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“Oh, my fucking God.” Enzo shot to his feet and pushed Santino out of the way, before he turned to Lisa. “No one here is buying your sob story. In fact, I don’t even believe you have a daughter.”
“I do have a daughter.”
What? I was one hundred percent buying her story. Lisa definitely knew Ava. She had the timeline right. And she told us something Nathan didn’t know. Her arm was stamped after she left the club. “Lisa, don’t listen to him. I believe you.”
“I believe you too.” Rex stepped away from the door. “I believe you’re here to make money. So, how much do you want?”
“I’m not paying a single cent until she tells us what’s on that memory card.” Enzo leveled Rex with a glare then spoke to Lisa. “Maybe you did what Ava asked you to do and didn’t look at the contents. But weren’t you curious when you found out she was dead? Whatever is on there can’t be worth much if you didn’t think to hand it over to the police and get justice for your so-called friend.”
Damn. I hadn’t thought of that. “Luca? Any more thoughts on this? Apparently, I’m the only one too stupid to see through a bunch of lies.”
“I’m sorry, Donata. I’m with the guys on this one.”
“Really?”
“Think about it.” He shrugged. “Lucky for us, all she wants is money. So how about it?” he asked Lisa. “Tell us what’s on the card and we’ll decide if it’s worth the money.”
“I swear, I don’t know what’s on it.” She placed a hand over her heart.
Fuck. She still looked like she was telling the truth. “But somehow you think we should pay you for it?”
“Lisa.” Luca grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me to him. “The window of opportunity is closing fast. Tell me why I should pay.”
“Fuck.” She clenched her jaw. “Okay. This is the honest and complete truth. Ava didn’t give me the flashcard. I saw her put it in her pocket when she left one of the suites. I thought it was suspicious that she would go into a member’s private suite then come out with a bunch of pictures. My first thought was that she got some dirt on some big wigs. So I followed her to the front door. That’s when I saw her put the “whore” stamp on her wrist.”
“That sounds like the truth.” I peeked at Luca.
“Yeah.” He dipped his head toward her. “What else?”
“Is that not enough?”
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Who was in that room with her?”
“I don’t know who was in suite with her.” She blew out a breath. “All I know was that after I was done clearing tables in the ballroom, a random teenager came in and handed the manager a camera memory card that looked just like the one Ava had.”
“Let me guess, you followed the manager?” Enzo asked.
“Yes.” She put her nose in the air. “If you want to know where he put it, you’ll have to pay.” She paused as she assessed how much money we could put together between all of us. “A hundred thousand dollars.”
“Jesus.” Luca glanced down at his shoes, bracing his hands on his hips. For a minute there I thought he was going to puke or something. When he glanced up, he reached in his pocket and fished out his phone. “Alfred, I need a favor.”
“Are you sure about this?” Enzo stepped in with his back to Lisa. “She’s a really good con artist. You could be walking into an ambush.”
When Santino and Rex joined us, Luca met our gazes. No doubt he realized that he couldn’t make this decision on his own. He needed us for this next clue. Wherever this path led, he had to know it would be dangerous.
“One second, Alfred,” he said into his phone. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I know it’s risky. At best, it could be nothing. At worst, she could be serving us up on a silver platter to Ava’s killer. But I have to try.” He bit his bottom lip. “I told you. I’ve been at this for two years. I’m running out of stones to turn.”
“I say it’s worth the try.” I shrugged.
“Fine.” Enzo returned to his seat.
“I’m in all the way.” Santino raised his brows at Rex. When Rex nodded, Santino patted him on the back. “Didn’t I tell you that whatever Donata was planning, it would be epic.”
“Sex and murder.” He shook his head at me. “I see you haven’t changed.”
“I need a hundred thousand dollars cash,” Luca said to Alfred.
“In a bag,” Lisa called out.
