Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
He gave a short nod. “I’ll bring her in.”
Vanessa stepped inside my office, each step as wary as the uneasy smile she wore. “Hey, Sadie. You wanted to see me?”
I nodded and motioned for her to sit. “Relax, Vanessa. You’re not in trouble, and I’m not going to kill you. I need a favor.”
The tension eased from her shoulders, and a crooked smile flashed across her beautiful face. “Too soon for murder jokes, I think.”
I shrugged. “Perhaps, but it got you to relax.”
At my words, she sat and crossed her legs. “It did. What do you need?”
I outlined my plans for the Green Zone and her role as the face of the project. “I’m thinking the Green Zone Revitalization Project.”
Her blue eyes went wide. “Wow, that’s incredible, Sadie. Generous and kind and necessary.”
“But?”
“But,” she repeated with a shrug. “I like my job working the card games, and I really don’t want to give it up completely.”
Well, shit. I could order her to do it, but I needed her to do it because she gave a shit, even after our last card girl’s murder. Fiona was such a good girl. And Vanessa has stepped up into the role very well.
“I’ll lead the project if that’s what you want, but how about if I reach out to some military wives and widows who can help promote it and get it running? I will need help for sure.”
I smiled. “That sounds perfect.” The involvement of women like that would make it hard for anyone to believe my plans were anything but a legitimate way to revitalize the area.
“Thank you, Vanessa. I appreciate your help.”
She smiled sweetly. “Thank you for thinking of me for this. It means a lot.” She stood, frozen for a moment as if she had something else to say, but then she thought better of it and left the room.
A moment later, Jasper appeared in the doorway, a skeptical look on his face, a twisted smile on his lips. “What are you up to now?”
“Me?” I flashed an innocent grin. “I’m being a good steward of the community, that’s all.”
“Yeah? And what’s that entail?” He walked to the minibar, poured three fingers of Velvet Fire into a highball glass and then swallowed it in one gulp.
I shrugged. “Helping give the poor folks of the Green Zone a leg up for once. Give the kids someplace safe to play. Cleaning the place up a bit.”
Jasper’s smile grew, and I leaned back in my chair. “Some people might call me a savior.”
“Sadie the Saint,” he said with a laugh. “It has a nice ring to it, but what are you really up to?”
“Just what I said. I’m helping the community in a way that makes sure they get what they need, and I get what I want.” It was as simple as that.
Jasper nodded. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I’m sure. I need to do this.” It was another lesson learned at the hands of my enemies.
“You worry too much, Sadie.” Colm flashed his sexiest grin and flung an arm around my shoulder. “It’s sports, which all young boys need. And it’s church, which all good Catholic boys need. What’s the problem?”
His tone was light and airy, but I could see the hint of tension in the set of my husband’s jaws. The tight lines around his eyes. This wasn’t actually up for debate. Colm was at it again, ready to sell out our boys to pay off his debts.
“The problem is that baseball is dangerous, babe.” I tried to keep my voice even, no hint of disgust or any other emotion that would trigger his anger. “What if they get hit in the head and end up paralyzed or worse?”
Colm’s lips spread into a condescending smile.
“It’s baseball, not football or soccer. The boys will be fine.”
“What’s this really about, Colm?”
He shrugged off the question, but a moment later, he answered truthfully. “It always looks good to have more connections to Father Ray and the church.”
I nodded because that was as close to a confession as I would ever get from Colm.
“What’s so special about the church?” Back then, the Ashby Organization didn’t worry so much about looking legitimate. Cillian didn’t consider it necessary. Colm couldn’t be bothered with things like propriety, not if it stood in the way of getting what he wanted, which was mostly a good time.
“You see, Sadie, people don’t question the church, its businesses or its connections. That pretty much makes us bulletproof.”
He spoke with the confidence of a man who knew what the fuck he was talking about, but Colm was a terrible businessman. He made deals on a whim, and the rest of us paid for them later.
This new baseball field sponsored by the Catholic church and the Ashby family had cost the most for Virgil. He’d been a standout baseball player, able to throw a rocket from the pitcher’s mound or crack the ball over the fence.