“He was very careful about those kinds of things. But I, eh, I did record him yelling at me a few times.”
“That was smart thinking,” Stone said.
“Does he know about the recordings?” Herb asked.
“Not as far as I know.”
“What about your original lawyer?”
“Yes. I played them for him.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said he didn’t think they’d be that helpful.”
“Something he would say if he was trying to pad his fees,” Stone said.
“Send them to me,” Herb said. “I’m sure there’s something there we can use.”
“I will.”
“Don’t worry, Sara. I’ll get this taken care of for you, and soon all you’ll need to worry about is starting your new life.”
Stefan watched Sara and thetwo men leave, but didn’t immediately go himself. He had a little thinking to do.
At least now he had a name for the older guy—Stone Barrington. He also knew the guy’s friend was Herb something or other. Stefan had missed his last name when he’d been introduced.
Stefan wasn’t sure how he felt about Barrington now. The guy hadn’t acted like he was trying to be Sara’s boyfriend, though Saradidmention she’d be moving into an apartment he owned. Stefan didn’t like the sound of that and resolved to take a wait-and-see attitude toward the man.
The person who had made him livid, however, was Leonard Yates. Stefan had barely been able to contain his rage upon hearing how the son of a bitch had treated Sara. And how dare Yates think he deserved even one cent of her and soon-to-be-Stefan’s money.
Stefan had known about Sara’s estranged husband, of course. He’d even stood across the street from St. JamesCathedral when Sara and Yates had walked out hand in hand after their wedding.
He’d believed the marriage wouldn’t last more than a few months. He’d even planned out ways he could aid in its demise.
What Stefanhadn’tplanned on was being arrested when he returned to Los Angeles a few days later, and then convicted on trumped-up robbery charges that put him behind bars for a little more than three years.
The first thing he did when he was released was find out if Sara was still married. To his surprise she was, but then he found out they were separated and going through a divorce. That meant the path would soon be cleared for his return.
Except for his monthly meetings in L.A. with his parole officer, he spent all his time in Chicago, following her around. And when he learned that she was moving to New York, he’d followed her here.
But after overhearing what Sara had told the lawyer, it seemed a return trip to Chicago was in order.
Because someone needed to hammer home to Yates that he no longer had a place in Sara’s world.
And if that someone needed to be Stefan, then so be it.
Chapter 7
Gennaro sat at his kitchentable, stuffing twenties into the automatic bill counter. The bills were part of that day’s take from his bookie business.
With the punch of a button, the cash began spinning through the machine. But instead of feeling a thrill at the sound, it only reminded him how much better it would be to have a whole room full of machines, each counting its own thick stack.
The reason it had never been and would never be that way was Carlo “Pinkie” Ramirez.
Pinkie was the head of the Ramirez Syndicate, which Gennaro had belonged to since he was seventeen. During Gennaro’s first decade working for Pinkie, things had been great.
And then Eduardo Buono had shown up.
