Page 27 of Mafia and Gold Digger

There’s a reason I left this place behind in the first place. Being here is like chasing something you can’t have.

It feels like the ghosts that linger behind me are reaching out, getting closer and ready to steal the very air from my lungs with every second that skips by.

But Christian needs me here. So, here I stay.

The sooner we figure out who’s skimming off the casino and the Imperiosi, the fucking better. The fact that this is happening in the first place is bad enough. But that they’ve covered their tracks tells me it’s someone in the organization.

We just need to turn the pressure up and wait for the traitor to make a mistake and slip up. And when he does, I’ll be waiting with the perfect plan to put a bullet between his fucking eyes.

I pull into a gas station to fill up. But when I come to pay, I find my wallet missing.

For fuck’s sake.

I had it when I paid for my whiskey. It was in my jacket’s inside pocket. I grab my cell and ring the casino. The bar supervisor answers.

“It’s Saint here. Did anyone find my wallet at the casino?”

“As chance would have it, I’ve got it right here. Seems like you must have dropped it.”

Yeah, I’m never that careless. And the inside pocket of my jacket is always buttoned to prevent my wallet from falling out. After a moment’s silence, I ask my next question very carefully. “Who found it?”

“It was Emerald.”

And then I remember her crouching down next to my bar stool when she was cleaning up the petals.Emerald Fiorelli. I should have guessed. Not only does she like to lift dresses, but it seems like she’s also pretty light-fingered when it comes to wallets…

I head straight back to the casino to retrieve what’s mine.

As soon as the supervisor hands it over, I flip it open and scan the contents. Cash, cards—untouched. But my driver’s license is in the wrong pocket. My jaw tightens. Why would she…?

Then it clicks. And I figure out what she was up to.

She wasn’t after money. She wanted information. She wanted to know my name.

I want to scowl.

But a slow grin tugs at my lips.

Because the realization dawns that Emerald Fiorelli is one smart girl. And for some reason, I like that thought…

CHAPTERSIX

SAINT

I haven’t seen Emerald Fiorelli again since the wallet incident. Not that I expected to. After all, I’m only in New York to help Christian.

I go to Luigi’s grocery store for the first time in ages. A lot of the Imperiosi use this place because the owner is connected to the organization.

I need to stock up on dog food, plus I really missed my favorite breakfast cereal while I was in Italy. All the people from the older generation like to talk about the old country like it’s paradise on earth. But I’ve already told Christian that next time, I’m not going to work in any Italian shithole where the local store doesn’t stock Lucky Charms. There are many hardships in life I can endure, but going without my favorite cereal isn’t fucking one of them.

Perusing the cereal aisle, I feel an irrational anger well up in me as I can’t see any Lucky Charms.

They’re fucking out of stock? I’m gonna put a gun to Luigi’s pea-sized brain and end his miserable life right this very second. There is not much in life that riles me up. But a kill going wrong or a lack of Lucky Charms are some of the very few things that can cause a small crack in my cool exterior. And lately, my feathers have also been getting ruffled by a certain green-eyed girl. But I push that thought away. Because I don’t like admitting the effect she has on me…

As I spin on my heel to find Luigi, I catch sight of a single box of my favorite cereal.Thank the fucking Lord.

Looking at the box as I stand there with a stupid smile on my face, I admire the brightly colored packaging, deeply inhaling as I’m convinced I can already smell the delicious scent of the sugary oats and marshmallows.

I reach out to take the box off the shelf.

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