Finding Beauty in the Darkness - Nikki Ash Page 0,34
back the way I had it. Don’t move shit around,” I bark out before walking away. “Johnny, my office now.” I get to my office and sit at my desk, trying to calm the fuck down. Aria working here…no fucking way. Not happening.
“You okay, Boss?”
“Yeah, close the door and have a seat.” He does so then sits down and waits for me to speak.
“Where do we know the last name Torino?”
Johnny thinks for a moment. “The name sounds familiar, but it’s not coming to me. Do we have an issue?”
“I need you to look up Antonio Torino. He was Aria’s boyfriend before she was taken. According to her friend, when Aria went missing, this Antonio kid told everyone she left on her own then he disappeared shortly after. Her friend said her stuff from her dorm was completely cleared out. Now that part could have been Weston, but why would her boyfriend say she left on her own?”
“Doesn’t make sense. How long were they together?”
“I’m not sure, but when she tried to call him, his number was disconnected.”
“All right. I’ll find the kid. What do you want me to do once I find him?”
“Let me know. I want to personally handle this.” I can’t wait to see what this little punk says for himself.
“Got it. Anything else?”
I remember Aria’s request to meet up with her friend. “Yeah, Aria needs to go to the city on Saturday. I’m going to have you take her with Caesar. We need to make sure she doesn’t run and Weston doesn’t get to her.”
“Saturday is your meeting at the casino with Damian Briar.”
“Shit. There’s no point in taking two cars into the city. Let’s take the SUV and I’ll have you drop me off then take her to meet her friend. I’ll take Rome with me. I want you to stay outside the coffee shop and have Caesar inside. We don’t have any idea where Hightower is. I don’t want to take any chances, and while Aria seems to be playing nice, she can easily try to run.”
“We’ll handle it. One more thing…” I look down at my watch. It’s only been a half hour since Aria laid down but I’m already antsy to get back to her. “You said you wanted to handle that stripper’s loan yourself. She’s behind again.”
“All right, thanks. I’ll pay her a visit soon.”
After Johnny leaves, I attempt to get some work done. I check on various accounts to confirm payments are being made with the correct interest. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve needed a loan, so I can’t empathize with the people who come to me needing money, but I can’t imagine being so desperate that I’m willing to sell my soul to the devil for money. Then again, the life I live, the family I’m a part of, I probably never had a soul to begin with.
While checking the books, I take note of the loans that aren’t up to date, so I can have Franky and Carlos, my loan enforcers, handle them this week. I don’t take lightly to people agreeing to pay a certain amount then not paying. It’s just not good business. While writing down the names, I notice one of the names is Mayor Watkins. He’s a huge gambler at the casino, so I note to let Nico know on Saturday while I’m there.
There’s a knock on my door. “Come in,” I say, too lazy to get up and answer the door. The door opens slowly and Aria’s face peeks in.
“Am I bothering you?” she asks nervously.
“No, but did you manage to already get by Rome?”
She cocks her head to the side. “No, but he argued for damn near ten minutes before I finally convinced him to just walk with me over here. You can’t make me stay in a room all day.”
“I’ll let Rome and the other guys know that as long as you don’t try to run, you can go where you would like on the property as long as someone is with you. Even if you tried to run, we’re on hundreds of acres. Unless you have a car, you aren’t getting far anyway.”
“Got it. Find a way to steal a car.” Aria smirks, and I shake my head.
“How was your nap?”
She has a seat in the chair across from me. “It was good. I feel like I’m finally almost myself again. I’m still sore, but I’m not in pain. And I haven’t had a panic attack all