Ringo shifted his attention from the window, now fully invested with Ellie’s tale.
“I won big. Not mega-millions big, but big, Allie. I bought the bar where I work, and…uh… a landscaping firm, my condo, and even a few shares of stock.”
Ellie looked up to see everyone staring at her. Loppa and Firenze quickly looked away but Ringo’s gaze bored into her as if he was seeing her in a different light. I didn’t like it at all.
But Allie kept working her quiet magic. I recognized that move. She’d disarmed me that first night by simply offering me a glass of champagne. This time, it was tea.
Ellie took a sip and continued. “I was set for life. And I still kept playing.”
Her hands were shaking.
“How?” Allie’s question was my own.
“Betting.”
Ah.
Ringo must have had the same revelation as I did. Gambling in general was a major source of income for the family. We’d been involved in it for so long, it was all legitimate, but if Ellie had run across some of the newer players in the game, she would likely have run into issues, if not full-blown problems.
My eyes locked with my friend.
He shook his head again, this time very carefully and slowly.
“Johnny set me up with his…friend.” Ellie swallowed.
“Name,” I growled. This would be solved with perhaps one phone call.
Ellie looked up to stare at me. “I paid him off.”
She pulled her sister’s hands in close. “Allie, I paid everyone off. But Johnny was… I mean, he knew. And I had to keep some money flowing through that so he wouldn’t get?—”
Her words cut off sharply. She studied the room as if frightened of all of us. Which she likely was. When she finally spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper.
“They were going to kill him, Allie. I was only trying to help.”
My wife did not look as empathetic as before. In fact, if I read the expression on her face, it said she didn’t give two shits whether Johnny was dead or not. “By marriage?”
“I know, I should have called it off then, but I won again. And Johnny said if we got married I’d never have to?—”
“Oh for the love of—Ellie, you know better than this.”
Allie’s admonition caused her sister to move back into her defensive position. Both arms crossed tightly against her body, her legs practically double-crossed. That didn’t stop her from aiming true. “Tell me again, who actually married a mobster? Huh?”
“Enough!” Ellie’s teeth were out, and my wife didn’t realize the danger she was in.
“Fuck you.” Ellie whipped a middle finger at me, and shifted it to a vulgar arm gesture for punctuation on the insult.
Ringo coughed to cover a laugh.
Allie sighed. “Yes, I married a man with a dubious past.” She stood and brushed at the dress she wore to smooth the wrinkles from the hem. “And he’s done nothing but protect me since. Johnny didn’t do that for you. I hope you see the difference.”
Her sister looked mutinous. “At least Johnny didn’t get me shot at.”
Allie opened and closed her mouth. I crossed the room to wrap an arm over my wife’s shoulders. “How did you obtain the pictures of this event?” I motioned toward the table between the couch and the fireplace.
“Our family lawyer,” Allie supplied.
“The one I hired to follow Johnny. I thought he was cheating on me.” Ellie stared at the floor.
