His: Tony: The Sabatini Family by Fiona Murphy (mystery books to read .TXT) 📗

harder for some reason. Getting up, I pour her a few fingers of brandy. She takes it and gulps it down. It takes her a few minutes to continue speaking.

“On her deathbed, she made Christy promise to make you pay for Danny’s death and for her life being ruined. Christy doesn’t want to kill you. She doesn’t want to kill anyone. I swear on my life, she’s the sweetest person in the world. She was a nurse, for christ’s sake.” She works to breathe deep instead of the agitated pants coming out of her.

“But Alana fucked with her head, tried to make her promise to kill Dominic so you would hurt the way Danny hurt. Christy told her she would never be able to do it—you’d already lost one son, and it was because of what Michael did. Alana told her then the least she could do was kill you, how you didn’t deserve to live for all the bad things you’ve done. Christy told Alana she would do it. As a way of letting her rest in peace, but she was never going to actually do it.”

She’s trembling as she wipes the tears streaming down her face. “Alana died almost a year ago. Like I said, it never even crossed Christy’s mind to do it. Only ever since then, her life has gotten more and more fucked up. She had a bad miscarriage, like her third one or something, and her husband left her and wiped out their accounts. Then she lost the nursing job she loved so much because she couldn’t get out of bed with the baby thing. Now she’s thinking she’s getting bad karma for not doing what she promised her mother. How if she does what Alana wanted, maybe it will fix her life or something.”

Shaking her head, she takes a few deep breaths before looking up at me. Her eyes are pleading for understanding.

“She told me about the whole killing you thing right after Alana died. I didn’t say anything then because I was sure nothing would come of it, and nothing did. But she called me the other day and she sounded different. Christy knows I work for you, or you know, you run the building and us women. She asked if I could give her your address. I asked why and she admitted she believes if she does what she promised Alana then her life will go back to good again.”

I barely manage not to roll my eyes. No way is killing me going to fix a life as fucked up as hers.

“Christy managed to get a gun. She was going to go up to your house and kill you when you answered the door. I managed to talk her out of it. Told her that she had to be more careful. You’ve got cameras all over your place. I promised I’d meet up with her tonight, and we could figure something else out together.”

Wonderful, an unstable woman gunning for me. Yes, her life sounded like hell. I have no sympathy. Despite what Lisa has asked, there is only one way to resolve the issue: I have to kill Christy Teller. There is no other solution. Leaving someone alive who wants me dead isn’t even a question. It sounds like I’ll be doing the woman a favor.

“Tell her that she needs to get close to me. Get me comfortable with her enough I’m willing to turn off the cameras. I’m without a mistress and looking for someone new. Send her to me asking to work in the building so I know she’s available, then have her entice me to make her my mistress.”

Lisa’s eyes go big, and she shakes her head.

“Even if she manages to kill me, she’ll be dead before I’m buried. My men or Dominic will find her. Dominic won’t stop until he’s hunted her down and killed her. If you care about her, then make sure she understands that. I’m a sucker for a woman. I’ll fall for her and not think of the consequences—that’s the story you feed her.”

It’s the one many believe. With my height and build—that I hit by the time I was sixteen—I’ve always done what I could to make sure a woman didn’t fear me. I spoke softer, smiled often, ensured my touch was gentle. The men of the mafia, who enjoyed people fearing them, believed it was only about getting pussy. It wasn’t, but I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks and never explained myself.

“Tell her once she’s close to me, I’ll turn the cameras off in my house and she’ll have her chance. She can pull the trigger and be gone by the time someone finds me. It will give her time to disappear.”

Sniffling, she nods. “I’ll do it. Please don’t kill her, Tony. I know when you meet her, you’ll understand. I know you will.”

I stand, I will not lie to her. Once Christy Teller made up her mind to kill me, she sealed her own fate. “Does she have the five grand for rent she’d need to move in?”

I didn’t take a cut of the women’s earnings. To live and do business in the building, the women paid a flat five grand a month as rent. Not every woman chose to live in the place full time, I didn’t care if they did or not, but they would pay the rent monthly.

Lisa shakes her head. “She’s broke.”

“I’ll have Joseph come by with the money for you to loan her. Call me as soon as you’re done with her.”

She doesn’t press me again, simply nods as she gets up and leaves. Once she’s gone, I make a call. Hugo takes forever to answer. I almost hang up. I don’t leave messages.

“Yeah, Tony.”

“I need you to look into someone. Christy Teller. Her mother’s name was Alana, she died last year. Alana was Danny Corsia’s woman at the time he committed suicide. Everything you can get on her. I need it now.”