Page 67 of Stalking Ginevra

My hand drifts toward my belt, ready to indulge in a replay of the pleasure I took in marking her as mine. Next time, I’ll make her suck me off while I drown in her juices, time our climaxes so we both come in a simultaneous rush. I make a mental note to buy a set of orange paws to match her ears and tail.

A sharp knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. My smirk fades, replaced by a scowl. Who the hell would dare interrupt my private time with Ginevra?

Forcing back a surge of annoyance, I pause the video.

“What?” I bark.

The door opens, and Enzo Vitale steps inside, carrying a thick folder. He’s one of the more promising boys from Mortis House, with a knack for spotting patterns others miss.

Sitting straighter, I smooth out my features. He wouldn’t interrupt unless it was important.

“We’ve got a problem,” he says with a gulp.

I lean forward, all thoughts of Ginevra receding. The boys have spent the entire morning performing audits on the departments. We already analyzed the data our hackers extracted from the casino’s financial systems months before the raid. This has to be something new.

“What is it?” I demand.

Vitale drops the folder onto my desk. “Counterfeit chips. It’s the biggest financial drain on the casino. They’re flooding the floor.”

Cold fury explodes in my gut. I rise, pushing the chair back with enough force to make it squeal against the floor. “Show me.”

Nodding, Vitale turns on his heel, leading the way out of the office. As we walk, Franco Lorenzo joins us. Lorenzo is another from Mortis House, also majoring in accountancy.

We descend from my office, taking the private elevator that drops us onto the ground floor. The noise and lights hit like a wall, but I push through, my focus honed on the financial drain.

Lorenzo outlines how the counterfeit chips have slipped past our security checks. “They’ve been mixed in with the legitimate ones, swapped during busy hours when the floor is packed. We traced the flow, and it’s been happening for months, maybe years.”

The more he talks, the colder my rage burns. Every time a scammer cashes one of those chips, the casino bleeds cash. What I don’t understand is how Capello allowed that to happen. Or was the theft his way of rewarding those who defected from Dad?

We exit the staff door and step into the public area, steeped in the clamor of the casino, but I’m only focused on finding the source of this theft.

We pass the main bar, and I spot Carla Romano, a cocktail waitress on my personal payroll. Reaper planted her here years ago to keep an eye on the casino. She’s a petite brunette, whose sharp eyes miss nothing, and has a way of blending in that makes her invisible to the untrained eye.

I signal for Carla to follow, leading us to a quieter corner away from prying ears, and more importantly, the cameras.

“What do you know about counterfeit chips?” I ask.

Carla hesitates, her eyes flicking between me and the boys. “The old head of security knew about them. From the way he talked, it was just a few thousand bucks leaving the casino. He said it was under investigation.”

I scoff.

Her brows furrow. “That was a lie?”

The boys flanking me both nod.

She rubs her chin. “I didn’t realize it was this big. I guess he was hiding his scam in plain sight.”

Eyes narrowing, I turn my thoughts to the arrogant fucker I had to subdue. “And the new guy?”

She shifts on her feet, her gaze dropping to the floor. “Malfi? He worked closely with the old boss. He had to know.”

I nod. “Back to work.”

Carla deflates with relief and scurries away. But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

Hours later, after gathering more intel, we head out to the home of Albert Malfi, a modest apartment a mile away from the casino. The four of us—Vitale, Lorenzo, and two others from Mortis House—approach the building in a bulletproof vehicle. I still need to take precautions, since Cesare and Roman still haven’t resolved that bullshit with the assassins.

The street is quiet, but my mind is a storm. If I don’t fix this shit with the chips, I may as well hand the casino back to Roman.