“Boss,” Umberto said.
I unlocked the door and started the car with the fob. Our bodies werenotknocked back into the building, so it was safe to get in.
“News,” I said.
Umberto sighed. “A member of 24K was run down on his bike last night. A dining knife from the casino’s restaurant was stuck in his back. He survived.”
24K was a local group, led by a man who went by Jin—his surname—only.
“First stop. Paradiso. Gio needs to be in on this. Then Dynamic.”
When I’d found out Leonora worked for Vinny at Dynamic, I demanded to know who the people around her were. Besides Vinny, Sam, and two cooks, the rest were all women who had either found themselves on the hard road of life or had chosen it.
One of those women went by the name of Jade, but her birth name was Shu Sun. The name had stood out to me in the report. I’d heard of her before, and for me to hear of her, it meant she had made a name for herself. Vinny gave her a room in his club to run poker games. She was an excellent card player and knife thrower, and if a man ever accused her of cheating, she’d pin him to the wall with the collection she kept underneath the table. She was a draw.
She was also connected to 24K.
Vinny was still telling tall tales about his harrowing experience on the plane when Umberto, Gio, and I walked in. Gio’s guys were standing guard at the front and back doors. The place was dim, only a flash of light coming from the open door to brighten the place for a second before the life drained out of it. The smell of foods being prepared, cheap liquor, and a department store worth of perfume scents packed a punch in the air.
“Devil in Disguise” was playing over the speakers, and it seemed like Vinny was shaking his head and moving his hands to the beat of it as he told his small audience about the plane shaking so hard theair bagsreleased. He called oxygen masks air bags.
He lifted his hand like he was testifying to it. “My heart has never had such a shock before. Then I turn to Sam, and Sam here is green, the contents of his stomach all over his new tie. I had to help the big guy.”
“Vinny,” one of the girls who was from New York said with a clipped accent. She slapped her hands on her hips. “We were all there. The plane hit a little turbulence and you shit your pants. You didn’t help anybody.”
“Are you calling me a liar, Joey?”
“If the shit fits…”
“You’re fired!” He pointed at her.
“For what?” She pointed back. “Telling the truth? You can’t fire me for that! I’m telling George and Leo if you do!”
George and Leo had some leverage over Vinny after they both were able to quit on him, if they decided to. Vinny didn’t want that. He could trust George and Leo enough that all he had to do was deal with the money that came in. George and Leo did the rest. Or used to. Georgia still came in frequently, despite Leonora worrying that whoever was after me or her would go after Georgia in retaliation because she meant something to Leonora, but I knew once this situation was over, Leo would be back. But since she’d be taking a break, she and Georgia decided to start training two girls, who had been there almost as long as them, to take their places when they couldn’t be there.
Vinny mimicked her stance. “You’re getting cocky with your boss—that’s grounds for firing you on the spot! And George and Leo don’t run nothin’ around here!”
“I want toseeyou tell them that—to their faces—and hear it with my own ears.”
It was a standoff after.
A new song started to play, a more modern one with a catchy beat. One of the girls came out dancing from the back, one of Rocky’s friends. She started dancing around me and Umberto. She was staying clear of Gio.
“What’s up, Mr. Big?” She popped her hips from left to right. “Came to take care of business with…Vinny?” She laughed.
Vinny turned and his face blanched before he composed himself. “Everything okay with Leo? With George?” Even though he was covering for hisGeorge and Leo don’t run nothin’ around herecomment, I knew his concern for them was sincere, which kept him breathing.
Sam appeared from out of the dark shadows and shadowed Vinny.
“Fine,” I said. “We need to talk to Jade.”
“Consider the place yours, gentlemen,” Vinny said. “I’m not sure if Jade is here, though. She doesn’t come in every day, only when she finds a group of men to kill at poker, and mostly it’s at night.”
“I know a few places,” Sam said. “I’ll see if she’ll come back with me.”
Gio went to the bar and took a seat. “While we wait…who do I need to talk to about getting some food around here?”
Vinny went to grab us each some burgers and fries while we waited. Even though the place looked like an old shack from outside, and the wooden floors would probably have a reaction to a mop, at that point, Vinny kept his kitchen clean, and his food was above decent.
