Page 19 of Vito

I pull the gin and vermouth from the chilling area. "This for you?" I ask, and Lixin nods, watching me. "Lemon twist or olives?"

"Lemon twist."

I make the drink and push it toward him, offering a cool smile that's friendly enough but warns of the boundaries I'll keep in place, especially since I'm a female.

Lixin places the money for his drink on the counter, tilting his head and observing me. "It will be a pleasure to work with you, Ed."

I keep my resting bitch face mask firmly in place as our eyes lock. I refuse to be the one to break eye contact; I'm establishing my place here—where, as Gilly's owner-operator, I'm at the top of the pecking order. He breaks first. He holds up his drink in salute and makes room for Amazu.

"Beer. Doesn't matter the kind," Amazu says.

Before I can get Amazu's beer, a bottle of fire whiskey catches my eye. The sight of it kicks me in the gut. Pulling it out of the open tub of ice makes my heart ache. I set it on the counter and start putting out shot glasses. Gus catches on quickly to what I'm doing and grabs more glasses while I pour the whiskey. Then he hands out the shots.

"This shit will rot your guts, but for some unknown reason, Aiken loved it." My voice is steady, even though my insides are ripping apart. "The first shot is on the house."

Gus beams, ensuring everyone has a shot. "Your brother loved this shit."

I blink, needing to force back the sudden pressure of tears behind my eyes, and lift my shot glass.

"A toast to Aiken," a deep baritone voice says, making my cooch clench.

Vito.

The one-who-thou-shall-not-make-me-rip-my-panties-off, the fucking cunt, inclines his head to me. "To a man who never let you truly know him, yet his commitment to this city made you feel like you were in his home.Saluti."

My throat closes with a wave of tumultuous emotions. Aiken was so accepted and respected here. This wasn't just a bar to him; he lived and breathed the purpose of Gilly's. And my stubborn weakness prevented me from having him in my life.

Vito watches me, as if waiting to do his shot until I do.

I toss back the fiery liquid, hoping that somehow my presence here and finding Aiken's murderer can be a small token of apology to my brother.

Gus coughs as he sets his glass on the bar, shaking his head. "Horrid shit."

I grimace in agreement.

I set a tray at the end of the bar for the empty shot glasses to be put on, and Gus begins serving the thirsty crowd of criminals around us.

"Tell me how you pulled the Houdini act." He side-eyes me while he pours a drink of high-end vodka over ice and hands it to Massimo.

Massimo says a quiet thanks and pays, speaking to his uncle Marco while they step away.

This is the tricky part: explaining how I got into Aiken's office without anyone knowing.

In his email, Aiken provided all the information I needed to know as the owner-operator. Including a secret entrance into his office through an underground passage that's known only to Gilly's owner-operators. This is what I used to get into Gilly's.

His email also mentioned another hidden back entrance, rarely monitored by security since access requires both a code and a key that was hidden in his apartment. This entrance opens into a backroom, used for illegal, high-stakes gambling games. Once inside the backroom, there's a door that connects to the storage room. Aiken's office is along the same hallway as the storage room, so it's believable that I entered the bar through this route and slipped into his office unnoticed.

I'm gambling that Gus knows about the back entrance but not the secret passageway that opens into Aiken's office. "Aiken told me about the secret back entrance that comes in through the storage room. I must've hit a time when security wasn't back there and went directly to Aiken's office."

Gus nods, accepting my explanation. "You took a huge risk entering that way, but it sure made a statement. Ballsy."

"I'm no wilting flower, Gus."

He laughs, and Bane steps up to the bar.

The huge, muscular guy with a stubble beard is the Havoc Guardians' VP. "Jack. No ice."

Short and sweet, no attempt at chatting me up. I like Bane.

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