Page 39 of Love vs The Ooze Monster!
“Why? You think he’s going to say something important?” Boyd highly doubted it.
“No, but he might have some kind of explanation for what he did.” She might not like Rico, but she apparently recalled that Boyd had known him for years. “Maybe he’ll apologize to you or…”
Boyd cut her off. “Apologizefor trying to steal you away from me?” He scoffed. “No. Rico could beg on his knees forever and I’d still put a bullet in his head.”
“He didn’t try to steal me away. He just helped Sylvester with that letter.”
“A letter that was intended to steal you away!” Boyd wasn’t changing his mind. “Rico came after the only thing in the world that matters to me. Nobody lives through a mistake that big.Nobodygets between us and walks away with a heartbeat.”
Mabel tried and failed to look unhappy about his unequivocal pronouncement. “I think you’ve made your position on that very clear. …Soclear, that maybe Rico has already skipped town in terror.”
“Nah.” Boyd casually shook his head. “He knows I’ll kill him, no matter where he runs. So, he’ll be hanging around, looking to kill me first. It’s his only chance to live through the week.”
Mabel blinked. “He’s going to try andmurderyou?”
“Of course.”
Mabel promptly gave up her half-hearted quest for lenience. “Well, we’ll have to kill Rico as soon as possible, then.Today.”
“You think we can fit it into the schedule?” He teased. “I know you’ve got the afternoon packed.”
“It will have to be a priority. Don’t worry. I’m also excellent at organization.” She arched a saucy brow. “It’s why you hired me, after all.”
“In retrospect, that was a wise decision, on a lot of fronts.” He stacked his hands behind his head, lounging back in his chair and basking in his good fortune. “Speaking of which, how long did you run Lew’s business for him?”
There was no other explanation. He saw that now. That old man had gone from a low-level black-marketer to the top gangster in town. …Only he wasn’t the top gangster, at all. His stepdaughter was the criminal mastermind, pulling levers behind the curtain. Lew was the Wizard; a regular guy swept up in a tornado and elevated to mythical greatness.
“I took over when I was twenty-one.” Mabel adjusted her glasses. “After I graduated from college. We had been building for a few years prior, but that was the jumping off point for real growth. Prohibition was when I hit my stride, though.”
“Much to your daddy’s delight, I’m sure.”
“Lew did seem satisfied with my work, yes.” Now, she was just fishing for compliments. Without Lew there hadn’t been anyone to appreciate her cleverness. The lack of recognition must have been traumatizing for an overachieving woman like Mabel. “In fact, he said he’d never been prouder of anybody.”
“I don’t doubt it. I think me and Lew were a lot alike. I’m feeling pretty proud of you, too.”
She preened a bit and it was cute as a button. “Why thank you, Boyd.”
He bit back a grin. “What exactly did Lew leave you for your inheritance, anyway? Seems like you already had everything well in hand.”
“He left me Volstead, of course.” She lifted a shoulder, as if it was obvious. “He said the Irving syndicate was too small. He said controlling the entire town was my destiny and I needed to claim it. He left me the resources to make it happen, but he expected me to do the rest.” She became fascinated with a spot on the wall. “And he suggested I might want a partner.”
Oh, Boyd liked that. “Yeah?”
“Possibly, he talked about you quite a bit.”
“He told you I was The One.” Boyd reminded her.
“Possibly.” Hazel eyes flicked back over to his face, still a little wary. “Do you think you’d be interested in a partnership with me? I would be willing to give you half of the truck depot and railroad head, if you gave me half the docks.”
“I’m already in a partnership with you. I have been for months. The docks don’t run without you, Mabe.”
She smiled at him. “I feel like we make a good pair, too. I wouldn’t be nearly as effective at organizing, if you weren’t there to smooth the public-facing aspects of the business.”
“I whack people.” He translated.
“No! Not just that. You understand the relationships and the deal making. You’re very charming. People like you, when you’re not hitting them.”
“Just soyoulike me.”
