Page 9 of The Kingpin's Call Girl

“AndI like old books. I like to read them.”

“Old books.” There’s more where that came from, and apparently, I just can’t stop myself. I raise my brows, waiting.

“I have a memory for random old things,” she adds.

“Random old things,” I say.

“Yes.”

I’m about to go at her harder when I feel Orton’s gaze on me.

We’re here for a reason, and it’s not antagonizing some little hooker.

“I still remember the score in the third inning of the final game of the World Series when I was ten,” one of the other hookers offers.

“I remember my address from when I was four,” Gianni says.

Dardan’s hooker has fixed her gaze on the breadbasket.

She hates us with the fury of a thousand suns—she really does. I hated criminals once. I can barely remember what that was like.

“Any questions about the upcoming operations?” Orton asks, getting us back on track. “Ask now, or you all have my number.”

People nod. There’s logistical chat, but Ghost has something to say—it’s obvious from the way he cranes his neck forward.

I raise my brows at him.

“Mr. Zogaj—” Ghost begins.

“Luka,” I say.

“Luka,” Ghost whispers like he’s summoning the dark lord instead of just saying my fucking name.

I sit back and steeple my hands.Here it is,I think.What everyone wants to ask. What did my brother do to deserve what I did to him?It’s the million-dollar question.

“Speak up,” Orton says.

Ghost straightens. “The men are just curious about the beef with your brother.”

“And you’re curious, too,” I say.

Ghost gives a half-shrug. “It’s just that... nobody knows what he did...”To deserve such a terrible death,he means.

Ghost asking the hard questions. I make a mental note: This guy is leadership material.

“You want the story,” I say. “You want to avoid the same fate.”

Ghost nods.

Expectant gazes fix on me.

When there’s some gruesome violence seemingly out of nowhere, people want to know why. It’s a hardwired human instinct and the reason people turn their heads when they pass an accident.

What did they do to make it happen?

“Do you know what loyalty is?” I ask Ghost.

He punches his fist to his heart, a distinctly Albanian gesture.

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