Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I grabbed my phone, hung up on Romy, and dialed the first number on the page with shaking hands. It was for someone named Stana Dombruso. The note beside her name said, “Paulie’s mother.”
The room started spinning, and I pressed my eyes shut and tried to will myself to remain conscious as a recording played. It was a woman’s voice, but I was too out of it to pay attention. When I heard a beep, I said, “You don’t know me, but I’m Jack Granger, and I’m calling because of a man named Adriano Dombruso. I don’t think you know him either, but his dad was Paulie Dombruso. I don’t have much proof of that, except that Paulie left him a real nice watch, a platinum Rolex. The back was engraved with three initials in a diamond shape, P-D-A.
“I hope I’m making sense. I’ve been shot and I’m probably going to pass out soon, so it’s hard to think straight. The thing is, Adriano needs your help. He just got abducted by this awful gangster named Mario Greco, and he’s going to be killed if we don’t do something. We were at his mom’s bar when it happened. It’s called Mandy’s Place, and it’s here in Las Vegas.”
I paused for a moment and took a shaky breath before continuing. “I think the ambulance is pulling into the parking lot. The siren’s really loud. Please help us, Ms. Dombruso, I’m begging you. Don’t let Adriano die. I just can’t lose him. He means everything to me.”
Tears were streaming down my face as I clutched the phone and the journal to my chest. Right before I lost consciousness again, I whispered, “Please hang on, Adriano. Please, just stay alive.”
16
Jack
When I awoke sometime later, I knew right away I was in a hospital. I could tell by that horrible smell of disinfectant and misery. Fuck, I really hated these places.
I blinked a few times, and as my eyes started to focus I sat up and mumbled, “Adriano?” The dark-haired man sitting in the corner looked up from his magazine, and I slumped against the pillow and muttered, “You look so much like him. That’s really weird.”
As he set aside the magazine and stood up, I noticed he was wearing black-on-black, from his suit to his shirt to his tie. He looked…well shit, he looked like a mafioso. I sat up again and grabbed the first thing I could find. Then I held it up like I meant to hit him with it and snarled, “If you’re one of Greco’s men, you can fuck right off. I won’t let you take me prisoner, too.”
His dark eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at me and asked, “What’s the plan here, to bludgeon me with a plastic bed pan?”
“If I have to.”
He chuckled at that. Then he ran a hand over his short beard as he studied me. “So, Jack, is it?”
“That’s right. Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m Dante Dombruso.”
I lowered the bed pan and asked, “For real?” When he nodded, I exclaimed, “Holy shit, you actually came!”
“I didn’t have a choice. You left a message for my grandmother, telling her a long-lost grandson none of us had ever heard of was in trouble. Of course, she insisted that we fly to Vegas immediately. Right now, she and my brother Vincent are downstairs at the vending machines, undoubtedly buying a bunch of shit she’s not supposed to eat.”
“Well, thank god you’re here,” I said, as I threw back the covers and swung my bare legs out of bed. “We need to go save Reno, before they kill him.”
“Reno?”
“That’s Adriano’s nickname. Try to keep up.”
When I tried to stand, I was yanked back by my left arm, which was tethered by a bunch of tubes. I gathered them in my hand so I could pull out the IV and whatever else was happening there, but Dante blurted, “Shit, don’t do that,” and grabbed my wrist to stop me.
“Didn’t you hear me? I need to go save him, and I can’t do that if I’m stuck in a hospital bed.”
“Just relax for a minute, and let’s talk.” Dante sat down on the edge of the bed and asked, “Can I let go of you, or are you immediately going to yank out your IV?”
“I’m definitely going to yank it out, but not this minute so you can let go.”
He released my wrist and sat back before saying, “I know you’re worried about your boyfriend, but I have four teams on the ground here in Vegas and two more back in San Francisco, and they’re all working on tracking down this Greco douchebag. At the same time, they’re spreading the word that Dante Dombruso is looking for him. My name doesn’t carry the same weight here as it does back home, but if Greco has half a brain and does a little research, he’ll realize he’s in deep shit. He’ll also realize the only way to save his ass is to return Adriano unharmed.”