Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
It’s where I come to think.
Tonight, though, I glance at the door that leads to her room. My Little Moth.
Setting my phone on the dresser, I slip off my suit jacket and toss it onto the bed, sling my holster holding the Glock over the back of a chair and pull my tie and shirt off. I drop those on the bed as well and make my way into the bathroom. Everything is stone and marble here too, the style of the church preserved as I updated what needed modernizing. I switch on the glass-walled shower and strip off the last of my clothes as the water heats. A moment later, I step beneath the flow and close my eyes.
Michael Moretti is probably at the hospital now getting his wrist set. I hope it fucking hurts. I wonder what Malek Lombardi is up to. No matter what Jet’s source uncovered, I have a gut feeling about him. Michael’s too inexperienced and far too stupid to have figured out when that shipment of arms was coming in. He’s too fucking lazy to bother with a plan that would have taken time and subtlety.
Malek on the other hand is a patient man. He’d worked at Alaric Moretti’s side for decades. In the last year or so of Alaric’s life, though, there had been rumors about a falling out. Although I normally wouldn’t bother with the internal goings on of another family, I make a mental note to look into Malek’s history, to understand him, because I think he masterminded this. I think he set Michael up to take the fall. Michael Moretti is a weak, lazy man. He’s not his father and it’s no secret, not within his own family, not outside of it. He’d want the glory of taking something from me. Did he really think I wouldn’t find out? Maybe. Was he set up to take the fall? Probably. Seeing him today, interacting with him, only solidifies my thinking. Malek, though, he’s been flying under the radar. He isn’t in it for the glory, the recognition, at least not yet. That’s too simple, although all human beings are vain. But what he truly wants is power.
I also know there’s a snitch on my end. No way anyone should have known anything about that shipment. I’m looking into that now, but quietly. I, too, am patient.
Once I’m finished, I switch off the shower and grab a towel to dry off before wrapping it low around my hips and returning to the bedroom. Bare stone is smooth, but cold against my bare feet, a carpet only placed around the bed. I make my way to the walk-in closet and pull on a pair of sweatpants and a white V-neck T-shirt. I push my hair back with my fingers, it’s pretty much uncombable, and check my phone. No messages. I type out a text to Angelo. Growing up, he was like a father to me and when I took over the family, I kept him on as my consigliere. I trust him like I trust few people.
I type out a text
Me: Saw dad but he was asleep.
Angelo: Good you got to see him. I’ll go over tomorrow during the day. Visit with him.
Me: Thanks. I’d appreciate that. Probably prefers to see you anyway.
The three little dots on his end start their dance, but disappear for a moment. Then they’re back.
Angelo: That’s the disease, Cassian. You know that.
It’s not wholly the disease, but I let it go. I appreciate my uncle’s thoughtfulness.
Me: You’re right. Let me know how it goes tomorrow.
Angelo: Will do. Night.
I cross the room to the door that adjoins my bedroom with the smaller one and reach up to run my fingers over the frame for the key. Quietly, I slip it into the lock and turn it. The door opens without a sound. This room is cooler than mine. It hasn’t been used in a while and takes a while to heat up. No one stays over. Vivi did for a few weeks, but that was more than two years ago when Seth disappeared. She was still pregnant then.
I push the thoughts of my brother and his family away and step into the small bedroom with its queen size bed, its neutral furnishings. But when I see my Little Moth kneeling on the floor by the door, her back to me, I realize what that scraping sound was. I almost chuckle, but not yet. I watch her for a moment instead.
She’s tiny in this old room with its vaulted ceilings and high arched door. Seeing her like that makes me remember how her brother grabbed her. Makes me realize just how vulnerable she is.
I shake my head to clear the thought, though. She’s not here to be another problem for me to solve. She’s here for reasons I can’t quite explain. Collateral, officially, but unofficially? Perhaps to entertain me while I wait for her brother to return my money? Definitely to keep my bed warm.