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“Oh! Oh! He’s got jokes!”
“Bye, Dice.” I hang up the phone.
I don’t appreciate requests from the family anymore. I’m supposed to beout. The truth is, they don’t have the capabilities to find me if I chose to go off-grid. The only one I’d be worried about is supposedly islands away with one of his chained-up wives. Leandro, you sick bastard.
Disappear and don’t look back, I tell myself, watching Quinn rush back into her house.
Bzzzt!
The burner vibrates. Not sure of the number, but the Artemis Hotel is generally the big boss.
“Hello.”
“Long time, Ghost,”Donny’s unmistakable voice rumbles through. “How’s my big cousin?”
“As elusive as ever.” I switch my view to the window when I notice movement.
“Gasper tells me you run a tight ship on set.”
“Our money, right?” I laugh. “I don’t ask for any producer credit, just follow my fucking lead.” I snap my fingers.
“Even the directors are scared of you.”Donny laughs with me.
“Nah, c’mon. I don’t interfere with their vision. But if they overstep… then maybe I’ll make it go a little hazy for a minute.”
“Forgot how crazy you are. You know I have to jump through a lot of hoops to keep you out. People always asking—”
“My circumstance is unique,” I say.
“That it is. Rest their souls,”Donny pays his respects. “Listen, Ghost. I know it’s not part of the agreement, but as a cousin and a friend, I have to ask—”
“Not doing it, Donny.” I shake my head. “Don’t need money, don’t need friends.”
“You haven’t even heard my proposal yet. It won’t interfere with your business. I know you’re in between sets. It’s a short-term endeavor. We need to know what the Russians’ end game is here. After what Castor and Big Ace did to Yuri and his business, I have to know if they’re planning on some kind of grand scale retaliation.”
“From one paranoid Valentino to another, you’re overreacting,” I say, eyes lingering on Quinn through the window.
I picture her sobbing on my floor. The poor kid.
“Maybe so. But all’s been too quiet on that front,”Donny says.
“You have an entire army now. Surely you have a new ghost in town,” I grumble.
“With less experience and less care,”Donny pleads.“For what it’s worth, the Rigianos have the same hunch I do. They’re moving, Ghost. Trying to make sure no more families wind up broken, you hear?”
I stay quiet on the other line, again picturing Quinn sob.
“All I ask… is that you locate the Russians… and simply observe.”
“Alright, Donny. But I move on my terms.”
“That was never up for debate.”
Chapter 5
Quinn
Okay, I think I spent enough time to make the rookie believe it was me who discovered the Russian mob symbol scraped onto the side of the house.