I hoped he could provide me with some answers.
    “It’s not my department, but I’ve found a way to get involved. I will find out who did this to my brother.”
    I didn’t doubt it.
    “If you want to see Giovanni, I can take you to him,” he continued.
    “So, he’s…alive?”
    Carlo nodded. “Although, he hasn’t been himself since I arrived.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He’s unnerved,” he said. “Shaken up.”
    “It’s understandable after what he just experienced.”
    “All these years he’s convinced himself he was untouchable. Invincible. Now he knows he isn’t. That…changes a person. Whatever he says to you, try to understand he’s processing a lot right now. It may take some time before he finds clarity.”
    I wasn’t sure what Carlo was trying to say, or not say. His tone conveyed a warning of some kind, like Giovanni was a loose cannon, prepped and ready to fire. Part of me couldn’t help feeling like it was exactly what we needed as a couple.
    He tapped his expensive, leather shoe on the floor. “This can’t get out…it just can’t.”
    “What can’t?”
    I didn’t know what I expected to accomplish with my question. Carlo was a Luciana. It wasn’t like he would open up to me either.
    In true brotherly fashion, he shifted the conversation. “I heard you two have been having some difficulties lately, but Giovanni didn’t go into detail.”
    I wasn’t about to either. In true girlfriend fashion, I changed the subject myself. “How badly is he hurt?”
    He stepped back, a look of shock on his face. “You don’t know?”
    “No.”
    “What do you know?” he asked.
    “I was told there was an explosion at one of the theaters in town—not much more. I tried calling Lucio several times. He never answered.”
    Carlo rested a hand on my shoulder. “Sloane, Lucio is dead.”
    Dead ? I didn’t want to believe it. Over the last year, I’d become fond of his oversized shadow tailing me wherever I went.
    “What—how? He was there?”
    “Lucio was sitting next to Giovanni when the explosion happened. To be honest, it’s been hard getting more information out of my brother other than small, insignificant details. I’m hoping you’ll be more successful.”
    We continued down the hall. “What can you tell me?”
    “I can share what little we know so far. Witnesses who were there at the time confirmed the explosion happened right as the movie was starting, during the opening credits, before the opening scene.”
    “Do you know what types of explosives were used?”
    He nodded.
    “Fragments from pressure-cooker bombs were found near the stage.”
    “Bombs plural—as in more than one?”
    “It’s possible there were as many as three. Hard to say for sure right now. They’re still gathering evidence.”
    “Have you pinpointed the exact location of the blast?” I asked.
    “There was a table set up for the director and a few of the actors to take questions after the movie was over. It was blown to bits. Chief Sheppard thinks the bombs were hidden underneath. The table was in plain sight, but it was covered with a black cloth that went all the way to the floor. There was no reason for anyone to sit there until after the film was over.”
    “Any idea how the