Page 22 of The Gambler

“What?” She frowned. “It’s true. Even the pirates inPirates of the Caribbean—”

Mick cursed. “Let me cut off her tongue, Brian. Calling you a thief. What the hell?” He was almost foaming at the mouth.

“It was meant as a compliment,” she replied from behind his back.

“Could you please stop talking,” Luca snapped.

“I’d rather not. Do you know how long it took for me to get this meeting?”

Then Brian got up from his chair, his face impassive. The only color in his black ensemble was the silver cross around his neck. He was a large man, easily twice Tess’ size. Luca pondered their options. They were outnumbered, and even though he didn’t believe Brian would be stupid enough to start a war with the Dettas, one could never be sure. The Irish were known to be unpredictable. Especially this one.

“Let her speak,” Brian said.

Tess shouldered past him and pointed a dainty finger at Mick. “I’m Tess Gibson and I call your enforcer, Mick, a lying cheat.”

“You lying bitch!” Mick went red and looked like a raging bull. As Luca expected though, he didn’t dare move with Brian there.

“As my grandfather says, if you don’t like me calling you a liar, then don’t lie,” Tess said. “I’ve learned not to. Pity nobody taught you.”

Brian looked utterly fascinated. A look Luca didn’t care for at all. Men like Brian had a tendency to keep the things they found fascinating.

“Your man has taken Tess’ father because of a debt,” Luca intervened. “Even though Tess paid her father’s debt off, Mick didn’t release him. Instead, he’s asked for more, every week.”

Brian’s sole attention was directed on Tess. “You claim to never lie?”

Tess nodded. “I was raised with the radical honesty principle. It’s not always easy to live by, but nothing easy is ever worth anything, right?”

“The truth is never easy,” Brian agreed. He crossed his arms and turned to Mick. “Speak.”

“She’s lying,” Mick spat. “Yeah, Rufus didn’t pay, so I had him roughed up. Then he claimed his daughter would pay for him. And she did, just once. Then I released him. It’s not my fault if he didn’t contact her.”

Tess gasped. “You slimy…”

Luca put his hand over her mouth. This was not the time to interrupt Brian.

“How much was his debt?”

“Ten large. You can find it in the books.”

Brian nodded and turned back to Tess. “Mick has another story. Which means one of you is lying. I hate liars. As the Book says, ‘The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.’ Do you have anything to back your claim with?”

Luca expected Tess to pale and sputter. After all, he doubted that Mick gave her a receipt for paying him off. The transactions had all been made in cash. He was just about to step in and offer to take care of it when a grin appeared on her face. Not a normal grin, but one of an evil Disney character, he just couldn’t figure out which one.

“I certainly have,” she said sweetly.

Brian’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not too late to take back your words. I will give you one chance. If you can’t deliver, you will have to either fight or work with my girls. There’s no coming back from that.”

“I will fight him,” Tess called out.

Like hell you are.

Brian gave her a dubious look. “Really? With what mass? One kick to the stomach and you’d be flat on your face.”

“I understand.” She pointed at the computer screen. “May I?”

At Brian’s nod, she went to the computer, took a small device from an inside pocket, and locked it to the screen. Tess fired up her little device, putting in numbers and code to her password. A row of numbers popped up on one of the big screens behind Brian.

“I didn’t mean fighting in the ring,” she clarified. “That issoMiddle Ages. The time of fighting with fists is nothing compared to the digital fight.” A few taps on her computer, and the info on her small screen got projected onto three larger screens in the office.

---