Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Uh… thanks.” I perked up a little. That was more like it.
He nodded. “And… if you need a good lawyer, I’m happy to lend you mine. He’s not a divorce lawyer, but his firm handles them.” He opened his top drawer and pulled out a card. “His name is Christopher Nichols.”
“Oh… thanks, but I’ve got someone.”
Vanetti’s brows dipped. “Sure… sure. But with your connection to me, I guarantee that he’ll give you a nice discount. Think about it.”
“Of course.” I slipped the card into my bag. “Thanks.”
He smiled, pleased with himself, like he’d done me a big favor. “Now let’s get back to business, shall we?” He raised his brows at Stone. “Do you have any other leads?”
“Yes.” Stone glanced my way. “Since talking to Cash is no longer an option, I’ve thought of a couple more people we can check out.”
Vanetti nodded. “Good. Let’s hope one of them is who we’re looking for.” Vanetti turned to me. “I’m confident you’ll be able to figure it out.”
“Thanks. I won’t let you down.” Warmth blossomed in my chest. It was nice that Vanetti believed in me, even if Stone didn’t. Giving him a quick smile, I stood, only wincing a little at the pain in my butt. Stone, the other pain in my butt, stood as well and followed me to the door.
Chapter 12
Serenity
Stone held the door open for me, and we walked to his office in silence. Was he ever going to tell me what I’d said to make him mad? He ushered me inside before taking his chair behind the desk. While he turned on his computer, still more stoic than he’d been this morning. I folded my arms and leaned against his desk.
He glanced up at me and raised a brow. “If you want to sit down, I could get you a pillow.”
“No, I’m fine.” I tried for a haughty expression.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I think I’ve got one in here, somewhere.” He pushed his chair back to stand, but I held up a hand.
“Don’t bother. It’s not that big of a deal, I just want to stand for a minute. So what have you got on these new guys?”
I wanted to tell him that it might have been helpful if he’d done this research earlier, but now wasn’t the time to complain. Too bad Cash was dead, but wasn’t there another angle we could check out? Something to do with Razor and his gang?
Stone scooted his chair back to his desk and logged into his account. “I remembered someone who might be behind this. I helped put him in jail, so I need to find out if he’s still there.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You did? Really? I’m impressed.” For some reason, I didn’t think of Stone as a guy who got the good guys involved. It was reassuring to hear.
“Yeah, I told you I’m good at this stuff.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay. So what happened? I mean… you put him in jail, so now that he’s out, he wants you dead? That doesn’t seem bomb-worthy.”
Stone sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “It’s a little more complicated than that. Needles ran a gang that went rogue. It was my job to bring them back into the fold, but things got out of hand and—” He shrugged. “I had to protect myself. His brother was killed, and most of the gang went to jail with him.”
My brows rose. “Oh… so… you’re the reason his brother is dead?”
“It was self-defense.”
“Oh… okay. Yeah… I can see why he’d come after you.”
He logged onto a paid search engine and typed in the guy’s name. “Yeah… in fact, after they dispersed, Razor and the Shadow Serpents took over his territory.”
“Would his real name happen to be Johnny?”
Stone’s mouth quirked up. “No. His name’s Nico Navarro.” He tapped on his keyboard, and sighed. “It looks like he’s still in jail, so it can’t be him.” He glanced my way. “That leaves Anna and the South Side Gang.”
“Anna?” My stomach twinged. “It couldn’t be a woman. The person I saw had a beard.”
He rubbed his face. “She could be working with someone.”
“I guess.” Was she a jealous ex? Why would she want to kill Stone?
“We’ll have to find her to make sure, but I have a good idea where she is. She used to work at the Tiki Tabu Bar and still has friends there. Do you know the place?”
“No. But why do you think it could be her?”
“I had a run-in with her boyfriend, and he ended up in prison.”
“Oh.” Relief rushed over me. “Wow… you sure send a lot of people to prison. Are you sure you’re not working for the cops?”
His lips twisted. “I don’t mind helping them when it helps Vanetti.”
“Right. So why do you think she’s bomb-worthy?”