would otherwise drown you.” Cain returned to her office chair and laughed. “And I’m going to visit Barney today so I can start the flames that will change the landscape the FBI has drawn up for us. It’s time to give the bloodhounds a new scent.”
“I don’t doubt you, but considering how relentless they’ve been lately, I don’t know how you can pull that off.”
“Merrick,” Cain came forward and rested her elbows on her desk, “I didn’t need somebody’s kid to tell me that the FBI would be willing to cut Kyle loose. Barney wasn’t going away, because he did something very few of them have been able to achieve.”
“Infiltrate?”
“Giovanni gave Kyle a free pass because he knew Kyle didn’t represent his badge when he showed up. Kyle wanted to bring me down, and he wanted more than a ribbon and a gold watch as pay. Now the feds are going to give him a free pass if he teaches them how to do it.”
“If you know all that, then why risk going to see him?”
“To make sure. I’m not questioning myself, at least I try not to very often, but I’m willing to be proven wrong when it comes to something like this. I realize my actions may cause some fallout, but I can’t take a chance on being wrong one way or the other.”
“I’ll get back to work, then, and leave you and Lou to it.”
Once Cain was alone, she fit her steepled fingers under her chin. The planning that it took to make her life work was tiring at times, but it was as necessary as what had happened to Giovanni. She took a deep breath and felt like life always put her in situations where she had to climb out of ruts that others dug.
“Da, I hope Emma’s right and you’re looking out for us. Every so often it’s hard to gauge how the bear will react when you shove the stick up its ass.”
Chapter Twelve
“Nunzio.” Rodolfo purposely made the simple name sound more exotic. “I hope you’re doing well.” He glanced out the window to the pool. Juan was once again indulging in his sun worshipping.
“Rodolfo, I’m glad you called. I assume you’ve heard about our plans for the casino.”
“My man gave me the news.” That Nunzio was so matter-of-fact about it made Rodolfo hit his thigh with his fist. “Because of our alliance, I would’ve expected to hear it from you.”
“My father and I decided that to turn the kind of profit we’d like to see from our product, we’d need the capital from this sale. Nothing we worked out between us has changed, so don’t worry.”
Rodolfo fanned his fingers out and took a deep breath with the receiver away from his mouth. He needed to relax so his voice wouldn’t reveal his aggravation. “Are you planning to bring in our product some other way?”
“I don’t see any changes, no matter whose name is on the deed, Rodolfo. We have enough muscle between the two of us to ensure that. Like I said, I’m handling things.”
“Who’s taking over?”
“We aren’t partners in everything. Who we’re doing business with has nothing to do with our arrangement with you. Just know that we picked someone we can easily control and had the ready cash. I’ll be in touch once everything’s been finalized.”
When Rodolfo heard the dial tone he felt free to curse. Perhaps for once he should listen to Juan’s ranting and investigate what was going on. He wasn’t about to hand over most of his inventory to a man who couldn’t be up- front with him. And now he knew that Nunzio didn’t even have the capital for the deal he’d made. If Nunzio had withheld that piece of information, Rodolfo wouldn’t be able to trust him and his father about anything.
*
Nunzio muttered a few expletives as he gently put the phone down. The call from Rodolfo had interrupted Richard Bowen’s explanation of why he wasn’t handing over a check. “So you just walked out?” Nunzio asked, making Richard fidget more. “Are you a fucking moron?”
“Remi and Cain ran the meeting and they wouldn’t sign the contract that let us provide security so I pushed, thinking they’d cave.” Richard pulled at his collar as if he were having trouble breathing. “I thought you’d appreciate me taking the chance, since I thought it would go our way. I was just looking out for you.”
“I don’t pay you to fucking think. I pay you to go over there and
“Cain and Remi were running the meeting and you expected them to cave? My dog could’ve told you that wasn’t going to happen. All you had to do was kiss their ass for five minutes and we’d have worked around it. I don’t need those bitches’ permission to do business.” He looked at his nails while he delivered the threat.
Nunzio glanced back up and laughed at the total fear on Richard’s face. “Now the only question is what happens to you, since you haven’t exactly proven your value to this organization.”
“If you give me another chance, I’ll get them back to the table.”
“One more chance means one more. I don’t have to explain the price of failure, do I?” Richard nodded quickly at Nunzio’s question. “Make it your priority to get them to close this deal, and, Richard, start praying they do. We might have to shave off a couple mil, that’s not important, but we do need the bulk. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, sir, we do.”
“Good, get on it.” He walked out of the room and headed to the office he kept in the house.
Nunzio Luca III, like Cain and Remi, had gone into the family business and had recently taken over most of the operations that his grandfather had started. The old man, Nunzio Sr., was now living in a gated community in southern Florida and leaving the business to his son in New York and his grandson in Biloxi. He had put in his time after a life of work that began after entering the United States as an immigrant from Naples.
