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“Are you fucking John Davis?”
“No.”
“Are you spying on the Parisi family?”
Christ, is that what they believe? “No.”
“Have you ever been approached by anyone to spy on the Parisi family?”
“No.”
And so it goes, until Luca runs out of questions. I’m a bit surprised he didn’t ask about me and Fabio; guess that means the family doesn’t know. And what that means, I don’t know. But since Luca didn’t ask, I’m not going to volunteer the information.
Luca removes the equipment from my body, and I fall back in my chair with relief.
The men exchange something in Italian as Luca types on his computer. After what feels like a lifetime, Luca announces, “She passed.”
Thank. Fuck.
Romeo pins me to my chair with those hard eyes of his; I couldn’t move, even if I wanted to. “Congratulations, Katerina. You get to walk out of here alive. Want to stay alive?”
“Yes.” I nod furiously.
“Then get yourself invited to that poker room again. I want to know all of the players. The dealers. The bartenders. The organizers. I want to know about the games. The stakes. The rake. No detail is too small. Understood?”
I gulp. “I’ll try my best.”
“Let’s hope your best is good enough,” he says matter-of-factly. Someone knocks on the door. “Enter,” Romeo calls.
“Boss?” Enzo says, sticking his head in the room.
“Deliver Kat back to AC. In good condition.”
“Thank you,” I say in a rush.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Romeo waves his hand, and with that, I’m dismissed.
Standing with shaky legs, I walk out of the room and down the hall with Enzo, stepping outside. He holds open the SUV door for me. “Hey, you’re alive. That’s a good sign.”
I respond by puking everywhere.
Fabio
“Boss?” I knock on Romeo’s office door.
“Enter.”
I step inside, and Romeo motions for me to have a seat across from his desk next to Sam. “Boss. Sam. What about Katerina Stefanos?” I ask, feeling like I might throw up.
“Katerina’s been tasked with getting back inside John Davis’ poker room,” Romeo tells me.
“You think she’s dirty?” My dumbass heart desperately wants him to say no.
Romeo drums his fingers on his desk before saying, “She passed the polygraph; I would say she’s clean, but after Sergio and Matteo betrayed the family, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Keep a close eye on her. If you need to turn the screws, then do so.”
“Boss, Katerina was the one who helped me flush out a pair of cheaters in one of our backrooms. I offered her a job as pit boss to help me clean things up, but that was before I discovered…” That she stabbed me right in the heart. “That she might be compromised.”
Romeo leans back in his chair, considering. “Watch Katerina for a few days to see if anyone makes contact with her; if no one does, bring her on board as pit boss,” he orders, and I raise an eyebrow in confusion. “We keep our friends close and our enemies closer. If she is a plant by John Davis, let him think he’s got an in. We’ll float Katerina some misinformation, and see if we can flush him out that way.”
