He wanted to throttle her, but he didn’t want to take the time to do it. Everyone was waiting, and the longer they waited, the more chance of them being discovered and ruining this opportunity.
“Promise me, Lisa. Promise.” His blue eyes fixated on her green ones.
Lisa gave him her word, and vowed she would keep it. “Gio, I promise. I do. I just needed to be near you, in case. I don’t know. I don’t want you to worry about me while you are up there, and unless I hear sirens, or see cops go in first, I promise you I’ll stay put.”
Gio could see the worry there. “Lisa, I’ll be fine. I understand, but please, please, keep that promise. I don’t want to worry about you. I love you. Nothing is going to happen, but Johnny needs you too.”
“I understand, Gio. I love you and I guess I wanted you to know that.” Gio reached for her, and his lips crushed hers.
“Love you babe,” he broke from the kiss. He didn’t have a moment to lose.
“Connie, listen. You get where you are going, and just keep your mouth shut. I think you are safe, but stay there until you hear from me. I’ll send you an email. And again, thank you for not saying my name. I appreciate it, but from what you described, and the men you described, they sound very much like Marinos to me. Wait until you hear from me. I’ll keep you posted. You’ll be rewarded. I don’t think the master will even find out about this.”
Connie felt the relief sweep through her. Those cops weren’t real cops. It had been a sting of some sort, and meant to lure Albert out. He would handle it from here, he had promised.
“Miss, you need to turn your phone off. The plane is about to depart.”
Connie nodded her understanding, and slipped the phone she had just purchased into her pocket. Her mind filled with fear had made her call Albert. She knew she had to warn him. The guilt had finally settled in. They would find her and track her down, and she knew by betraying them she would have signed her own death warrant. She was glad she called Albert first. By the time she reached Atlanta, she would check in again with him. Hopefully, he would know more, and she wouldn’t have to make her call to the master.
“Mr. Rasmussen, I have a Mr. Marino here to see you. It’s late, I know, but he is quite insistent.”
“Absolutely, send him up, Tony.”
Gio overheard the note of cheerfulness in Albert’s voice, and that worried him. Perhaps, it had been to keep the doorman from taking notice. But Gio’s instinct told him otherwise. He hoped his brothers had caught onto the tone. He knew they were watching and listening. Of them, he was confidant. Albert, not so much.
The door opened to a smiling Albert.
"It's been a long time, Giovanni." Albert sneered looking over his longtime rival. "Have you come to commiserate with me?"
Gio passed through the open door giving Albert a menacing glare. "I don't think I understand what you mean." He smiled. He'd play Albert’s game for a little while.
The older man, by five years was already greying around the temples. His hair, much lighter than Gio’s, was perfectly manicured. Albert was still slim, but he was soft. Gio gave him a quick once over.
Albert’s response was to laugh, as he closed the door softly behind them. "I figured not, but Lisa after all, has tried to kill us both now, hasn't she?"
Gio’s look was answer enough, but he played Albert’s game. "You and I both know that isn't true."
Albert just shrugged his shoulders. He suspected Gio was wired, although his appraisal of him so far revealed nothing. But he knew Gio was a professional. He just turned and began to walk to his study calling over his shoulder. "Come. Let's have a drink. I'm most curious then to find out to what I owe this pleasure."
Gio followed him the short distance to the study. It was the only room with a door on this level.
"Sit. I'll fix us a drink. What will it be?" he asked facing his wet bar in one corner of the room.
Gio took the seat across from the over large desk. "Nothing. I don't drink."
"Oh, yes, sorry. I had forgotten. You have a drinking problem. Do you mind?" he asked holding up the decanter of brandy.
"Not at all." Gio’s tone let nothing slip. The man was a piece of work, but he knew what he was about. "The Dakota. How'd you get the place? I always wondered. This place is pretty exclusive."
"It is." That's all he offered, but the look on his face made it clear Gio would never be taken into a place as prestigious as the Dakota.
Albert sat, placing his glass on a coaster, and leaned back in his chair. He appeared perfectly at ease. "How's fatherhood?" he asked. "You must have been as shocked as I? Lisa kept that a secret for quite some time. I guess neither one of us ever really knew her?"
Gio wanted to reach across the desk and slap the smirk off of the piece of shit slime ball. Even a slap would knock this man on his ass. "Johnny is a fantastic kid. I couldn't be happier."
"I gave him the best of everything."
"Except for a real father," Gio uttered the words threateningly and meant it. Albert was trying to push his buttons, get under his skin. It was beginning to work.
"Touché," Albert lifted his glass to Gio and took a small sip of the sweet liquor. "It's late, Gio. I'd love to reminisce about the old days, the neighborhood, the woman we both fucked, but I just buried my father. Speak now. What brings you by?"
It seemed Albert had gotten all the digs out, and now he cut to the chase. He expected Gio to lay all his cards on the table.
"I'm here because you ruined my life once, and I won't allow it to happen again. I have an offer for you. Simple."
"Well, I'm all ears. Do tell."
"I have some items in my possession. Very interesting items. I have a statement by a high end prostitute, saying you hired her to help you frame Lisa." Gio, slid a single sheet of paper across the desk to Albert
“My wife. Why would I do that? I loved her." Albert waved his hand away. "If it is real, then it was coerced.” He pushed the paper back to Gio not even looking at it.
"I think if you read it, you may find it highly interesting.”
"Like I said, coerced." Albert raised his glass to his lips.
Gio continued. "Connie states that you also pay her bills, she serves your sexual depravities. That you and Senator McCarthy are both clients. In fact, all three of you, have a . . . relationship."
"Again, coerced. Lies. I know nothing of this."
"Do you not care for your reputation?"
"Not as much as my parents did, Giovanni," he crooned softly. "And they are dead. I see no proof of anything here. A hooker’s word means nothing to me. A mere slip of paper. If that is all . . ." he made to get up.
"No, there is more." Gio could not wait to wipe the smug look off the man’s face as he pulled out the envelope of photographs.
"I have done nothing. I am the victim here. And I suggest, Giovanni, that you give up on the fantasy that is Lisa. She is venom." Albert refused the envelope pushing it back as well.
Gio sat on the edge of his chair. He opened the envelope and took out the stack of photographs. One by one, he began sliding them across the desk to Albert.
"Connie, she looks like Lisa doesn't she?” Albert glanced at the photo and rolled his eyes. Gio slid over another photo. “Connie again, from your video equipment, putting the bomb under your car.” Albert merely glanced at the photo dismissively. Another photo. “Connie, nice outfit."
The third picture caught Albert slightly off guard. He recognized the trench coat and the fish net stockings. He glanced at Gio who was smiling.
Gio saw his reaction. A slight flaring of the nostrils. Gio paused before showing the next picture. "You, in tux and tails. Looking good, Albert." It was a photograph of the same night.
"Fine, so I know the girl. It's consensual. My mistress. I did not know she was a prostitute."
The next picture slid underneath his nose. "Found this one on the internet. Is that you, cuffed, trussed? Is Connie paddling you? I can’t see your entire face, but it l
ooks similar."
"Why are you here, Gio? What do you want? These photos mean nothing. Yes, they would be embarrassing, but they prove nothing. My mistress looks like my wife. Nothing more.”
"I want you to let Lisa go. Admit what you did?"
"I did nothing. So my mistress has red hair. So I like kink. But, Lisa tried to kill me. Facts are facts."
"A jury will acquit her. And then everyone will come looking for you?"
"There are receipts? Other evidence? Motive? What motive do I have to frame my wife?" Albert challenged him.
Another picture. "She was going to divorce you." It was Lisa's scarred legs.
"She liked it too. We were together for nearly ten years." Albert sneered licking his lips. His cock hardened under the desk.
"You fucking liar. You are a sick bastard." Pictures were coming across the desk in rapid succession now. Lisa with a black eye, Lisa with her ribs taped at the hospital. Him with a man in his bedroom in this very apartment. Him beating a chained man in a warehouse, him kissing a young man, blond, by a car inside a warehouse. The partial license plate visible.
Gio was watching him. He saw the reaction he was looking for, then the next picture he pulled from the bottom of the stack. It was doctored, but was a good fake. A photo, of Albert in college, at a party, sucking cock, the man was the likeness of the senator.
"Where did you get that picture?" He made to snatch for it, but Gio was faster. He picked up all the photographs and got up, Albert following him.
"I said, where did you get that photograph?"
"Oh, there is more," Gio turned on him. "But, I can see you won't budge. I'll just take my evidence elsewhere."
Albert’s arm gripped Gio's and he tried to turn him around. Gio turned.
"How?" he sputtered, his breath stinking like booze.
"I know the senator is your master. He's going down, you sick fuck, because you can't let go of Lisa. Either you tell the god dammed truth for once in your life, or I'll take these to the police, the press, and they'll be splashed all over the newspapers by morning."
"I'm not going to jail, over this bitch."
"Then we have nothing further to say. Good night." Gio turned and started to leave.
"Do whatever you need to do, but don't use the pictures of Wilson. He will kill me."
"You think I care what happens to you? I want the god dammed truth!" Gio spat.
Albert was in a full blown panic now, and he couldn't think fast enough. He'd wished he hadn't finished that third glass of brandy. His only thought was that he couldn't let Gio leave with those photographs. He had to stall him.
He came out from behind his desk. "Please wait, Gio." Albert called out, as Gio reached the door.
A voice in his earpiece told him to be cautious. Gio knew he had pushed Albert as far as he could. He needed the man to dig his own grave.
"What? Why? I can see you aren't willing to make a deal.” Gio stood at the open door, ready to dive if Albert tried anything.
"I'll pay you for those pictures. Are there anymore?" Albert asked, grasping at straws.
"No," Gio lied. I have it all here. He tapped his chest." If Albert tried to shoot him he wanted it to be there where he was protected by the vest he wore. "And I don't want your money. I want the truth."
"Maybe it was Connie. Maybe she wanted more. I don't know." Yes, he could throw her under the bus. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? Her running would make it seem more plausible.
"But Connie said you paid her?" Gio spoke softly. Albert was holding his head in his hands. "Why? Why do you hate Lisa so much?"
Albert exploded. "I don’t hate her. I loved her. Goddammit. I loved her, but she couldn't forget about you." Something ripped inside Albert’s brain. He reached for the drawer and pulled out the small gun he kept there.
"Albert, put the gun down," Gio raised his hands in defense. Also to protect his head in case. It was basic instinct kicking in.
He heard his brother’s voice in his ear piece. "We are coming in. Keep him distracted.”
"Albert!" Gio yelled to cover any noise his brothers made getting in. "Why are you framing Lisa?"
Albert screamed in return. “Because if I can't fucking have her, you piece of shit, you can't either."
Gio had been watching Albert’s hand the whole time. As soon as he saw the catch release and Albert said the words that would seal his fate, Gio dove.
Andreas was there. Albert ran towards the door in pursuit, and Andreas’s fist was the first and last thing he saw for quite some time.
Lisa heard the sirens, and sat bolt upright in the car. Her heart hammered and despite the heat of the night, a cold fear trickled down her spine. She had promised to stay in the car, and resisted the urge to get out, but almost broke that promise when three cop cars and an ambulance pulled up in front of the now open lobby doors of the Dakota.
“Please,” she whispered. “Let Gio be okay.”
Just then her phone notification blipped.
Gio: I’m okay.
Holy heck, thank goodness, she whispered, bringing the phone to her lips as she kissed the screen.
Lisa typed.
Lisa: I’ll head home then. But call as soon as you can.
She waited for a response.
Gio: No come up. Wait until after you see the police take Albert away. Love you. It’s almost over.
Again Lisa, wanted to kiss the screen. It was over. Almost. She would be free. Albert would be taken to jail.
“OK,” she typed. “Love you.”
Gio: Love you too, babe.
Lisa then typed out a message to her sister. She knew Mary must be worried sick.
Lisa: Gio says it’s over. Albert is being arrested. I don’t know much more. But as soon as I do know anything, I’ll let you know.
It was fifteen minutes later before she saw anything, and then Albert was tucked into the police car. When the car was out of sight, she got out of the rental, and crossed the street to the apartment building she had lived in with Albert for nearly four years. It was the first time she looked forward to going there.
Blaze was down in the lobby when she approached; he bypassed the doorman who was speaking to another officer and he let her in.
“Hey, there is a restraining order...” he started to say.
“Did you not just see Mr. Rasmussen taken away?” he called over his shoulder shaking his head. The security guard nodded after realization had struck.
“Everyone is okay?” Lisa asked being taken into Blaze’s arms briefly.
“Yes,” he said pulling back. “Andreas, Nikko and Gio are still upstairs being questioned by the police. We are lucky we know a lot of the guys, but what we did to get the information well, Albert’s lawyers are going to have a field day with this.”
“You mean it’s not over?” she questioned confused.
“No, it’s over. He took a shot at Gio.” Then Blaze quickly added as he saw her eyes widen in panic, “but missed, by a mile. That got him arrested. Gio was invited in; that’s why the police are questioning the doorman. We will probably all have to go into the police station to answer some questions. It’ll be a long night, and that’s why Gio wanted to see you before we all were taken downtown.”
“You guys aren’t in any trouble?” she asked as Blaze led her to the stairwell beside the elevator. The police had the elevator locked down while they investigated.
“Don’t think so, and we have a confession on tape, and though it may not be admissible, it’ll be enough to get your case dismissed.”
“So Albert might get away with trying to frame me?” she asked, trying to calculate how long he might go away for trying to shoot Gio. Not long enough, she thought as the door shut and they began the brief climb to the fourth floor.
“Highly unlikely. The prosecutor has been riding hard on you for this, and he will want answers, so they will find something that was overlooked.”
“Good,” Lisa stated. “About time they start looking
at him.”
Blaze pulled open the door at the top of the stairwell and they crossed the hallway to the open door of her old apartment.
Gio was answering questions from a detective, and Andreas and Nikko were tete-a-tete with another one, probably answering the same ones.
“If you’ll excuse me a moment,” Gio asked of the detective with whom he was speaking. The detective nodded, still scribbling away on his notepad.
Gio took Lisa into his arms. “Blaze fill you in?” he asked inhaling her scent and holding her.
“Yes, some,” she stated as he released her.
“It’s all gonna work out.” He kissed her softly on the top of her head.
“I believe you.” And she did. For the first time, in a very long time she felt more certain of that than anything else.
“Good, now we gotta go to the station. Blaze can drive you home, then he will come down to the station for us. Just wanted to see you, and knew you wouldn’t rest easy until you saw me.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. “I gotta make my baby happy.”
“You do, Gio. You do!” Lisa threw herself into his arms. “Only you,” she whispered as he kissed the top of her hair once more.
Lisa sent Mary home over two hours ago. It was nearly one in the morning and still no sign of any of the Marinos. Still not tired, she would wait up, all night if she had too, she thought as she flicked through the television stations looking for something to occupy her mind until Gio returned.
But it wasn’t necessary, there was a rattling at the door fifteen minutes later. She was up off of the sofa, and at the door before Andreas had it half way open.
“Thank you, all,” she threw herself at him. “All of you,” she stammered as Andreas let her go.
“Sure Weezie,” he teased, calling her by another one of the horrible nicknames the boys used on her when they had been neighbors and children.
She smacked him. “What are brothers for?” Nikko chimed in coming in next, and kissing her on the cheek.
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