Page 26 of The Gambler

“So, we have a whole week until we can meet this Alfie person.”

“That’s right.” She picked up a rug from the couch, trying to salvage what could be saved.

Then she packed a bag and followed him back home. The drive over to his condo was done in silence. Tess didn’t feel like talking and he seemed to be in a pensive mood. Although “broody” was perhaps more fitting.

The second time around in his condo, she took in her surroundings better. The guy lived in a place straight out of a magazine for the rich and famous. It was nice to take pictures in, but it didn’t have any personality. It was all hard lines, black and steel furniture, and marble. Just looking at it made her feel like she was in a cold bowl.

She put her bag on his rock-hard designer couch and studied him. It was time to get down to business.

“So, who am I looking for, exactly? There’s your former assistant who kind of died on you.” She shivered, thinking back on the body dropping on top of her. That had been like a scene from a horror movie. “Who else should I be looking for? Just this Cruz person?”

Her question seemed to snap him out of whatever dark headspace he’d been in.

“My ex-partner, Immanuel Cruz. I’ll give you everything you need to know about him. Both he and my ex-PA had access to the files that were used against me in court. Both of them testified against me. Hector tried to find him, but it appears he has disappeared from the face of the earth.”

“Don’t mind me for asking but, why exactly has he not been… apprehended before? After all, your brothers could have easily gotten to him and put on the screws, so to speak.”

“They could have,” he acknowledged. “But I made them swear not to intervene. The only one cutting his strings will be me, no one else. I dreamed of that moment, every day, for the past two years. Cruz thinks he can run, but he can’t hide. There isn’t a place on this planet he can hide from me forever, unless it’s six feet under. And even then, I will pull him out of that grave to spit on him.”

There it was again. That look in his eyes. Another shiver went down her spine. Luciano Detta was a man hell-bent on revenge. He was going at it like a bulldozer, determined to destroy anything in its path. She could’ve told him his ex-partner and PA were just the tip of the iceberg. That they were just another pawn in a big game. But if she did, she would have to tell him everything. He might figure out her role in all of this. He was already suspicious of her. Still, she had to ask.

“So, imagine you did find him and he’s not lying in some grave. Then what?”

“Then, I’ll make him regret his mother ever gave birth to him.”

“Wonderful. That doesn’t sound like a sociopath talking at all.”

“Sociopath talk? He destroyed my life. Revenge is my right.”

“Ah yes, your life.”Some life you had.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Did I say that last part out loud?”

He crossed his arms, leaning against the bookcase. “No, but your tone says enough.”

“Well, let’s not get into what I think of your life. After all, I’m just here to—”

“No, no, let’s get into it. See, I have this feeling you got a problem with me. Why don’t you just tell me, Ms. Honesty? Spit it out, so we can get it out of the way. I don’t plan on getting pricked by your barbed tongue for the next couple of weeks.”

That stung. So, maybe he wasn’t the first one to make a comment about her tongue and sarcastic retorts. It was just that, since she was a little girl—being little and having a far from conventional upbringing—she’d been picked on. So, she’d learned to lash out the second someone even tried to put her down. She hated the way he had dismissed her, that first time in prison. Men like Luciano Detta had a certain way with a certain kind of woman. Tess knew she didn’t fit into that mold. She never had with Trevor either.

Dammit, maybe the guy had a point. Maybe she was projecting her feelings of betrayal toward Trevor. Which wasn’t really fair. Her pops would be disappointed in her. Still, that didn’t mean her initial assessment of his personality was wrong.

“You are a prince,” she finally said.

“What?” He looked baffled.

“You’re a prince,” she repeated. “Just think about your upbringing and the people you surrounded yourself with. Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. That’s what my pops told me. Did any of your friends visit you when you were inside? Don’t answer that, I already know. I’ve seen your visitor’s list. The only ones visiting you were your brothers and some women for a conjugal visit. You didn’t even know the people you called your friends. I know your type. Rich, entitled, king of his world. You collectthings, Luca, not people. Your ex-fiancée is a prime example of this.”

“Don’t drag Natasha into this.”

“Why not? I bet I know her better than you do, and I’ve only just met her once. What’s her favorite color?”

“White. Her favorite color is white because it reminds her of the diamond I bought for her.”

Tess nodded. “Of course you’ve bought her blood diamonds. Why am I not surprised? But you’re wrong, by the way. According to an interview last year, her favorite color is red. Ruby red, to be exact. It’s the stone her husband bought for her for their one-year anniversary.”

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