Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Yeah, it’s fast. But it’s right. I can’t explain it, Kesha. The first time I saw her, I knew. It’s like you always used to joke about.”
He nods, smiling. “When I said you were a gruff prick and it’d take an angel to get through to you?”
“Exactly.” I chuckle. “I never thought something like this could happen, but there she was. I’ve even… I told her about what happened, when we were kids, with the Cartel. I hope that’s okay, bro.”
“Yeah,” he says, narrowing his eyes at me. “Of course. I barely even remember it. That’s your story more than it is mine. And the way you stood by me after, basically raised me? It means a lot.”
Our conversation is interrupted when a car pulls up around the corner, flashing its high beams twice before moving down the street.
“Secretive motherfucker,” I grunt.
“I guess Luca doesn’t want Flavio to know who we’re meeting with,” Kesha says with a shrug.
“It won’t matter soon. Flavio will either be dead or in jail.”
“Amen to that.”
We climb from the car and head across the street. I stand with my back straight, hoping my Kevlar vest isn’t too obvious beneath my suit jacket. Kesha’s makes him look far bulkier then he really is, puffing him out like he’s been on a crazed weightlifting spree.
He walks ahead of me, pulling aside the loosened exterior and ducking his head inside.
I hurry after him, anxiety flaring through me when I think about Italians jumping him when I’m not there to back him up.
The staircase is lit by a naked bulb, throwing hazy yellow light, leading down to the club.
Kesha glances at me, his hand on his hip, an alert look coming across his face.
“Luca,” I roar down the stairs. “We’re not walking into this blind.”
The door at the bottom of the staircase rattles in its frame and then a hand sticks out, clutching a stick with a piece of white paper attached, waving it from side to side like a flag.
I exchange a look with Kesha, both of us smirking at the levity of the gesture, considering we’re all heavily armed and ready to go at any second.
“You’re not going to shoot me when I open this door, are you, Dominik?” Luca calls.
Flavio’s second-in-command has a surprisingly soft voice.
“No,” I growl. “I swear on the Bratva.”
“Then I swear on the Mafia.”
He pushes the door open, putting his hands behind his back as he strolls to the bottom of the stairs. He’s wearing a black hoodie and cargo pants, a strange contrast with his Mafiosi slicked back hair and his glinting gold watch.
“I guess nobody else knows you’re meeting us?” Kesha says as we descend the stairs.
Luca shakes his head. “I can’t make this official until I know how we’re going to play this.”
“Smart,” Kesha says. “But the car—the one that gave us the signal?”
“Just some kid I paid to flash his high beams. He won’t say anything. Either of you fellas want a drink?”
“I’ll take a coffee if it’s going,” I tell him.
Despite all the excitement coursing through me like a drug – meeting my woman, feeling the sudden certainty that she’s going to be the mother of my children – the lack of sleep is starting to weigh down on me.
“Me too,” Kesha says. “As long as you don’t poison it.”
Luca chuckles, running a hand through his hair as the three of us walk across the empty club floor.
The electric lights are turned on, making the dance floor and the bar look sad and deserted.
We walk over to the bar and Luca walks around the other side, turning on the coffee machine.
After he’s made three mugs – a sign of respect, a sign that we’re here to fix problems instead of starting them – we carry them over to a table in the corner.
Luca waits for us to sit down and then slides into the chair opposite, another indicator that we’re here to get some serious business done.
He’s showing the respect Flavio never has, even when we were working together. But he’s not going overboard, crossing into sycophant territory.
I respect that.
“I guess we’re here to talk about Flavio,” he murmurs.
I nod. “That’s right. He’s overstepping and you know it.”
“Do I?” he says, with a touch of defensiveness.
I huff. “Yeah, you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have changed into your civvies and come down here without any backup. Where are your men, by the way? You’re not much use to us if nobody will back you.”
I feel Kesha tensing beside me, glancing at me, a silent plea to play this tactfully.
“I’ve got the men,” Luca says, unfazed. “I didn’t want to drag them down here until it was official. You know… there are a few of them still loyal to Flavio.”
“A few?” Kesha says. “Not most?”
Luca laughs drily. “Not even close to most. Flavio’s gone too far, borrowing money from the Cartel—”