Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I stand in the reception line with Hellie. She leans on me, her eyes red and swollen from crying, but she smiles and shakes hands with the visitors and listens to their stories about her father. Some are funny, some are tragic. All of them make her cry and laugh and cry some more. I keep her upright the best I can, and when it’s time for the priest to say a few words, I sit her down in the front row.
Two men stand in the back of the church, waiting for me. I kiss her cheek and whisper in her ear, “I’ll be right back. I love you.”
She nods, numb, and I walk off.
Frost and Gallo are waiting outside in the church courtyard. A fountain stands surrounded by desert shrubs. It’s dry and dusty.
“Can’t believe that many people came out for a fucking shit like Accardi,” Gallo says.
Goons lurk at the edges of our meeting. My people, Frost’s people, Gallo’s. All keeping an eye on things, but there’s no more animosity.
“I agree,” Frost says. “But he was charming, after all.”
“Fucking doubt that.” Gallo sits on the edge of the fountain with a grunt. “Alright, Costa. How’s the girl? She good?”
“Holding up. Mourning her dad. Confused about the way it went down.” I gesture, shrugging. “You know how it is. Life can be random and weird.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Gallo shakes his head. “May Accardi rest in peace. Eh, fuck that, may he burn in hell, that thieving fucking rat. Got what he deserved in the end.”
Frost shakes his head in disgust. “We’re at the man’s funeral, for fuck’s sake.”
“Whatever. Fuck him.” Gallo waves a hand in the air. “Go on, tell Costa why we’re here and let’s get this done.”
“We want to hammer out a deal,” Frost says. “Now that Accardi’s dead, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever recoup our losses from him. Which means we need to come up with some alterative solution.”
“To save fucking face,” Gallo says, grunting in anger. “Although I want the damn money back too.”
“You understand.” Frost wipes a hand down his face. “What else can we do?”
I glare at the men. Coming here to a funeral to negotiate is shameful, but I’m not surprised. I keep my voice level and low, trying to avoid conflict if I can, at least while we’re at the damn church.
“Here’s my offer.” I stare from Frost to Gallo. “Hellie’s mine now. She’s more than a captive.”
“We heard,” Frost says with a tight smile.
“Good for fucking you, but that doesn’t help me.” Gallo keeps on glaring like a sour fish.
“She’s not going to work for you two anymore. You got the second painting and you sold it for a good profit. Keep that money, split it between you two. Tell everyone that covered your losses.”
Frost snorts. “It’s not even close.”
“Then fucking lie,” I say, staring him down. “I’ll back up any story you decide to tell, but Hellie is mine.”
Frost and Gallo exchange a look. Frost speaks first. “Here’s the problem. You had Accardi and you didn’t tell us. He died trying to escape your compound, and you do know that looks bad, right?”
“Looks like you were fucking hiding him,” Gallo says with a snarl.
“What do you want?” I ask, crossing my arms. “You two want to keep pushing this mess and make it worse? We can do that. We can go to war if that’s what you want.”
“Nobody wants war,” Frost says quickly, ever the sensible businessman.
Gallo laughs, hoarse and ugly. “We’ll gut you, Costa, you little shit.”
“Insult me again, old man, and I will kill you. It would make my life easier, stomping your skull until it cracked.”
“Gentlemen,” Frost says as Gallo gets to his feet, looking outraged. “We can be reasonable here. The money from those two forgeries was good. Why don’t you have her paint one more? That’d get us close to breaking even at least, assuming you don’t take a cut.”
“No. Hellie doesn’t work anymore.”
“Give us something, Erick.” Frost spreads his hands. “You did hold Accardi back.”
I take a slow breath and let it out. I was waiting for this, and I knew they’d make these demands. I still don’t like it, but I made some plans at least.
“Here’s what I’m offering,” I say, looking between them. “This happens one time. You turn me down, you complain, you do anything I don’t like, and it’s war. Fuck you both. My offer is simple. I pay half of what’s missing from my own coffers. You two split it. You won’t be perfect, but fuck you, I don’t care. Then you leave Hellie alone, and you stay far away from my businesses, and if I catch either of you sniffing around my turf, I swear there will be bodies. Understand?”
Gallo sneers. “You must really like her, huh, Costa?”