Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“He’s not getting it,” I told Rocco, standing on his left flank.
“Let’s try this again,” Rocco suggested, taking a large step towards the consigliere. “We’ve got no beef with you, Connors. But we also don’t make it a habit to take out innocent young women for no reason. Roselli wants Maggie Owens dead. Why? What did she do to him?”
“I can’t tell you,” Connors said, his composure slipping the tiniest bit. I noticed he was no longer claiming he didn’t know.
Rocco’s meaty hand moved to the consigliere’s throat. His grip tightened and a line of swear appeared on the older man’s forehead. “I really didn’t want to do this,” my friend said. It was probably no consolation to Connors that it was true.
Rock lifted the consigliere right off the ground. The older man’s feet thrashed, and he clutched at Rocco’s hands, but he didn’t stand a chance to free himself from that vice-like grip.
“Looks like we’ve got a bit of a time crunch,” Rocco said. “So I’m asking again. Why did Roselli put a hit out on that woman?”
“I don’t know!” Connors chocked out. “You have to believe me!”
“Do we?” I wondered, stepping in the gap between him and Rocco. “Do it,” I urged my friend. “I told you he wasn’t getting it.”
I watched as Rocco banged his fist into the old man’s jaw, his head jerking in the opposite direction. Rock released his grip and Connor dropped to the floor like a bag of rocks. Rubbing his throat, he attempted to sit up. I made sure he stayed down with a foot to his chest.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I asked, bending down over him. “You think we’re done with you?”
“I’m still waiting,” Rocco reminded him, kneeling beside me. “You can either give us the info, or we’re going to beat it out of you. Your choice.”
“Roselli will kill me if I tell anyone,” Connors croaked.
“And guess who he’s going to give that order to?” I stared down at him. “Us!”
“We won’t hurt you if you tell us.” Rocco’s voice was steady while Connors squirmed underneath my boot. “We’ll get you out of New York—even out of the country.”
“I can’t.” His small hands closed around my ankle.
“You’re really starting to piss me off.” I pressed my boot down into his chest. “A little more of this, and I’m going to bust your ribs. Speak!”
Shit. It really did feel like his ribs were about to give way. That was not what I wanted. To my relief, Connors nodded.
“Okay,” he said. Rocco and I had done this enough that we recognized a genuine surrender when we saw one.
I eased my foot up and off of him. Rocco offered the older man a hand up.
“There’s a will,” Connors rasped when he was sitting in his recliner.
“Wait a minute,” Rocco interjected, furrowing his brow. “Emilio Roselli left a will?”
“Yes,” Connors confirmed, and Rock and I exchanged a puzzled glance. We’d all heard the opposite. “Emilio knew what kind of man his son was. Then again, Emilio was no saint himself.”
I’d never heard Connors say anything against our old boss. Rocco was pissed off, his hand twitching as if he wanted to strike the older man. “Watch what you’re saying about him,” he growled.
Connor held up his hands defensively. “I don’t mean he’s like Nick. I just mean… Emilio liked the ladies, especially when he was younger.”
“Before he was married?” I asked.
Connor looked me in the eye. “Yes. And after. His wife turned a blind eye—she had to. And he kept it discreet, but sometimes, things happened. Like when he got a housekeeper named Sheila pregnant.”
“Go on,” Rocco demanded, leaning a bit forward, but I’d already seen where this was going, and my jaw dropped.
“Sheila Owens,” Connors elaborated.
“Fuck,” Rock hissed, getting it. “Maggie is Emilio’s daughter?” He looked as stunned as I was. “But she told me her father left them when she was a girl.”
“Then she lied to you, or more likely, her mother lied to her.”
Rocco was still stunned. “She’s really Emilio’s daughter?”
There was a more pressing issue, however. “Which means she’s also Nick’s half-sister.”
“Later in his life, he felt guilty that he’d never been there for Maggie. That he didn’t know her. I think the more he learned about his son, the more he wished he had a relationship with his illegitimate daughter,” Connor said. “Since he didn’t, he tried to rectify that mistake in his will. He left ninety-five percent of his fortune to Maggie. The remaining five percent was supposed to go to Nick.”
“This is fucking insane,” Rocco said, staring past the older man’s head. I banged my open palm into my temple, choosing to keep my mouth shut.
“So that bomb that Baxter was taking to the bar, that wasn’t meant to punish us, was it? It was meant to kill Maggie.” Rocco’s tone revealed that he already knew the answer.