Page 183 of Romeo

“Oh my God!” Maddie yelled, closing her laptop and sitting up. “Turn it up!”

The news anchor behind the desk wore a serious expression. “Local business owner, Roger Smith, has now been missing for almost four weeks. The only sign of Smith’s disappearance was his Porsche 911 found in a corn field about five miles from his home. With this new development, law enforcement is now labeling his sudden disappearance as foul play.”

“What new development?” Maddie yelled at the TV.

Romeo dropped his ass on the couch next to her, cracked open the whiskey and swallowed a generous mouthful.

As if the anchor heard Maddie’s question, he answered, “Several sources are telling us that Roger Smith is an alias, and he has ties with the Russo crime family.”

Maddie turned toward him with wide eyes as the newscaster droned on in the background.

“Police are looking for any tips from the public. If you’ve seen Roger Smith, or know his whereabouts, please contact the 800 number on your screen.”

Guaranteed, Romeo would not be calling that toll-free number.

With a dropped jaw, she asked, “I wonder how the media uncovered that connection?”

Romeo shrugged. “No clue. Might be good for you, though. His word is now shit.”

She bugged out her eyes at him. “What did you do?”

“Didn’t do dick.”

“Rome…”

“Look, woman, don’t fuckin’ ask questions you don’t want the answers to. Told you I was gonna make it up to you?—”

Her lips flattened out. “So, you did have a hand in this.”

Not only with his “disappearance” but the leak to the media. “Karma can be one independent bitch.”

“Does karma happen to be a six-foot-one Black biker?”

“Can’t confirm.”

She whacked his bicep. “Rome!”

He shrugged again and swallowed another mouthful of Jack before offering the bottle to her. She shook her head, rejecting it.

“All I know is, now that his ass has been exposed for being tied to the fuckin’ Mafia, those professional teams will be cuttin’ their connections with him as fast as possible.”

She grabbed his forearm and squeezed. He had to assume with excitement. “How do you know that?”

“Educated guess.”

“Bullshit,” she said.

“You’re a helluva lot smarter than me, so bettin’ you can figure out what this shit all means for you. Ain’t sayin’ there’s a guarantee one of them’s gonna hire you, but at least his opinion will be considered fuckin’ worthless.”

“And they might give me a fair shot.”

They might, but he was afraid she’d get her hopes up and then be devastated when it didn’t pan out. “Got us covered financially so you might be able to get your foot in the door with one of their internships. Then once they realize how fuckin’ valuable you are?—”

She grinned. “Like you did.”

“They’re gonna want to hire you permanently. They don’t, their loss.” Like it would’ve been his loss if he didn’t chase her down in Manning Grove.

He had zero fucking regrets on making her his ol’ lady.

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