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“It’s my recipe, but Luca gave me a few pointers.” Mom clasped her hands in front of her and rocked on her heels as she awaited the verdict.
Marco gave mom a tight-lipped smile as he chewed, and Frankie bobbed his head, shoveling more in his mouth.
“Oh, good.” Mom beamed at me. “I’m going to head to bed.”
As she turned to leave, I called out, “You’re staying here?”
She looked over her shoulder with a frown. “Obviously. We have a month of not talking to make up for. Tomorrow, you can fill me in on what happened to Malcolm. Maxine called and told me Ashley was beside herself. I can’t imagine.”
I watched her flounce from the room, knowing there was absolutely nothing I could say to make this little sleepover not happen. Mom may have been working with a therapist, but that didn’t mean boundaries would suddenly be respected.
“This is pretty damn good,” Frankie mumbled around his fork.
“I’m glad my mom’s cooking meets your standards.” I crossed my arms and asked, “Why are you here?”
Marco wiped his mouth with a napkin and set it next to his plate. “We need to talk.”
“Okay?” The doorbell rang yet again, and I groaned. “Who the hell is that? Adriana finally showing her face?”
“She’s in Chicago.” Marco grimaced and quickly left the room.
Frankie gathered their dirty plates and put them in the dishwasher. As he washed his hands, he said, “We should go to the office.”
“What’s going on?” I leaned against the counter, unmoved by his annoyed sigh.
“Go to the office, and you’ll find out.” Frankie gestured for me to lead the way.
I shoved off the island and shuffled down the hall. The sound of low voices floated from Luca’s office, and I groaned. Pushing the door open, my shoulders slumped. “Why?”
Joey and Aldo turned away from the drink cart, crystal tumblers in hand.
“Good to see you too, Sasha.” Joey raised his glass toward me before taking a swing.
I made a beeline for Luca’s chair behind the desk and threw myself into it. Flopping my hand in a come-and-get-it motion, I said, “Hit me with it.”
The door clicked closed, and Frankie nodded at Marco.
“We’re all set to take out Cy Halloween night.” Marco gracefully sat in the wingback in front of the desk. “Frankie lined up a guy, and Cy has given us the perfect opportunity to carry out the hit.”
A cautious smile pulled at my lips. “So why the need for this late-night meeting?”
Joey leaned against the wall, clearly enjoying Luca’s top-shelf scotch. “We need you to get Beth to fall in line ASAP. Nothing we’ve done has swayed her, and we need our permits in place immediately. The opening needs to happen as planned to give us all an alibi. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for another opportunity for the jackass to put himself in a vulnerable situation.”
“What’s so special about Halloween?” I tapped my nails on the desk, realizing I'd never asked any questions. I'd been so content that we were moving up the timeline on Luca coming home that the details didn’t matter to me.
Frankie grinned. “It’s Cy’s birthday, and he’s throwing himself a party at the strip club he just bought.”
“A club that the Chronis brothers have no stake in,” Marco added with a smirk.
From the drink cart, Aldo flatly said, “So it’s not on Chronis-protected territory. In fact, it’s two blocks deep into Moretti property.”
“Oh wow.”
Joey smiled. “Yeah. He kind of handed his head to us on a platter, which makes it even more important that you handle the mayor. We’ll be hard-pressed to have such a public alibi as the casino opening and the cover of a huge party for taking Cy out in the champagne room. After this mess with Luca, we need to make sure we’re all above suspicion.”
“And it doesn’t hurt that he’ll assume he’s safe.”
Frankie scoffed. “That fucker thinks he’s untouchable.”
“His arrogance will be the death of him. The Chronis brothers have signed off on the plan and will be attending the casino opening. We’ll all be present and accounted for when the body’s found.” Marco finished his drink and set the glass on the desk. “Then Tootsie and Zoe come home, and Luca is released.”
“It’s almost over.” I collapsed back into the leather chair.
“As long as you handle Beth,” Joey reminded me with a smirk.
“At this point, I’ll kill the bitch if she doesn’t get in line.”
