Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Her head suddenly snapped back to look at Sal over her shoulder, to see him standing in the far corner of the room. She had almost forgotten about him—he had been so quiet.
“Is that so?” she gritted out, giving him a dirty look.
“Frankly, Valerie—”
Her name out of the Boogieman’s mouth sent another set of frost across her skin as she turned back to face him.
“I couldn’t care less if you were the one who cyber attacked the Horseshoe, but if you did, I need to know now so we know how to proceed. Mr. Bryant is a great attorney, and I’m sure he’s more than—”
“Oh, I’m innocent.” She decided to save him the time of explaining. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“That’s good, then.” Lucca fully believed her, taking another puff of his cigarette and blowing out the smoke, filling the room. “Do you know who possibly did and why they would want to frame you?”
She slumped her shoulders. It was the question she’d had on her brain since the moment the cuffs had been slid around her wrists. “I have no idea.”
“All right, then. Tell us everything you talked about with the lawyer, as well as anything that stuck out to you while working there.”
Valerie was detailed, replaying everything she’d said to Kent, as well as her time working at the Horseshoe, including the date she’d started and the date she’d been fired, along with everything in between. All the while, Lucca smoked cigarette after cigarette until it was Sal who sat in the chair as she went from pacing to touching things in the office, finally inching closer and closer to Lucca’s desk.
“Do you mind blowing the smoke in this direction?” she asked, waving the nicotine goodness toward her.
That was when Lucca respectively put his cigarette out. “I think we’ve heard enough for now. Thank you, Valerie.”
“No problem at all,” she assured him and let her inner thoughts take over by going for the pack of cigarettes on his desk, but a cold hand came out to stop her.
“You may take your seat again.”
Snatching her hand back in shock, she took the chair next to a smirking Sal, feeling awkward. After getting lost in the details, and her cravings, she had become comfortable enough to forget whose presence she was in.
Letting her speak uninterrupted for quite some time, the mob boss now began his questioning.
“Have you been able to find employment yet?”
She cleared her throat. “Not yet. But I’ve been lookin—”
“Don’t bother,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Sal will find a position for you here at the Casino Hotel.” He looked over at him. “Won’t you?”
Sal quickly sat up straight. “S-Sure.”
“And since I have such a sizable investment placed on you, Valerie”—Lucca glanced between the both of them—“I hope you don’t mind that Sal will follow your every move to ensure you are where you need to be?”
Both Valerie and Sal stood up from their chairs and spoke in loud unison, “What?”
“Do you mind giving us a minute?” Lucca asked, looking at just her.
“Sure,” Valerie said with a grumble, moving toward the door. She went for her bat that she had set beside the door during her speech, but he stopped her with a hand held up.
“That’s far enough,” he said, crossing around the desk so he and Sal could speak in hushed tones.
“I’ll wait, then.” She turned her back to them; it was only then that she felt safe enough to roll her eyes in front of Lucca.
In a desperate attempt to listen to them, she strained her ears. She could almost believe they sounded like brothers … bickering.
“I’m not fucking babysitting her crazy ass any longer!” Sal began in an aggressively hushed tone. “Give her over to Amo. I’m sure he’d love this psycho.”
Lucca sat on the edge of his desk with a shit-eating grin. “Nah, I don’t think so. It’s your turn to do some grunt work for a change.”
“No. No. No fucking way. I didn’t learn to use my brain and sit behind a computer all day to do this. I did it to avoid instances like this.”
“And that’s why you’re perfect for this job, brother,” Lucca said, hitting his shoulder. “Who else in the family is capable to help her figure out who attacked the Horseshoe? Do you really think Amo, or anyone else for that matter, is going to be able to do that? I doubt my other men know the difference between a monitor and a computer.”
“Well, see, you do,” Sal huffed, hoping he might still be able to get out of this death sentence.
“Well, I’m not a fucking idiot,” Lucca told him. “My other men are useful for other things, but using their brains isn’t one. Why do you think I have yet to pick an underboss?”