Page 30 of Giovanni the Savage

“Listen, Luna.” He crouches to my level once again, bathing me in his bad breath. “If you want to help daddy pay back his debts, you’re going to have to help me since you don’t exactly have the money.”

Like I didn’t fucking know that.

“Help is a strong word,” I mutter. “I’m only doing this for my brother’s life and mine.”

I expect another slap from him, but he surprises me with a clap.

“Even better.” His eyes shine with pride like I just finished a rendition. “Better means more personal.”

What’s this man on about?

“You’re probably wondering what I mean.”

Duh?

He snaps his fingers, and another guy walks into the room. He gives the smelly guy a piece of paper and drops it on my lap.

“Giovanni Matthieson,” I read.

“Ever heard of him?” He stubs out his cigarette while looking at me.

“No,” I answer truthfully.

“That’s a bummer.” He pouts. “Might have made your job easier.”

What's with bad guys and pouting?

“But don’t you worry, it’s not a deal breaker,” he assures me.

“What do you want from me?”

“Atta girl,” he commends.

“This man here is a bad, terrible guy. And he has so much power. Power that would be useful to me.”

How does this pay off the debt?

“You’re probably wondering how you come in.” He smirks. “To get that power, we need all the dirty information we can get from him. That’s the only way to bring him down.”

I raise a brow at him.

“Your job is to get that information,” he deadpans, and I blank.

You’ve got to be kidding me!

His words stun me into silence.

“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask the obvious.

He laughs and stands up. “That’s for you, to figure out, missy. You’re a genius, that should be easy.”

“I don’t …”

“Five months,” he barks and turns to me. “That’s all the time you have to get us that information.”

“What? How? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to get!”

“Shhh,” he coos. “You’ll figure that out.”

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