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He hands me a photograph, and my mouth drops open. This was taken two years ago at Benny Blues, one of the dirtiest underground clubs I’ve ever been to. Syphilis had to have been running rampant there.
I was there to meet Benny himself. Daddy had lost the house in a game of poker. Thing is, we didn’t have the title to the house anymore. The deed he’d put on the table was an old copy from before it was remortgaged.
“What can you offer me that’s better than his life?” Benny had asked.
I’m not even sure how I was able to come up with anything at all. But that night, I gambled too. “A fraction of the Lima shipments, six months’ worth, for you to sell. It will be too small for them to notice. But enough that you could make a small fortune. Much more than my house is worth.”
Lima never discovered the theft, because I lessened his loss by taking small amounts from others. Taking from Peter to pay Paul. The gamble paid off, but every night, I felt the sense of being on the run, even though I wasn’t going anywhere. Fucking terrifying.
“I only did what I had to in order to survive. It was never by choice,” I hiss.
“We always have a choice, Carina. Just like when you married Sinacore.” He cocks his head as he studies me. “If you ask me, I believe you enjoyed it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been good at manipulating your circumstances. But you felt guilty about it, so you remained poor when you could have had it all.”
“I didn’t ask you,” I retort, not liking that he’s voiced something I wondered about myself on more than one occasion.
We stare at each other intensely, all evidence of amusement gone from him. And damn, but it’s hard not to look away. Not when I feel scrutinized, sized up. As if he’s trying to assess how much trouble I’m going to cause him.
Suddenly, I’m panting as if I’ve run a mile. Sweat beads on my upper lip and trickles down my back, but I still don’t look away.
Then, as if he’s figured out whatever it is he needs, his lips curve up. “Where is your father?”
Taken aback by his question, I frown. “My father? What do you want—” Before I finish my question, I realize the answer. “It’s not Luca you want.”
“Oh, I want him too. He’s been a thorn in my side long enough. The time has come to extricate him. But I have a list with your father’s name at the very top, and I’d like to cross it off.”
“A list? Why would he be on that?”
“Why the fuck do you think?” he snaps. Then, as if trying to calm himself, he takes a deep breath and adjusts his tie. “I’m sorry to be the one to inform you, sweetheart, but when my father was tied up in front of a firing squad of traitors, Gregorio fired the first shot. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”
I shake my head in denial. “Daddy wouldn’t kill anyone.” Cheat, lie, and steal, sure. But kill? “I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to pull a trigger to kill someone,” he snaps.
Behind us, Ray clears his throat. “Well, since I fulfilled my end of the bargain, I’ll see myself out.”
Gideon turns to him in surprise, as if he’s forgotten he’s still here. His perfect brows pinch together. “Your end of the bargain?”
“I gave you a means to get Gregorio; now you forgive my transgression.”
“Ah, yes. Your offer.” Gideon turns to me. “Raimondo thought it would be a good idea to copycat Scarlet and pin a murder on her.”
“Copycat?” I look between them, trying to decipher what they’re talking about.
Scarlet’s red lips tug up on one side as she moves closer to Ray. She’s gorgeous, with delicate features and a petite, curvy frame that’s displayed perfectly by a black turtleneck and pencil skirt. But when she nears the much larger man, he inches away nervously.
“We had no beef with the Sinacores.” Gideon’s eyes flick to mine. “No reason to kill Antonio.”
“Then why did you?” I ask.
“It wasn’t us. Isn’t that right, Raimondo?” He gives a meaningful glance toward his henchwoman. “But Scar didn’t really appreciate having a copycat.”
She shakes her head. “I’m an original and like it that way.”
The meaning of their words sinks in instantly. He had no reason to kill Tony, so he didn’t. That means…
Another piece of the puzzle snaps into place. A copycat. Tony’s crime scene was so similar to the others, anyone not paying attention wouldn’t have known the difference. But Luca found it. The date on the pennies.
I’m about to bring that up when I look back at Ray in time to see Scarlet slide in behind him. Ray is so focused on Gideon I’m not sure he knows she’s moved. Then her hand shoots out so fast, I can barely register what she’s done until blood is spurting all over the floor and Ray is trying to hold his sliced neck together.
