Page 15

I listen as the auctioneer issues instructions on how the bids will work and how to put one in. I look at Bruno, who nods to acknowledge he’s been listening while I haven’t been.

Andrea turns to leave, catches my eye, and nods. He walks away confidently with his little group following. He thinks he has this in the bag, but he couldn’t be more mistaken. As Michael Russo walks off with Guilia tied to his hip, Cosimo waits a moment before following.

Bruno doesn’t ask where our brother is going; he knows we spoke and Cosimo is doing whatever I asked him to. He taps my elbow to get my attention and nods toward the exit. I straighten my suit jacket and hold my head high as I stride out of the casino.

We get into our cars, but Cosimo is nowhere to be seen. He most likely arranged a car after I spoke to him. It wouldn’t have taken him long.

Bruno shuts the car door. “You look happy,” he says sarcastically.

“Andrea thinks he has this buy in the bag.”

“He can’t be further from the truth,” Bruno chuckles. “He’s cocky and arrogant, but he isn’t pulling this off, not while I’ve got my finger on it.”

I notice some papers in his hand. “That from the auctioneer?” I ask.

“We’ll look at it when we’re home,” he responds. “Rest assured the Bianchis will not come out on top with this.”

I smirk and look out of the window thinking about the girl.

Once home, we retire to my study, which is bigger than Bruno’s and more comfortable. He is so OCD and rigid I can never relax in his space. Bruno lays out the papers on the coffee table and starts to go over the finer details of the bid while my bodyguard Romeo pours each of us a fifth of whisky.

“We can review the documents and then put in our bid immediately,” Bruno explains as he picks up the first page. “It’s stock standard purchase contracts. We’ll get everything in the casino, the building, the land, everything inside from the machines to the point of sale. Everything.”

“Sounds like it will make things easier. We inventory everything, do some redecorating and reopen. A couple of months max.” I sip my whiskey.

Bruno moves onto the second page. “They’re looking for a minimum bid of eighty-nine million dollars,” he comments. “That’s peanuts really. They must be desperate.”

“They’ll probably be asking more for the others,” I point out. “At least a billion a piece. They’re bigger and contain more.”

Bruno looks thoughtful. “That is true. So do we forgo this one?”

“Absolutely not,” I say as I sit back and take out my phone to check for messages from Cosimo. I put it away. “We must own all three.”

“Right,” Bruno confirms and goes onto page three.

We spend two hours going through every single page of the ninety-page contract. We move quickly because this is what Bruno is good at: business law and industrial psychology. His two majors for his degree in business management.

We go through half a bottle of whiskey between us before Cosimo’s name appears on my screen. Not a text, a call. I stand and motion to Bruno to wait for me as I walk to the window on the opposite side of the room.

“What have you got for me? That didn’t take long.”

“Yeah, well, a sleazy asshole will do what a sleazy asshole will do, unless he has his ass kicked.”

“Tell me,” I say, a small smirk playing on my lips.

“Well, they left the casino together, alone. Russo and that Bianchi girl. They went back to his estate, and I have to say I think he’s overcompensating for something, honestly.”

“Cosimo…”

“Right, stay on track. Well, they had drinks on the veranda and then next thing I know Russo’s making a move on the girl. She told him to stop, but he refused to and got violent.”

My smirk is gone instantly, and I growl. “What the fuck did he do?”

“Don’t worry, the girl kicked his ass. She probably has a couple of bruises and what looks like is going to be a black eye. Possibly a cracked rib cause he kicked her, but she walked out of that house without being raped by that tiny dicked asshole.” Cosimo chuckles softly. “It was beautiful to watch.”

“Where is the girl now?” I ask instantly. “Did she get a ride home? He’ll be looking for her.”

“He hasn’t left the house. He’s sitting on the veranda with a bag of peas on his balls.” Cosimo chuckles again. “But she’s walking home. She must have forgotten her phone there or something because she didn’t call for a driver.”