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3
MICELI
The person who sat before me for an interview wasn’t Collins Attwood, not in a million years. Her streaked, ash-colored hair had been chopped into a neat, yet unorthodox bob, showing off the sharp angles of her face. She had gorgeous grey eyes, tilted slightly at the corners, a button nose turned up slightly at the tip and bow-shaped lips. She wore no makeup, yet in my estimates, she didn’t need any. There was a youthfulness about her I enjoyed, and dare say, craved. When she opened her mouth to speak, she surprised me with her firm and exacting tone. Almost as if she wielded her words as a scalpel, exposing people’s superiority complexes and their weaknesses.
A major turn on for me.
I liked people who weren’t afraid to give as good as they got. If it meant taking them down a piece at a time, even better. This world I lived in—dog eat dog—I’d rather be the one feasting than being feasted on.
Though I couldn’t properly place her, she was familiar to me. Of course, I entertained hundreds if not thousands of people over the years for charity events and social gatherings, so my intuition could be off. There was also the fact I’d seen a girl about her age plastered across news sites for the last ten months.Stephanie Hollis... Her parents, Theo Hollis and Sylvia Hollis, were killed in their home by unknown assailants. During the investigation, it was uncovered that Mr. Hollis had stolen several million dollars from his clients. Thankfully, that didn’t include me. Everything about my business was handled in-house.
Including accounting.
The reasons for their deaths weren’t here or there. I worried about the children. If my calculations were correct, Stephanie would be in her early twenties and their son, Kyle, was in his late teens. I’d only met them a few times at social events, but the children were polite and well mannered. Maybe precocious. Stephanie had this air about her... A commanding presence for such a young girl. Meeting Collins this morning brought back fond memories and reminded me so much of Theo’s daughter.
As I glanced at the clock on my desk, I frowned. I’d been sitting in the same spot for three hours and hadn’t gotten a thing done. Had I been so consumed by my thoughts, I forgot about everything else? I pushed away from my desk and stood. I couldn’t shake the idea I was missing something important.
When I received the email from Collins Attwood, I’d done a basic background check. The fact I found nothing should have been a red flag, but I was growing desperate by the day. I had to fill the position post haste to protect my daughter.
Rocca’s bodyguard, Benny, confirmed another attempt on my daughter’s life when they returned home in the middle of the night two weeks ago. As it was, I already lost four of my men to whoever was still determined to wipe me out. I wasn’t saying in my line of work I didn’t have enemies. I had them in spades. My life wasn’t conducive to having kids or a wife. Even after leaving my previous position. I knew the shadow of my past would always remain at my back, pressing down on me.
Yet, I tried.
I loved Rosalina more than life itself. When I met her, I’d been a cruel, deadly shell of a man. She taught me how to love. How to live. She changed me on the most visceral of levels.Shebrought me out of the bleak existence where I dwelled for so many years. Gave me the chance to change the direction my life was headed in and the ability to grab hold of what I’d been offered. It was how I built Daidone Holdings, LLC, becoming who I am today.
None of it meant shit to me anymore, since the day my wife died in my arms because of some stupid vendetta.
Now, the same feud was trying to take my daughter. Turn me back into the rabid beast I once was for the Syndicate of Families. They only pushed me closer to using the polished pearl handled 9mm I kept in my locked bedside table, on myself. I’d never return to my former life. Never see the splatters of red on my palms or feel the stinging bite of cracked knuckles. I’d never watch as the light of life left a ‘target’s’ body, because I’d been tasked with eliminating them. I also wouldn’t accept wads of tainted cash because I’d been the winner of some bet I didn’t know existed.
Life was not some twenty-dollar wager another person could place.
Hence why I was at home.
Rocca, until further notice, needed to stay here with me. I could protect her. This house, though it didn’t seem like much, was a veritable fortress. The layout was done to add as much protection as it did functionality. Bulletproof walls could be extended or retracted to protect anyone inside. Entire rooms could be sealed off.
This was my high ground.
As I glanced out the window overlooking the side yard and driveway to the caretaker’s quarters, I spotted the shoddy vehicle Collins had been driving. There was no way she could continue to use that car. She’d stick out like a sore thumb should she need to leave the property. No, she’d have to drive one of my vehicles for now. Which reminded me. I wanted Soren to do a deeper background investigation into Collins. There was nothing to say she was there to cause harm. Quite the opposite. She looked like a frightened rabbit ready to bolt the whole time she sat in my office.
Slipping my phone from my pocket, I unlocked the device and scrolled through my contacts. When I found Soren’s number, I hit send. When he answered, I skipped the formal greetings. “Soren, I need your help.”
“When don’t you, old friend?” The man chuckled. The squeak of a door closing followed Soren sitting down, I supposed, at his desk. “What can I do for you this time?”
“Interesting way to form a question...” Shoving my hand in my pocket, I paced the length of my office. “I have an interesting case if you’re curious and available.”
He grunted. “Well, I can’t say you don’t have me on the edge of my seat, Miceli. You don’t call me unless something bad has happened. I take it this is the opposite?”
“Quite,” I murmured. “I ran a small background check on a potential employee, however meeting her today, I’m questioning what I found.”
“See, this is why I get paid the big money.” He sighed. “Give me her information. How deep do you want the check?”
“Everything you can find. Also, find out if there is a connection between her and Stephanie Hollis.”
“Shit,” Soren breathed. “That’s fucking suicide. Do you know how hot the Hollis case is?”
I did. From what I’d gathered, besides what the police investigators wanted people to know, it was a hit. Stephanie, Kyle, Theo, and Sylvia were supposed to die that day, though they believed now the children were also dead. I wasn’t too sure. “Yes. You’re the only one who can grease the right palms to find out what’s really going on.”
“You give me too much credit,” he replied. “But I’ll do it. Something’s been gnawing at the back of my mind about the case since it was splashed all over the news. We’re not getting the full picture.”
