Page 27 of Devil's Deal

“It is,” I replied. It was weird having an inane conversation, knowing that I was about to blow up the easy camaraderie we’d shared. It had been nice not feeling so alone, at least for a minute.

Chapter

Ten

BOSLEY

As Cory swungthe door to the belfry open, I wasn’t sure if I was happy or sad. I’d almost expected his place to be as bright and garish as the rest of the hotel, but it was all creams, dark and light browns, and comfortably soothing. His place was one wide open room with steepled ceilings, and the whole street-facing wall was panes of glass. “Wow.” I whistled. “I bet it gets bright in here during the day.”

He forced a laugh. “They’re frosted, so it’s not as bad as you might think, but I love how light it is.”

I continued my perusal. His couch faced the wall to the right, where he had a widescreen TV and a bookshelf. The refrigerator and stove were to the left with a counter and sink between. “This is some set-up.”

He hovered in the center of the room, uncertain. “Thanks. Make yourself at home. I’m going to throw on sweats and a t-shirt.”

He went to a wardrobe that sat next to a queen-sized bed and grabbed his clothes, then went to a door that was on the other side of the stove and closed himself in. I’d have happily divested him of his clothing, but he looked troubled. If he needed to talk first, that was fine.

He’d had another break-in, despite the guys I’d brought in, and that had to be nerve-wracking for him. I wasn’t too happy myself. Dante had run through their protocol, and they hadn’t missed anything I would’ve done, which was frustrating.

I headed over to the bookcase where I spied a collection of framed photos. Curiosity pulled at me. Who rated being on display where he’d be able to see them from his couch? Two were of Cory with an older gentleman that I assumed was his late husband. He also had a picture of the man by himself, smiling off in the distance in amusement. Before I could think too much about how handsome the guy was and how happy Cory had looked, I studied the other photos.

To the right was a picture of Cory with a woman who resembled him with a small boy in her arms. It was the center picture that drew my attention the most. I’d have expected it to be his deceased husband, but instead, it was a teenage boy. He looked a lot like the grown-up version of the little boy in the woman’s arms in the previous photo.

When I heard Cory open the bathroom door, I pointed at the picture of the kid. “Who’s that?”

He sighed, came over, and stood next to me. “That’s Emilio, my nephew.”

“He’s a cute kid. You close to him and your sister?”

When he didn’t say anything, I turned toward him. He looked up at me with glistening eyes. “He disappeared four years ago, right after his eighteenth birthday.”

The hell?This sweet man couldn’t catch a break. I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Cory, I’m so sorry.”

He smiled tightly, then moved away from me and went to one of the massive windows, staring out. “That’s actually why I asked you up.”

“About your nephew?” I asked, unsure what he thought I could do about a kid who’d been missing for that long. I actually probably could, but Cory wouldn’t know that. He didn’t know that part of my real job often included tracking down the trash who didn’t want to be found and putting them into the ground.

“No.” He turned toward me and crossed his arms defensively across his chest. “About those guys you brought into my hotel. Dante and his sidekicks.”

“Okay, now I’m really confused,” I said, starting to feel a little defensive myself.

Cory ran a shaking hand through his hair. “Look, I know you think I’m all quirky and silly. That I’m over here running my hotel without a clue about the real world, but I know some things. I’ve been through some things, Bosley. I’m not some naïve kid.”

Holding up my hands in a surrender gesture, I said, “I never said you were.”

He jabbed a finger in my direction. “No, but you thought I was or you never would’ve brought a bunch of mobsters into my hotel.”

My mind spun. How the hell would he know who those guys were? This wasn’t the type of crowd he ran with. And I knew sure as shit that Nico or Dante would’ve told me if they’d had any affiliation with The Gin Mill or its owner.

Cory whirled around. “See. You don’t even know what to say because you didn’t think I’d have a clue what type of men they are.”

Wanting to understand him without giving anything away, I made my way slowly to his couch and sat down. “Why don’t you tell me what you think you know.”

He stomped over to the bookshelf I’d just left and picked up the picture of him, his sister, and his nephew. “My sister was a kept woman. My nephew only saw his father when it was convenient for Frederic to get away and play house. I know all about hisFamily.” He said the end in air quotes.

Casually crossing one leg over the other, I asked, “And what Family would that be?”

“The Pasinis. Tell me you don’t know who I’m talking about.”

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