Page 66 of Wicked Truths

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Just as Cheryl predicted, she woke up alone the next morning which made her decision much easier. She checked her phone seeing it was mid-morning, then read a text from Izzy saying she’d brought Portia to school, accompanied by Mamba, one of the Serpents. She appreciated Nick’s need for security but Cheryl believed once she informed her father about Johnny’s violence further action wouldn’t be necessary.

She sat up in bed and although the side of her face still ached, the dizziness had gone away. She swung her legs over the bed, cracked the door open and listened more intently. Silence. Perfect.

She’d showered, dressed, then headed to the Bellagio to figure out her next move. She hated involving Frank, but she had no choice. Last night when she couldn’t sleep she decided to rent a house in Vegas until her and Nick were able to come to an agreement about custody. This would give them a chance for him to get to know his daughter and for her to grow the Vegas business.

Thankfully, money wasn’t an issue and she wanted to get Portia settled as soon as possible. Ideally, she would rather goback to Los Angeles, but her and Nick would have to learn to co-exist in Vegas for the sake of their daughter.

Nick left the penthouse early for two reasons. He wanted to meet up with Frank, and he wasn’t strong enough to face Cheryl in the morning. Past experience told him neither could resist the other and even he knew you couldn’t base a relationship on tearing up the sheets morning, noon, and night.

Nick entered Vegas Jazz just after noon and Frank ushered him into one of the back offices furnished with only a desk and two chairs. He’d filled Frank in the night before with the basics and as expected Frank wanted revenge.

“How is she?” The hint of concern in Frank’s voice surprised Nick.

“Resting. When I left the penthouse she was still asleep.”

Frank sat behind the desk clasping his hands together in a tight fist. “He’s a dead man,” Frank ground out.

“In my mind, he’s already in the fuckin’ ground.” Nick shifted his feet, too wired to sit.

“There’s a few ways we can handle this. All of them clean, none of them quick. I want that bastard to feel every ounce of pain.”

Nick wasn’t surprised. He’d heard the big man angry plenty of times in Brooklyn. His controlled, deadly temper was legendary and feared by most, but this was different. This anger had a personal ring to it.

“I thought I had him under control.” He slammed his fist on the desktop. “I never thought he’d get violent with her. In the beginning, Johnny was happy to have a new life, a new persona, then he started getting ahead of himself.”

“Just like the old days in Brooklyn, he never knew how to keep his mouth shut.” A definite detriment when it came to organized crime.

“Back in Brooklyn I could keep him in check and his willingness to take on any job was a definite plus, but in L.A. he got too wrapped up in his new role. Started believing the phony movie stars and scumbag politicians were his friends, letting them in on too much private business.”

“There is something else.” Nick paused. “He had a side hustle going on with a local Vegas gang out in the desert.”

Frank leaned in over his desk. “What kinda side hustle?”

“He set them up cooking meth in a shack way off I-15.”

“What the fuck is wrong with him? Attaching himself to people we can’t trust. Shit, that place gets busted it’s a federal offense.”

“No chance of that. Took a drive out there yesterday before dawn with the Serpents and we torched the place. Then Cobra, the Serpents prez ran them outta Nevada.”

“Thank, fuck, but that doesn’t change things with Johnny. The fuckin’ guy can’t be trusted. One of the reasons I moved him to Vegas. He was starting to think he was untouchable in L.A.—never a good thing.”

Truth. A low profile is necessary and the only way to keep your ass out of prison. Most of the big-time gangsters went down because of shooting off their mouths, flaunting their money and showing off.

Nick braced his palms on the edge of the desk. “Now we gotta deal with him, but I got a sweet deal with Metro thanks to the Serpents and I don’t wanna fuck that up.”

“I can use our associates in Chicago as bait.” Frank tapped his gold pen against his desk. “Tell Johnny how happy they are with the performance of the jazz clubs and they’re coming out to talk about expansion.”

“You think he’d go for it? Especially after what went down with him and Cheryl?”

“I’ll convince him this is all about business, and what happens between him and his wife is personal.” Frank huffed out a breath. “With his ego, I guarantee he goes for it, and convincing the Chicago guys to do the job will be easy once I tell them about his side hustle. This way it gets done by out of town guys and we’re clean. In and out, job done.” An evil smirk covered Frank’s face. “Just have to figure out where to meet.”

“Wicked.”

“What makes you think he’d come? You and him aren’t exactly on the best terms.”

“I’ll tell him Cheryl’s not worth the trouble and no bitch should come between business. Maybe mention I wanna take on the Chicago guys as new investors.” Nick smirked. “We lure him in. Nice public place, plenty of people. Nothing shady. Just business.”

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