Page 38 of The Players

“Which is precisely why I have to find her first,” Tess argued.

Luca put a hugeStar Warsmug next to Tess and gave her a kiss.

Vince saw it happen right before his eyes; it was like magic. Tess sighed, took a sip from the cup, and seemed instantly relaxed. After giving Vince a wink behind his wife’s back, Luca walked away.

“What can I do for you, Vincenzo?” Tess asked.

He put his phone on speaker so Sy could listen in. “Remember the assignment you took?”

“Ah yes.” She did some typing, putting on her game face. “The guy in your club. Funny, by the way, that according to the official police report, he went missing exactly the day before you asked me to check him out.”

She arched an eyebrow in exaggeration, but he refused to take the bait.

“Have you found out his connection to Morelli or Keegan?”

He had to know what he was to either of those men. Only then could he figure out what he blackmailed Carmen with. With all that had happened, he hadn’t forgotten how she had ended up in his club, near to a dead body.

“Not exactly,” Tess continued. “He has no connection whatsoever to that Italian piece of crap, or the Irish asshole.”

He’d been trying all his resources for days now and had come up empty. Tess was his last hope. “Keep digging. There has to be one.”

“You could just ask her, you know,” Tess said dryly. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on. She asks me to find Sy and a few days later, she shacks up with you guys. Carmen voluntarily living with two men is as likely as Nemo going for a swim in shark-infested waters.”

“So, you’re telling me you couldn’t find anything on this guy. That he was squeaky clean?” He didn’t believe that for a second.

“I didn’t say that. I said that he doesn’t have a connection to Morelli or Keegan. He does have a long history with that douche Franco though. According to their bank records, about five years ago, they visited the same club. Some place called Red Velvet.”

Shit.

Sy exchanged a glance with him. They had both heard of that place. It was supposed to be a seedy underground club that moved around. Some believed it didn’t exist. Others believed it was ruled by the Bridemaker—a sick fuck who stole babies from the crib to raise them as child brides.

“Are you sure that they went to this place?”

“Positive. I had to hack my way through a lot of firewalls, and a maze of shell companies before I found it, but I’m certain. Do you know what happened when I searched for Red Velvet? Nothing.” She clucked her tongue. “I could find nada, zilch, on its whereabouts, its owners, the members. This is so fishy.”

This was bad news. The question was, how had Carmen ended up in a situation that this guy had something on her?

“Thank you, Tess. Keep digging.”

“You expect me to spy on my friend?”

“It’s for her own safety.”

She cocked a brow. “Or you can do as I suggested. Ask. Her.” Then she hung up on him.

“She’s right, you know,” Sy said.

“Carmen’s not going to tell us what he has on her.”

“We could make her.”

He knew exactly what his friend was hinting at. “You’re that sure that you can make her spill the beans?”

“I made her come, didn’t I?”

“Asshole.” He didn’t need a reminder that Carmen was still treating him like a leper, while Sy had already made her scream. It was what had driven him to Sy’s room in the first place—her moaning.

Sy leaned back in the recliner. “Don’t hate me for it, man. I’m sure you remember how sweet she tastes. When exactly was it that you saw her last? Before her sister’s wedding to your brother, I mean.”

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