Page 26 of Pure Vengeance

“And they were continuing after you banned Luparo from the casino?”

“Yes, sir.” He licks his lips. “It is possible that Michael didn’t have anything to do with them. By the time I realized it, though, Michael had already passed.” He swivels his gaze to Claire. “I’m sorry about what happened to him. He was a good guy.”

“So, did he or did he not help this Salvatore cheat?” I ask harder.

He draws in a deep breath. “At the time, I believed so. Now? I don’t.”

“But why did Michael go to see Anton about getting his job back? Why didn’t he go to you?” Claire asks.

“He wouldn’t have gone to Anton.” Daniel looks confused. “He doesn’t deal with the day-to-day operations. Most of the staff doesn’t even know what he looks like.”

“Did he come to you?” she implores him.

“No.” Daniel shakes his head. “He said he hadn’t done it, but he never came back to ask for his job back.”

“Did you tell him that Salvatore had given him up?” I ask.

He thinks about it a moment. “Yes, I believe I did tell him. He kept insisting he hadn’t done anything wrong. I told him Salvatore had confessed to it and named him as his helper. Then I mentioned the tape. He stopped arguing then. I assumed it was because he figured he’d been caught. But now, I think he just realized there wasn’t any point. I wasn’t going to keep him on staff.”

Not the fighter his sister is, apparently.

Claire’s shoulders fall.

“Thank you.” I give a nod toward the door, signally Daniel can go.

“Yes. Thanks.” Claire folds her arms over her stomach. The fire burning in her only minutes before in the dining room seems dimmer now.

Daniel leaves, quietly shutting the door on his way out.

“Do you know this Salvatore Luparo?” she asks while staring out the window into the back gardens.

“I’ve heard the name,” I answer.

“Do you think he could have…” Her shoulders raise then fall as though she’s taking slow deep breaths. “He could have killed Michael to keep him quiet? If Michael knew he had other men on his team?”

“It’s possible.” I slide my hands into my pockets.

“If I swear that I won’t ever try to hurt you again, will you let me go?”

“So, you can go after Salvatore?” I almost smile at the bravado of this woman, but there’s pain in her voice. She’s lost the only family she had, who am I to get in the way of her finding her revenge?

She turns back to me; fresh rage fills her eyes. “Yes.”

“No.” I put a hand up to stop the argument already brewing on her pretty lips. “I will find him, and we will talk to him, but no, you aren’t going on your own.”

“Because you won’t let me leave?”

“Because I won’t let you get yourself killed trying to solve this,” I shoot back at her.

“Why would you care? I tried to kill you, remember? I’m your enemy.”

I laugh.

“No, Claire. Somewhere between the bullet striking me and you falling apart in my arms last night, you stopped being my enemy.” I lift a shoulder, barely feeling the tightness of the wound now. “Now you’re just mine.”

“You’re such an asshole.” She flings herself into an armchair and the pout on her lips makes me want to bend her over the couch and teach her a lesson on temper tantrums.

“I’ve been called worse.”

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