Page 60 of Forgotten Deal

I want to beg this woman to help me, but I’m not sure what exactly I need help with, so I answer, “You too.”

Following Sammy up the spiral staircase and down the hall, he knocks on a door, and a terrifying voice belonging to Romeo Parisi beckons us to enter.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Kat

Stepping inside the bedroom that could pass for a hospital ward, I stop short. Romeo’s driver and bodyguard, Luca, is seated at a table with a laptop and various cords.

“Have a seat,” Romeo orders, motioning to the empty chair.

“What is this?” I ask, but no one answers as I take a seat; more like my knees buckle and I fall into the chair.

Luca stands and walks slowly around the table, his face strained with effort. He silently places some kind of finger straps around my index, middle, and ring fingers. “This goes around your midsection,” he says, reaching around me and strapping something there. “Raise your arms.” Not seeing another option, I comply, and he places a strap around my chest. “Left arm,” he continues, strapping something that looks like a blood pressure cuff to my upper arm.

“Please tell me what this is about,” I beg.

“You working for John Davis,” Romeo answers cooly.

“What? No!” I exclaim.

Romeo walks over and grabs the laptop, turning it around. He hits play, and I watch myself inside the basement of Ace’s Wild dealing at the party. “Want to change your response?” Romeo says in an eerily quiet tone.

The door swings open, and Darius enters. He takes one look at me, and his face falls.

“Darius, I swear to God I didn’t know John Davis was running the poker room!” I say in a panic. “I was told it was a party, and they just needed an extra dealer.”

“Save it for the test,” Romeo says in a bored tone.

“Test?” I gulp.

“Lie detector test,” Luca says.

“Just let me have a crack at it the good old-fashioned way,” Sammy says, weaving a knife between his fingers. “Torture her until she cracks,” he threatens, and I feel dangerously close to passing out.

“Fuck you,” Darius says, stalking over to him.

Romeo holds up his hand, and Darius stops in his tracks. “Both of you. Out,” he barks.

“Thanks a lot,” Sammy grumbles.

“Your fucking fault,” Darius tells him as they walk out and close the door behind them.

Romeo turns those cold eyes back to me; I try to remember how to breathe. “The only reason you’re receiving this courtesy is because of Darius. But,” he pauses, “that’s as far as I’m willing to extend my generosity. If you’re lying, you’re dead. Simple as that.” He turns to Luca. “Proceed.”

“Kat, have you ever taken a polygraph exam?” Luca asks me.

“No.” I shake my head, the contents of my stomach churning like a washing machine on spin cycle.

“I’m going to go through a series of questions, and this equipment will painlessly measure the reactions in your body to your responses. Try to relax, and just answer the question as stated. Understand?”

Try to relax? Is this guy for real? “Yes, I understand.”

“Good. I’m going to first go through some questions to get your baseline reading, and then we’ll dive right in,” Luca explains.

“Sure.” It’s not like I have much of a choice in the matter.

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