Chapter Thirty Four
Gio
I watched her ass sway as she walked away from me. I could watch that luscious ass sway all day long. Despite spending the night together, she was still trying to keep me at a distance and, oddly enough, I was okay with that. I enjoyed a challenge and Carly was worth it.
By the time the night was over, and every last customer was gone, I was itching to get Carly alone again. Unfortunately it didn’t look like that was in the cards for tonight.
“We’ve got a problem, Boss.”
I groaned inwardly and turned my attention to Tony. “What’s up?”
“I did inventory today. We came up short again. Someone’s stealing from us.”
“Fuck.” I rubbed my brow. “We’ll have to put cameras up. Do you have any suspicions as to who it is?”
“Maybe. One of the waitresses, Pauline. I’ve caught her behind the bar a few times when she shouldn’t have been.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her.” Maybe I’d get to corner Carly in her office after all.
“That’s not everything.”
“Of course not. Give me a minute.” I spotted Carly exiting the back and made my way to her. “Call a taxi tonight,Bella.” When she looked like she was going to argue I pressed a finger to her lips. “Please. I have to take care of a few things and I would feel better knowing you weren’t walking home this late.”
“Okay, but only because you said please.”
“Grazie, Tesoro.” I waited until she was safely ensconced in a cab before I went back into the club, “What else did you need to talk to me about.”
Tony held out a folder and I cocked a brow at him.
“You asked me to look into Chablis’ past. You might want to take a look at that.”
I opened it and started skimming everything. “Figlio di puttana! This isn’t good.” Chablis had connections to some very dangerous people. The real question was, did she know it? And if so, would she resort to using them if Carly pushed her too hard?
“And her claim of being in management?”
“I dug into that, too. She worked as a manager for three years but she got fired just before she started here because she was caught stealing from her employer. According to human resources, when asked why she did it, she claimed she wasn’t being paid according to her skill level so she felt like she deserved the money she took. She also reportedly told the owner that he better watch his back or he might find a knife in it one night. Three weeks after she started working here he was stabbed to death.”
“Isn’t she a piece of work. Get me Cesare. Tell him to meet me at the warehouse in half an hour and to bring Luciano with him.” I needed to get a protection detail on Carly. Now.
“You got it, Boss. You think she sent someone after her old boss?”
“Si. From what I have seen of her, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Are you worried she’ll send them after Carly?”
“With as angry as she is with Carly after tonight? There is no question in my mind. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
“Merda. I’ll have them at the warehouse by the time you get there.”
“Grazie, Tony.”
“She’s family. She needs to be protected even if she doesn’t like it.”
“I don’t think she’ll see it that way but she’ll just have to get over it.” I made a beeline for the front door. “Lock up before you leave.”
“You got it, Gio.”
I wanted to fly down the streets of New Orleans, but I took my time and stayed within the speed limit. Getting pulled over for speeding wasn’t going to help anyone, least of all Carly. While stopped at a red light, I quickly dialed her number and turned the Bluetooth speaker on. I needed to hear her voice and know she was okay.
