Page 13 of Deadly Sins: Greed

The address of the dropping point led me to an unexpected place—a roller-skating rink that looked like it hadn’t been open in at least twenty years. I arrived five minutes early, alone, although Salvadore had requested the address, and I wondered if he was somewhere close behind. He’d advised me to do what I’d been asked, and to trust that even though it would appear I was alone, I wasn’t.

At the moment, however, I seemed to be.

The door to the skating rink was unlocked. I twisted the doorknob and stepped inside. Although dark, a strand of dim lights strung along a handrail illuminated the way to the rink. In the center of the rink under a white spotlight, I saw a man with a black bag over his head tied to a chair like a caged lion.

The man’s build was unmistakable—Giovanni.

I gripped the black duffel bag tighter and ran toward him.

Somewhere behind me, a male voice shouted, “Stop.”

I ignored the demand and kept on going, even though the risk far outweighed the reward. In a moment of self-preservation, I spun around, my eyes fixed on the location the voice had come from, but it was too dark to see anything.

“If you want your money, don’t pull the trigger,” I said.

“I could shoot you now and just take it,” the man said.

“Then you’ll only get half.”

I reached Giovanni and removed the black bag. His head slumped forward into my hands like it was unable to sustain its weight.

“He’s not moving,” I yelled. “Why isn’t he moving?”

“I said I’d make an exchange. I never said he’d be alive.”

I knelt down, touched Giovanni’s face.

Warm.

“I delivered as promised,” the man said. “Now where’s the rest of the money?”

“You drugged him.”

“For now. He’ll come to in the next hour.”

“The little boy you shot? He’s dead.”

Silence, and then, “What about the other one?”

“Why do you care?”

“It was an accident, what happened to those boys. I didn’t know they were there.”

The tone of his voice was different now—unsettled and laced with remorse.

“You left them there to die.”

“I didn’t mean ...it’s why I ...let’s just get on with this.”

But I wasn’t done yet. “Why kill Falcon?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Answer me. How am I part of this? How do you know me?”

“Falcon wanted you dead.”

It was a twist I hadn’t seen coming.

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