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I grin. “I was just trying to make conversation. Of course, I know. I also know you’re only getting a certificate versus a degree, so you’ll be done soon. It’s taken you longer because you have to work so often.”
She rolls her eyes and digs into her food, moaning around a mouthful of the maple glazed sausage. She doesn’t speak again until she’s finished the entire thing.
“Okay, so you know I have nothing going on today. Do you still need me?”
“Need. Mm. No. Do I want you to work with me? Yes.”
“Right, because I’m not important enough to be needed. I forgot.”
“Don’t you understand, Mariella? It’s better to be wanted, to be desired.”
Her eyes flicker from me to her plate, but she doesn’t say anything else, choosing to focus on her food. “Can I at least go home for a few hours before I start my new job?”
“Sure. Reynaldo is on his way.”
She grits her teeth but doesn’t argue.
We eat in relative silence until she gets up and excuses herself to her room. While she’s upstairs, Reynaldo arrives.
“Hey, boss,” he greets, strolling through the kitchen in a pair of black jeans and a burnt orange Polo shirt.
“Hey, Rey,” I say, getting up from the table. “Follow me to my office.”
We leave the kitchen, crossing the hardwood floor through the living room until we reach the door to my office.
“What’s going on?” he asks once we’re inside.
“Mariella.”
“Ah,” he says, inclining his head as he sits in the black, swivel armchair in front of my desk. “What’s happening there?”
“Well, I need you to be by her side for a while. She’s not gonna say anything”—I state with confidence as I sit behind my desk—“and we have some cops in our pocket anyway, so I’m unconcerned, but we need to keep her in our sights.”
“How much does she know?”
“She knows who I am—whoweare. She knows what I did last night. That’s about it.”
“So, just keep an eye on her?”
“Yeah. I don’t think thatcabronfrom last night was the only person sent by Donati. We’re reviewing footage, but if she was seen…”
“I got it.”
I nod. “Good. She’s ready to go home for a few hours, but she’ll be working with me today, so bring her to the casino around five.”
Rey stands. “You should know Jian seems to be planning something.”
“Planning what?”
He tilts his head from side to side, deciding how much to say. “Francesco has a new wife. She’s a lot younger than him.”
I sigh, squeezing the bridge of my nose. “I’ll talk to him. We have too much going on right now. I know he thinks that will be the way to go, but I guarantee I have it figured out.”
Francesco Donati is the head of the Morello family. He’s a man in his fifties with a head of mostly silver hair, a permanent scowl, and hatred etched deep into his soul. He’s been through three wives, two of which were under suspicious circumstances.
“You know how he is.”
I nod with an exhale. “Anyway, Khalid is meeting with O’Clery later. They’ve been having issues in Newsanois with some new gang. Apparently, they’re targeting their pubs and strip clubs. So far it’s small-time stuff, a broken window, graffiti, shit like that.”
