Page 141 of Pink

“Les and—”

“Been a while, Pink,” came a new voice from Lev’s right.

A little further down the street stood two familiar men, waiting in front of a black Hummer that idled on the curb as well. It had been a while since he had a run-in with Corrado Guzzi or the man’s lover, Alessio Sorrento. Assassins for hire, as far as he understood it, Lev could certainly understand how these two men would be beneficial to them for today’s meeting—and beyond, possibly, if that was the plan—but some people just rubbed him wrong.

The man on the left—Alessio—was one of those. He took great pleasure out of poking at Lev in whatever way he could whenever the two of them were in the same vicinity. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t going to be the case this time around because he didn’t have the patience for it. Nor could he promise mercy for Alessio with his current mood.

“It could have been a while more,” Lev replied.

“Don’t be like that,” Alessio replied, grinning just a bit. “You know we like your stupid ass, right?”

Lev gave Andino a look, that his boss did his very best to ignore by staring down the street. Andino knew the fucking hell Alessio gave Lev all too well. “Really, you had to call them in for this?”

“Best men for the job, Pink. And we need the best.”

“But are they?”

“Must be,” Corrado added at his lover’s side down the street, “if Andi’s willing to pay our freelance fee for retrievals on this job.”

“They were also available,” Andino added, his tone sharper than before, “and on very short notice. Say thank you and be done with it. I’m keeping my word, right?”

Beggars can’t be choosers.

He knew that too well.

Right now, they didn’t have the time to go with another route. As it was, Jensen Todrey, and possibly his partner, Marco, were days ahead of them.

With Gigi.

“And just how much is that, anyway?” he asked Andino.

His boss cleared his throat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other when he replied, “The fee?”

“How much will this cost you—or them, how much for them?”

Corrado was the one who spoke up at that time. “Quite a bit to keep it under the radar of our bosses. Which is always the important part when dealing with New York, eh, Andino?”

Andino’s jaw clenched when he muttered, “Usually.”

Yeah.

So, maybe Lev wasn’t the only one who had an issue with the men. While Alessio could give him hell, Corrado was the bane of Andino’s existence. Ever since Corrado’s other spouse, Ginevra, was passed between the New York boss to the assassin pair after his arranged marriage with her failed to be seen through. Yeah, Corrado and Alessio weren’t just a twosome; they also shared a woman between them

But none of that mattered.

To the men down the way, Lev asked, “What’s the rate of success on retrievals if you have a confirmed location?”

Not that they did.

But they might once they had the meeting with Marco. Lev was still convinced the asshole from Cali had somehow protected Jensen either by way of business, money, or connections. Somehow, he helped this to happen. Lev needed to know how.

Corrado arched a brow. “Dead or alive?”

Lev winced. “Never mind. Don’t answer.”

“Fair enough.”

Andino checked his watch, saying quietly, “Cutting it close, boys. And I have a breakfast date with my mother.”