“So, you’ve been following her?”
“Not exactly,” his son said as he exhaled and smoke filled the room.
The smell made the boss want to reach for one of his cigars, but he didn’t like to mix that shit with his good stuff. “So, what exactly were you doing?”
“I watched her for a bit.” He took another hit off his cigarette.
“What for?” He knew why, but he wanted his answer.
“I had to make sure things were going in the right direction.”
“Are they?”
“How about we ask him?” He nodded his head toward the door.
His son was right; not only was he a little suspicious on whether Nero could get the job done, but his own brother was, too.
“Sal, bring him in.”
He watched Sal open the door and head off to take care of some things. Nero came in and shut the door behind him. Unlike his older brother, he took a seat in one of the chairs.
“How was school today, son?” By the look on Nero’s face, he knew he understood what he meant.
“Promising. I got her to come around.”
“Really? How’s that?” He studied his son. He would make sure everything that came from his mouth was the whole fucking truth.
“I gained her trust. She’s not exactly the most popular girl in school, so I made them lay off her and her friend a little. Then I got lucky and one of them slashed her friend’s tires, the same friend who takes her to and from school. Took her home. Taking her to school. Going to make that a permanent thing.”
“That’s good. Do you have any proof you have her trust? Not that I don’t believe you, Son, but she’s smarter than you think.” He did believe Nero was telling the truth; he just knew a girl like Elle could pull the wool over his eyes.
“Yeah, she gave me her work schedule. Told her I needed it to see when we could go out sometime.” Nero handed over his phone with the picture already up on the screen. Boss Caruso looked it over.
He heard the flip of the lighter open, then it firing, his older son moving on to another cigarette. He watched him flip the lighter shut. His son had learned every Zippo trick out there. He’s gonna break the fucking thing soon. The only reason he didn’t take it back was because he knew his son would get it repaired if need be.
He took out a cigar. He didn’t care about the smells mixing at this point. He pulled out his own lighter and lit the end.
Inhaling the wonderful taste, he moved on, “So, what is it you really wanted to tell me?”
He watched Nero run his hands through his hair. “I don’t think she will ever tell. She keeps a lot of shit hidden. Been beat up real bad a couple of times, but would never tell who it was. I asked her if a certain person did something to her, and she protected him. He’s a real piece of shit, too, so there’s no reason for her not to tell. I asked her why and she told me she wasn’t a rat.”
He exhaled after a long hit. “She said that she wasn’t a rat, specifically?” When he watched his son nod, he flexed his jaw. He would move on for now. “Who is her friend?” Elle might tell her over anyone.
To his surprise, his other son answered the question and Nero looked just as shocked. “Chloe Masters.” He watched his son emerge from the corner and squeeze Nero’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, brother. I figured she might have given you something good for taking her home. I hope you can save her by her eighteenth birthday. You don’t mind sharing, do you? Don’t worry; you can have her first. Virgins aren’t my thing. I prefer a little experience.”
Nero stood, looking his brother in the face. “I don’t think either of us are her type.”
“Let’s hope she learns how to willingly love a Caruso in a month. You know, for her sake.” He inhaled his cigarette, letting the end turn bright red.
“Yeah, Lucca, let’s hope that ends up being me. You know, for her sake.” Nero left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Boss Caruso squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Chloe Masters, huh?”
Lucca finally took a seat in front of him. “That’s the one.”
“Shit, we were all getting along so well.” The relationship they had with Chloe’s father was crucial to his business. It had taken a while to get him on his payroll, and it hadn’t been easy.
“Yeah, one big, happy family.” Lucca put his cigarette out in the ashtray and got up to head for the door.
“Keep following her, son.”
He had known the second he saw that one-week schedule, Elle was one step in front of Nero. He owned the Casino Hotel; therefore, he knew schedules were typically more than a week in advance.
“I planned on it, boss.” Lucca left the room without a sound. Boss Caruso wasn’t even sure the door had closed.
He thought about what Nero had said as he brought the cigar to his mouth. ‘She told me she wasn’t a rat.’ His gut had been right; she had done more than just hear what happened in that alleyway, and he was going to do whatever it took to find out exactly what she had seen. He exhaled in an attempt to get rid of the horrible cigarette smell permeating the room. I’ve seen a lot of men turn rat.
* * *
Nero walked out of the room, fuming on the inside. He only hoped he didn’t give himself away. When he made it to the elevator, he decided to text Elle again.
Need a ride home?
While the elevator traveled down, he made sure to keep his calm. He had to keep in mind that this whole place had cameras everywhere.