Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Cameron asked.
“No, my family will take care of it.”
“Take care of it how?”
“We have our ways. Just trust me. Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
He shook his head. “They threatened to if I didn’t cooperate, so I… I just did what they said.”
“You did the right thing. Those men wouldn’t have hesitated to do whatever they needed to subdue you.”
“They kept asking me about money, like my father said in his letter. They said my father stole from their boss, and Sergio was sure I knew where it was.”
“Did you tell them about the necklace?”
He shook his head. “No, but that can’t be what they mean.”
I agreed. The necklace wasn’t worth much, so unless Cameron’s dad had lied in the letter he’d left, he’d never stolen anything else from the Romanos.
“They said their boss would come for me himself if I didn’t give them information.”
I started to reassure him, but then I heard footsteps and grabbed my gun.
Lucien stepped into the room, weapon drawn. He lowered it when he saw the two men on the ground. “Looks like you handled things.”
“I did.”
“Vinnie’s outside with Ralph. Devil should be here in—” The roar of an approaching motorcycle had us turning to look outside. Devil pulled up right to the door and jumped off. He wasn’t one for subtlety.
He surveyed the room as he stepped inside. “I guess I’m not needed here after all.”
“Yes, you are. Get the tarps from my car to cover these men up, and tell Vinnie to meet us inside as soon as he has a ride for Ralph.”
“Yes, sir.” Devil saluted him.
I held Cameron against me while we waited. Devil was back in a few seconds. He covered each of my kills with a tarp, then pointed at a box on the counter. “Are those cannoli? Because I could sure as hell use one.”
I growled. “Devil, now’s not—”
“It’s okay.” Cameron rose on shaky legs and grabbed the box. “These are left over from my tests today. There are some cherry cream ones I’m trying out, chocolate cream, and traditional. But… um… can you really eat when…” He used his free hand to gesture toward the dead men.
“Come on,” Lucien said, heading toward the swinging door that led to the front. “We can be more civilized than this. I have someone on the way to clean this up.”
“But don’t we… What about the police?” I put an arm around Cameron’s shoulders, helping to steady him. “This is a family problem. Trust me. No one is going to question you about it. Our cleaning crew is very thorough.”
When we were seated at a table out front, Devil reached for the box of cannoli, but I got to it first. I opened the lid and held the box out to Cameron. “Take one. You’re pale. You need some sugar.”
Devil whistled. “Damn, never thought I’d see the day Angelo mothered someone.”
I glared at him, and Lucien kicked him. “Cam’s been through hell. Show some respect.”
Cameron took a cannoli with cherry cream, I grabbed the same kind, Devil took one of each, and Lucien picked a traditional one. Vinnie joined us, and his eyes grew big as he looked at the pastries and chose a chocolate cream. “Wow. These look incredible.”
Devil finished his first one in two bites. “Fuck, these are good. Maria’s amazing.”
Cameron smiled, some of his color returning. “Actually, I made these.”
Devil grinned. “You’re definitely worth keeping around. Angel, your man is fucking talented.”
I bit into a cherry cannoli and groaned. The cream had the same tangy flavor as the cherry icing I’d tasted before, and there were mini chocolate chips and cherry bits throughout. The shell was crisp and flavorful. “This is perfection.”
Cameron’s cheeks turned even redder. “Thank you.”
“The cannoli are excellent,” Lucien confirmed. “Now tell us exactly what happened tonight.”
Cameron rehashed what he’d told me, then his eyes lit up. “I never got to tell you. I know where Sergio is.”
How the fuck had I forgotten Cameron’s last words to me? He’d said he’d solved the puzzle.
“The first three notes have numbers. Those make up the house number of an address, and one word in each of the other notes tells the street name and so on. Green. Way. Drive. Walt. Ham. Mass. I was just verifying it when I got called to come here.”
Devil shoved his third cannoli into his mouth and pushed back his chair. “Let’s go.”
Lucien grabbed his arm and pulled him back down as I glared at him. “This kill is mine.”
“It is,” Lucien said, but I don’t intend to have either of you arrested for murder, so I’m making you stop and think first. We need to figure out who actually called Cameron tonight and from where and anything we can about the money Sergio is after.” He turned to look at Cameron. “You don’t have any idea what money Sergio is talking about, right?”