Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
The men surrounding the table exchanged shocked looks. “Are you sure of this information, Maya? The Anwars gave up the port to the Carusos some years ago,” Drake said. “Marzio Caruso and his family came from Florida to Houston and negotiated with Bartolo for the ports. They came to some sort of understanding. There was no bloodshed, and they’ve gotten along as allies. Everyone was shocked; they’ve never so much as had a fight between their crews. We suspected the Caruso family, especially with them having roots in Florida.”
“Florida has connections to the Amurovs,” Timur added. “We suspected the Caruso family had been dealing with Krylov’s older brother, Artur, but couldn’t catch them at it.”
“I even went through their books,” Jake said. “But I got nowhere.”
“Bartolo Anwar set up the Carusos to take the fall if anyone ever finds out what is going on at the docks. They know. They’re controlling the trafficking, not the Caruso family. The Anwars have been eager to have Giacenta marry one of the Caruso brothers,” Maya continued. “She’s been seeing the youngest, Cristo. He’s the most susceptible.”
“I’ve heard Giacenta is very sickly and her brothers and father guard her carefully,” Drake said.
Maya shook her head. “Giacenta is every bit the shark her brothers and father are. She isn’t sickly in the least, although she puts on a great performance. She’s been after Cristo for some time, acting as if her leopard is rising.”
“She can’t fake a female leopard going into heat,” Drake pointed out.
“She can if she has the right connections,” Maya told him. “And she just happens to have them in New Orleans. I followed Krylov from Houston to New Orleans. He met with three men there. One by the name of Armande Mercier was very much in charge. He’s running the operations out of New Orleans.”
“Mercier?” Again, Drake reacted, turning toward Timur and then Gedeon. He swore under his breath. “Charisse, his sister, phoned and asked to see me as I was boarding the plane to come here. She said it was urgent, that she had to talk to me confidentially. I told her I was out of town but would meet her as soon as I returned. She sounded extremely upset. She told me she was going to a convent for a long retreat and would be emailing me important documents I needed to see. They would be self-explanatory.”
Drake’s eyes met Maya’s. “Is she a client of yours?”
Maya sighed. “I don’t ordinarily talk about my clients.”
“Charisse came to you and asked you to investigate her brother, Armande,” Drake stated. “That must have been the most difficult thing she’d ever done in her life. Her mother was a proven serial killer. She is extremely close to her brother. He handles the business end of their very lucrative worldwide perfume industry. Charisse is the master. Without her, there would be no products. She’s very different, but as honest as they come. I can’t imagine what this will do to her.”
“You aren’t as shocked as I thought you’d be,” Gorya said.
“I’ve had my suspicions about Armande,” Drake admitted. “Like Charisse, he’s a genius, there’s no doubt about it. He’s pulled some shady things in the past but has always come up with excuses. I never quite bought them. Like his mother, he seemed to have a very twisted side to him. Because the Merciers are eccentric, everyone around them excused him.”
Drake pulled his phone out. “Give me a minute. Let me access the file Charisse sent to me. I want to know what she had to say.”
I’m grateful he isn’t asking me to tell everyone what I said to Charisse, even though I’m essentially giving them the same information. I don’t want to feel as if I’m betraying her. She’s had enough betrayals, and I know what that’s like.
Gorya tightened his arm around her and continued to massage the nape of her neck with strong fingers, trying to find a way to soothe her. She appeared serene and at ease, but he saw into her, and she was anything but. A part of him found the intimacy of being the only person to know the real woman both sexy and exciting.
“Charisse became suspicious when her brother began asking too many questions about a hybrid plant she had been working on that could nearly reproduce the scent of a female leopard in heat. The plant had gotten out of the greenhouse somehow. Any male leopard getting near the flowers was instantly ready to fight. She ordered the plant to be found and eradicated. When she realized the perfume she’d been trying to create simulated the scent of a female leopard in heat, she scrapped that project. Armande didn’t want her to stop working on the perfume. They argued about it. He had never taken an interest in any of the perfumes before. He’d gotten very angry and had demanded to know the composition.”