Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t move her operation to a bigger place. Or, at the very least, move her home somewhere else. Unless she was scarred from her rough upbringing like I was. Though it was also possible she was just planning for her future, for a day when her hands would ache and refuse to do such careful work anymore. Maybe she lived frugally and socked the rest away as a retirement plan.
“So, do you have any leads on who did that to her face?” Lil asked Miko.
“Got some descriptions. We’re… looking into it.”
Oh, we were, were we?
I mean, it wasn’t like I had a leg to stand on even if I didn’t want to. And, sure, some part of me was interested to know he’d tracked down that asshole and made him pay. Even if, objectively, I knew it had nothing to do with my face and everything to do with the diamonds.
“Well, I can keep my ears peeled. Someone is going to try to unload those diamonds eventually. That shit gets around in my circles. Everyone wants to know who got some good gems and from where.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Miko said, reaching toward her desk to grab a pad and pen and jotting down his number.
“If she’s looking into this with you,” Lil said, glancing at me, then giving Miko a hard look, “are you going to make sure no one does something like that to her again?”
“No one’s gonna put a hand on her when I’m around.”
I wanted to interject, to insist that I could take care of myself, that I wasn’t some helpless little girl. The thing was, those words would fall kind of flat with my face and neck in the condition they were currently in.
Sure, my history showed that I was more than capable of taking care of myself. If I had a weapon on me. If I was on my toes.
I still believed that if I hadn’t been so overly tired, if I had been able to get to any one of my scattered weapons, the burglar would never have been able to do so much damage to me.
Though, it was entirely possible that was just my pride making excuses.
“I’m gonna remember you making that promise,” Lil said as she pointedly placed her gun down on the table.
“Got it,” he agreed. “Thanks for your time, Lil. Appreciate any help you can give us.”
“And if you need someone to create any jewelry on the quick once you find them, I might have some time.”
With that, Miko and I headed out onto the street.
The cold was like a slap to the face, but it was welcome for a change as it momentarily numbed my throbbing face.
“What would you say to coming with me to look at some pictures?” Miko asked when neither of us started to move.
“Come where?” I asked.
“Well, I’d need to stop home to get my laptop. But we could go somewhere in public, if you’re more comfortable with that.”
The fact that he was giving me the choice was what had me feeling comfortable enough agreeing to go to his place.
Which, I would find, was probably not the smartest idea.
CHAPTER NINE
Max
You could say I found myself more than a little curious about what the home of some mafia dude looked like. Especially one who dressed as well as Miko did.
The building itself was nothing to write home about. It was just your typical New York brick apartment building.
It wasn’t until we moved into the lobby that I saw the luxury of it. My apartment building hadn’t updated anything for a solid twenty years. This one looked like the decorator had just left. There were sleek dark wood floors, the shine still stunningly bright. The walls were painted a gray just shy of black. The whole effect should have made the space intolerably dark and creepy. But thanks to the chandelier and the brushed brass sconces and the golden light they spread across the space, it came off as cozy and expensive.
Even the elevator we took up to the second-to-last floor was nicer than any I’d seen outside of the fancy-ass ones in the private residences of the ultra-wealthy who hired me for my services.
The hallway featuring only four apartments was a carbon copy of the lobby. What struck me the most was the quiet.
No music from the other apartments, no chatter, TVs left playing for the dogs or cats. Just complete and utter silence. Hell, I didn’t even hear the usual blast of a horn or shrill shriek of a siren.
Miko both plugged in a code and stuck in a key before the door made a beeping noise and opened up to let us inside.
It was the scent of his home that hit me first.
I never fully understood the concept of a “house smell” until I started my work as a courier. I guess since I so rarely stepped inside an actual home most of my life. But once I began going to meetings at mansions or penthouses, I quickly realized that everyone’s home had a distinctive smell all their own.