Page 83 of Black Jack (Advantage Play 5)

Convinced I’ve heard him wrong, I rest my forehead on the steering wheel and squeeze my eyes shut. “What?”

“Dominic’s dead.”

My heart drops to my stomach. But it isn’t because I’m royally screwed now. It’s because I know that when Bianca finds out she’ll be crushed. She might not have been close with him, but he was still blood. And now, he’s gone.

This is all my fault.

The slight rustle from the speaker brings me back to the present, and I clear my throat before sitting up a little straighter in the driver’s seat of my car.

“How?” I ask.

“Reed hired a hit. Dominic’s throat was slit in his cell by one of Burlone’s old acquaintances. His family received a nice little deposit into their bank account as soon as the job was done.”

“How could Reed wire a transfer if he’s in prison?”

“His lawyer did it for him. Awfully convenient, don’t you think?”

“So, I’m screwed.”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway,” I rasp.

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

“My boss found pictures of Reed and Bianca together. He turned them in as evidence against Reed. Once they piece together that my wife”––the word fills my mouth with acid as it rolls off my tongue––“was screwing Reed before we met, then it’ll only incriminate me further.”

Silence greets me, fanning my suspicion like an open flame.

“Did you know?” My voice comes out raw and gritty.

“Know what?”

“That she was a hooker for Burlone?”

More silence.

“Tell me,” I force out.

“I didn’t know,” he answers carefully after another moment of hesitation. “But I’m not surprised, either. Her family was in bad shape, Jack. It makes sense that she had to go to…unconventional lengths to keep her family’s head above water.”

My mouth curls in contempt. “Why didn’t you help her?”

“Because that isn’t my job. You’re either smart with money, know what businesses to invest in and the tricks of the trade, or the family goes under. It’s that simple, Jack.”

“You motherfu––”

“Listen to me,” Kingston interrupts, his voice laced with the same authority that earned him his name Dark King. And even though it kills me inside, I keep my mouth shut and follow his damn order. I listen.

“Bianca’s father wasn’t great with money to begin with,” Kingston explains. “But when Dominic took over and spent the rest of their savings across multiple casinos and bad investments, they were screwed. Then, miraculously, they started getting money again. And with that money came power. The Castello name held weight to it again, and people started taking Dominic seriously. Now, we know who to thank for it.”

I scoff. “Great. Glad Bianca could be of service.”

“Is she still doing it?” he asks.

“Fucking people for money?” With a dry laugh, I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head back and forth. “No idea. And to think I actually liked her.”

Liked doesn’t begin to describe what I felt for her. I felt alive. Happy. I felt like she was slowly becoming my entire world before she made it fall apart.

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