Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Geno felt very fortunate that he had practiced for years keeping his face a stone mask, otherwise he’d be smiling. Neither man was going to come out and state Brielle Archambault could hack her way through anything, but everyone in that room knew the implication was there.
Elie covered the lower half of his face with his palm, but his eyes were bright with pride. “My woman is hell on wheels with a keyboard.”
Stefano made a growling sound and glared at Dario and Valentino. “If you two weren’t family, I’d stick you back on the top of the hit list for stealing that woman out from under me. I needed her as an investigator for the family.”
Dario’s eyebrow shot up. “Technically, since we are family and she works for us, she is working for the family.” He sounded like he was speaking to a child, enunciating every word deliberately as if Stefano might not get the concept.
Stefano gave him the finger.
Geno couldn’t help the slow grin that he exchanged with his brothers and Amaranthe.
Dario didn’t look in the least bit intimidated or offended at the rude gesture. “We can’t help it if your work was just too boring for her, Stefano. You Ferraros sit around eating pasta all the time, and that makes you sleepy. Your women spoil you and that slows you down.”
Dario was back to looking down at the screen on his phone as he made the observations. He texted one-handed, lightning fast, giving Brielle instructions.
“Are you including Val and Elie in your candid opinion?” Stefano asked.
“Like you, they’re totally pussy-whipped. I tell them all the time. Emme knows I tell Val he needs to beat her once in a while just to get the upper hand.”
“How does that go over?” Stefano asked.
“Emme just laughs because she knows he would never do it even if he threatened her.” Dario poured disgust in his voice.
“Emmanuelle just laughs,” Emme corrected, “because she knows if Val ever hit me, Dario would cut off his balls and that’s the truth.”
“Is that the truth, Dario?” Geno asked.
Dario shrugged his very muscular shoulders, not looking up from his phone. “Well. Yeah. No one lays a hand on Emme. Not like that.” He sounded bored.
Geno exchanged a look with Amaranthe.
I see why you like him, Geno. It’s very hard not to. He’s very different on the inside than he is on the outside.
Geno didn’t want her to have the wrong impression. He is a sadist through and through. He has no problem torturing someone. He doesn’t feel sick or disturbed by it. In fact, he gets off on causing pain to others, men or women. That’s what he fears the most in his relationship with any woman he ends up loving.
Evidently, not Emmanuelle, Amaranthe pointed out.
Geno turned that over in his mind. Dario certainly would kill someone who dared to hurt Emme. He was certain if anyone touched Brielle they’d suffer long and hard before they died at Dario’s hands. What did that mean exactly? If they were really going to save Dario from himself, that was the question they would have to answer.
“Let’s get a plan in place,” Geno directed aloud. “Emmanuelle, you’re good at writing up whatever we need to put in the papers. Make it good. We want everyone to see that the family is coming together to support Amaranthe in her first performance in New York City. We have reserved boxes, the best in the theater, and for the first time, they will be filled with Ferraro family members.”
“Way to put the pressure on,” Amaranthe said. “I’ll probably make a fool of myself.”
“That would be impossible,” Geno stated.
* * *
• • •
Two hours after the news broke that the Ferraro family intended to support Amaranthe’s first performance, they received a report from Deangelo Rossi, one of Geno’s investigators. He’d been keeping a close eye on Jenny Porthman’s devices. Lucca had provided the necessary way in, and once Rossi had that, he was able to see whatever Jenny was doing and who she talked to.
“Jenny Porthman received a message from an unknown person. He instructed her to have her mother ensure Jenny and three others are hired as ushers in the theater for all performances. It’s common practice to hire extra staff during performance week. Jenny’s mother is on the board of directors, and she has a lot of pull. She can easily get Jenny and the others hired,” Rossi informed Geno.
“Were you able to trace where the text originated from?” Salvatore asked.
“It bounced all over the world,” the investigator said, “but in the end, the message came from a café here in New York. The café is one known to us. A lot of hackers use it.”
They talked it over, deciding whether it would jeopardize their plans if they prevented the four girls from being hired as ushers. Priscilla Clake was known to them. She was seventeen and had been taking dance lessons in the studio for several years. She had been a friend of Jenny’s until recently. Amaranthe noticed there appeared to be a rift between the two teens, yet she was one of the girls the unknown person had instructed Jenny to have hired as an usher.