After another half an hour, Matt was satisfied that the house was clean, but Giovanni still felt uneasy. He had a sudden thought.

“Benjamin!” he called down the hallway.

He heard a quick scuffling before the boy appeared. “Hey, you guys done? Angela made some awesome food. It’s like the best spaghetti I’ve ever had. I can’t believe how much Dez is eating. I bet she’s—”

“Be quiet. If you wanted to hide a bug somewhere, where would you put it?”

Giovanni had learned from experience never to underestimate the instincts of his nephew. He also wanted to accustom the boy to thinking defensively. He saw Ben cock his head to the side.

“You said Bruno’s in charge of fixing stuff, right?”

He smiled. “He is.”

“Well, has he fixed anything lately? That he mentioned? He’d mention it, right? So you wouldn’t get suspicious if you noticed something.”

“Good thinking. Yes, the first floor bathroom was just repaired.” Giovanni and Ben climbed the stairs, and Giovanni led the boy to the recently repaired bathroom. Ben turned and looked at his uncle.

“Well?”

Giovanni opened his senses, searching for the faint buzz, almost like a vibrating thread, that he would usually pick up from a small electronic device. It was small, but appeared to come from just behind a patch of new plaster.

“Well, damn.” He’d have to have it repaired again. He punched through and plucked the small bug that was hidden behind the wall, holding it up so that Ben could see it before he crushed it between his fingers.

“Cool! Got one.”

“Excellent thinking, Benjamin. And I don’t feel anything else in here. Go tell Matt it appears the house is clear.”

Ben rushed downstairs while Giovanni brushed at the plaster dust on his hands. He felt Beatrice come to stand in the doorway behind him.

“How is Angela’s cooking, Tesoro?”

“Fantastic. And tell me again why you don’t just fire him?”

“Oh”—Giovanni chuckled as he walked past and squeezed her waist—“she’d be expecting that, and I’d just have to look for a new butler.”

“Yep, Gio.” He heard her call down the hall as he followed the scent of herb focaccia that Angela knew he loved. “I can’t imagine why I’m nervous about meeting Livia!”

Chapter Five

Rome, Italy

May 2012

There were certain things about having gobs of money that Beatrice had become used to. She never worried about paying her bills. She liked being able to buy her own house when she was single. And she never went crazy with her money; in fact, she ended up giving a lot to charity just because she felt guilty for robbing Lorenzo. She had pretty simple tastes, but liked being able to buy what she wanted, when she wanted.

Which, that morning, happened to be another computer keyboard.

“Damn it!” she yelled, tossing the keyboard on the floor where it shattered.

Ben rushed into the small library, which had been light-proofed like most of the rest of the house. “What’s up?” He looked down. “Oh.”

She sighed. “Bring me another one. This time with the rubber keyboard cover and see if Angela has any of those big freezer bags that the keyboard might fit in. I think moisture in the air is becoming a problem.”

“If you need help looking for something—”

“No!” She shut her eyes. “Sorry, Ben. I appreciate it, I just...”

“It’s okay.” He nodded and backed out of the room. “I get it.”

“Thanks.” Beatrice bent and picked up the pieces of the keyboard, tossing them in the waste bin before she sat down at the desk again. She took a pencil and manipulated the roller ball attached to the computer at the desk. They had learned their lesson in Chile about Beatrice and laptops, but she still had hope that she would find some way to use a desktop computer, since she had less contact while operating it. So far, she was only on her second monitor, though the keyboard was proving a challenge.

Yes, she decided, money did have its privileges.

She smiled at Angela as the housekeeper passed in the hall, still giving her a slightly wary look. Beatrice knew the fact that she could be awake and alert during the day freaked the woman out. Despite that, Angela was so sweet that Beatrice could hardly blame her for it. She knew she was an oddity. She had the strength of an ancient vampire wrapped in the coordination and attitude of a baby. She had never fit in during her human life, why start now?

“B, got it!”

Ben barreled into the library and dropped off a new computer keyboard, a neoprene case she had cut out to fit it, and a large plastic bag that looked like a large version of the bags they received when they bought donated blood.

Speaking of blood...

Her fangs popped out when Dez entered the room. Beatrice had no idea why it was still happening. She had absolutely no desire to drink from Dez, but the longer her friend was pregnant, the more Beatrice reacted when she was near. Tenzin had speculated that, far from bloodlust, it was a latent protective instinct for Dez and her unborn child.

“Hey, I think we’re going to take Ben to the Colosseum this afternoon. He keeps asking to see where the lions ate the Christians. Think we should worry?”

“I doubt it. And you know that there’s no specific historical accounts of—”

“Yes, yes.” Dez rolled her eyes. “I know. Next you’re going to tell me Russell Crowe never really fought there, either.”