Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I shook my head and muttered, “You’re as ridiculous as I am.”
We finally reached Las Vegas around five a.m.
My brother had texted me a couple of hours earlier to let me know our mom had finally fallen asleep at about three in the morning. I wanted to let her get some rest, so instead of going to see my family as soon as I got into town, I drove to Mom’s bar.
It took up the ground floor of a simple, light blue building in an older part of town. Planters full of colorful flowers framed the entrance, and the sign above the door read Mandy’s Place. It simultaneously broke my heart and filled me with rage to see sheets of plywood where the big plate glass window used to be.
Jack had dozed off again, but he woke up when I cut the engine, and we both got out of the car. Two of my men were parked out front in a black sedan, and after they checked in with me and reported nothing else had happened during the night, I sent them home.
Then I used my key to unlock the front door, and when I stepped inside I told Jack, “Be careful. There’s glass all over the floor.”
He followed me into the bar, and after I locked up behind us, we carefully picked our way across the debris. “We should have come in through the back,” I muttered. “I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
Finally, I reached the switch and turned on the lights. That was when I saw the full extent of the damage. In addition to breaking the front window, they’d used their bats on some of the tables and chairs, and then they’d gone behind the bar and smashed up the bottles of alcohol.
I told Jack, “This place has been my mom’s pride and joy for thirty-seven years. She opened it right after I was born, and my brother Romy and I grew up in the apartment upstairs. She still lives there, but it wasn’t safe for her tonight, so she’s staying at Romy’s place.” I sighed and pushed my hair off my forehead as I looked around me. “Seeing it like this feels like a knife to the heart, which I’m sure is exactly what Greco intended.”
“I don’t get it,” Jack said. “You left town and shut down your business. What more does he want?”
“To make an example of me, because I pushed back when he tried to take over. This is a warning to anyone who might even think about crossing him.”
“That’s not right!” I turned to look at him, because he sounded so angry. “It’s even worse that he involved your mom.”
“I know.” I took off my overcoat and suit jacket, and as I rolled back my sleeves I said, “I’m going to be busy here for a while, but there’s a comfortable couch in my mom’s office at the back of the building. Go get some sleep. It’s not even light out yet, and you must be tired.”
I opened the utility closet and pulled out a large push broom while he went through the door marked “Employees Only.” I was fully aware that he might keep on going right out the back door, but I didn’t have the energy to try to control Jack right now—not when I was feeling defeated, exhausted, and overwhelmed by all this destruction.
Shockingly, he returned a couple of minutes later. He’d taken off his suit jacket and rolled back his sleeves, and he was carrying a broom and dust pan while dragging a big garbage can behind him. “I put two trash bags in the bin,” he said, as he left the can by the door and went to scoop up the pile of glass I’d formed. “I hope that’s enough. I was worried about the shards cutting through, so I almost went with three.”
“What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m helping you clean up.”
“Yeah, but why?”
He straightened up and turned to look at me. “This isn’t for you, it’s for your mom. As someone who was raised by a single mother, this hurts my heart. I want to help make it right.”
That stirred up a lot of emotions in me, but I just nodded and said, “Thanks, Jack.” Then we both went to work.
9
Jack
Adriano had to be completely exhausted after driving all night, but he and I worked on the bar for three solid hours. He didn’t sit down until every last shard of glass, piece of broken furniture, and drop of alcohol had been cleaned up.
Even then, he didn’t relax. He retrieved his tablet from the car and started shopping for alcohol, replacement furniture, and a new window. The fact that he wanted the replacement glass to be bulletproof was chilling.
Meanwhile, I brewed a pot of coffee and put together a simple breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs in the kitchen. He thanked me when I put a plate in front of him, but he didn’t look up from the tablet. I removed it from his hands as gently as I could and said, “Please eat something. We’ve been together about twelve hours now, and all you’ve put in your body during that time was a cup of gas station coffee.”