Page 83 of Mafia and Gold Digger

That gets me a few answers from him—confirmation through his sobbing that he did hack into the casino server and siphon off the money.

When his answers dry up, it’s time to slice at his arms, leaving the length of them adorned with beautiful cuts.

He begs me to believe that he knows nothing else. But I need to know who he’s working for.

The gag back on, I hear the muffles of his tormented cries as I inflict pain upon pain on him.

And finally, by the time he’s barely conscious, I finally believe that he doesn’t know the identity of who he’s working for. They’ve been smart enough to act via an anonymous channel on the dark web.

Ending Kevin’s miserable life, I toss my blood-soaked knife to the ground. And hitting a number on my cell, I instruct the clean-up crew to get moving.

There is nothing more here for me. Fuck. I shake my head. I’m closer to finding the traitor, but not close enough.

And even though I got to kill someone tonight, my soul isn’t in any way soothed. And instead, I find myself looking forward to going home to Emerald.

* * *

On my way home, I swing by the casino to speak to Christian about my progress with the investigation. At the end, I also update him about the Emerald situation.

Just then, one of our soldiers comes into the office and hears me mention Emerald. “Saint, you marrying Emerald Fiorelli is just a joke, right? Haha, very funny,” Alberto chuckles.

“And what exactly is so funny?” I say in a low, ominous tone. “Because I’m deadly serious.”

But Alberto is as thick as shit and doesn’t take the hint. “Come on, Saint! You can’t be serious. I bet you a hundred grand that you’ll never lower your standards to actually marry someone like Emerald. Ronnie didn’t want her, and well, sheisa bit big. And everyone still calls her a whore and a gold digger, so there must be some truth behind the rumors…”

I take a stride forward, but Christian gets between me and Alberto. “Get the fuck out of here, Alberto,” he growls. And once he’s gone, Christian turns to me. “We need to focus on the Carmine threat. Don’t waste your energy on a dumb fuck like Alberto. You can deal with him later down the line.”

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.

“But judging by that reaction from Alberto and what happened at your shitshow of an engagement party, you and Emerald have still got a hell of a long way to go to convince people that you’re really in love and that she means the world to you.”

“Don’t worry about that, Christian. I’ve got it all under control.”

“She’s not one of your assassination plans,” he says in a careful tone. “She’s a real person with real emotions.”

“So?”

“So, things might not be as simple as you think.”

“Look, Christian, I’ve got her and this situation under control. Just like I’ve always got everything in my life under complete fucking control.”

Yeah, famous last words and all that…

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

SAINT

Emerald has to take her mom to a last-minute appointment to do with getting her into rehab, so I say I’ll take Jaspar and Giulietta to their dentist appointment today—although it’s the last thing I want to be doing. I don’t know how to get on with kids, and it’s definitely not something I’m interested in learning. I know what I’m good at—assassinations and mafia work—and I have absolutely no desire to expand my skillset to include daddy goddamn daycare. Today is an exception, that’s all.

Except that I can’t find Jaspar anywhere. For Christ’s sake…

“Do you know where he is?” I ask Giulietta.

She shakes her head. “He’s scared of the dentist.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of. Can you help me find him?”

“Of course I will, Mr. Saint.” She smiles. Why can’t her brother be as sweet as her?

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