“There’s twenty G’s in it for you,” Luciano said, the bite in his voice replaced with the charm Simone had come to appreciate.
“I don’t want boodle.”
“Twentylegit, Willie Boy. But you gotta set up a meeting for tomorrow. If not, the deal’s off.”
“Christ, why do you have to be such a dick?”
Luciano cracked a smile. “Make it happen.” He hung up, regarded Simone. “If Willie Boy doesn’t come through, I’ll put the heat on Newburg. Either he ordered the hit on Guy Chenkus or he knows who did. I’m out of patience.”
Simone couldn’t agree more.
Later that afternoon,while squirreled away in Luciano’s office, Simone was reading through posts in a private chat groupon the dark web. Luciano had accessed several groups that supported terrorism. Some were haters of democracy, others were disrupters—anarchist groups and conspiracy theorists.
As she was reading, one comment caught her eye. “Who loves creating chaos and destruction?” It was authored by Inferno531.
Several members of the group had responded, but it was Inferno531’s response that prompted her to say, “Luciano, come check this out.”
He stood behind her, his charisma and essence filling the small space. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled aside her hair, and kissed her ear.
“What did you find?” The irresistible timbre of his voice, paired with his warm lips pressed against her skin, sent a frisson of delight racing through her.
She swiveled toward him, placed her hands on his cheeks, and kissed him. “Hi.” She kissed him again. “I found two comments by Inferno531.” She read the first comment to him, “‘Who loves creating chaos and destruction?’ and his response, “I’m going to create terror in America that will be remembered for centuries. It’s a project of epic proportion and I’m working day and night to make it happen. Get ready, ‘cause here I come.’”
Simone started typing in the chat. “I want in. I want to be a part of a history where America gets crippled to its knees. No, its ass. LOL!”
“Nice,” Luciano said.
“He’s never responded to anyone,” Simone said. “He just rants and posts threats, but I’ve gotta try.” She hit, Post Comment. Seconds later, her post went live in the group under Luciano’s group name, TheDevil.
Luciano’s phone rang. He answered. “Santini.”
“Don’t you see it’s me calling?” Teddy asked, his booming voice filling the room.
“I was talking to Simone and?—”
“With gaga eyes?”
Simone laughed. “I’m not sure I’d use that to describe your brother.”
“He’s pussy whipped.”
Luciano smiled. “There’s a lady here, Theodore.”
“Yeah, the one who’s got you whipped.”
Again, Simone laughed. “Thank you, Teddy. That was perfect.”
“Rough afternoon?”
“Slow going,” she replied.
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Teddy said. “Which first?”
“You decide,” Luciano replied.
“Bad news first. I couldn’t lift a print from the sign on Simone’s front door. He wasn’t wearing gloves, but I got nothing.”
“Dammit,” Luciano bit out.
