“Sure, you would’ve cleaned up because you would have been cheating.”
“You want your girl dead or alive?” Tony snaps. “If you want to see her pretty little smile again, you better cut the crap. We want $20 mil. And don’t tell me ya don’t got it, cuz I know a hotshot like you does.”
“Where are you taking her?” I ignore his comments.
“We’re just gonna show her the old soap factory.” I can hear the smirk in his voice. “I guess ya know it.”
“The old soap factory.” I nod at Terry, who is standing tense and alert, picking up what he can from the one-sided conversation he’s hearing. “Yes, of course I know it.” It’s a defunct property on the outskirts of town, close to the desert. It’s been standing empty for years. Some misguided businessman had the bright idea to establish a manufacturing plant out there, wanting to use solar power. It was a bust. By now the space is basically little more than a flophouse for bums.
“Good. Meet us there with the money. Hand over what you owe us and we’ll hand over your little Lilly. We want all cash, plus a car.” He pauses before going on. “You’ll be happy to hear she’s looking prettier than ever. Even nicer than in that magazine.”
“Don’t you lay a finger on her.” My voice is calm and even, but my heart is racing. “If you hurt her, you’ll never see your money,” I add. “And you’ll never use your dick again either.”
Tony chuckles, his laugh low and menacing. “Just bring us the cash. And come the fuck alone. Leave those beefcakes of yours at home.” And with that the line goes dead.
“Situation?” Terry asks.
“We’ve got a Chicago problem to take care of. Get six of our best guys at side entrance B, ready to go in five minutes. You too. Three cars.”
With a curt nod, Terry turns on his heel and heads off, already making a call on his phone to make it happen.
I try to take a breath to calm myself, but it’s of no use. Even though I’m still convinced that Tony and Bobby are all talk, no action, the fact is that they have Lilly in their clutches, which means I can’t take any chances. Whether or not they’re bluffing isn’t the issue, whether or not they’re actually prepared to take her life doesn’t matter. What matters is that Lilly is scared, and that’s enough to piss me off. That makes me want to tear them to pieces and feed them to the pigs.
Five minutes later, I head to the designated meeting point. Terry and the men—including Ben and Mike—are waiting. The three cars are there, engines already running, ready.
“Boss,” Ben gives me a nod as I approach our small caravan. I gesture to him and the other guys to gather around.
“Terry has briefed you all.” They nod affirmatively. “Then let’s go. Old soap factory.”
Terry and I get into the back of one of the escalades, with Ben and Mike up front. We pull away, the other four men in the cars behind us, two apiece
“Okay?” Terry looks at me.
I nod and let out the breath I’ve been holding. “Fucking Tony and Bobby. I let them walk and this is what I get for it.”
Terry isn’t the kind of guy to say I told you so, instead he just says, “Not quite the welcome back you had planned for her.”
“No, it is not.” I’d been avoiding Lilly’s efforts to reach out to me because I’d been planning a surprise for her. A life-changing surprise that I wanted to unveil when I saw her here, in Vegas, in person. Now that plan is shot to shit. “Tony mentioned a picture in a magazine on the phone.”
“The press release,” Terry confirms, dourly.
“Yep. And you know how the Vegas kitchen scene is…”
“Biggest source of gossip in the city.” Terry shakes his head. It’s true. The network of restaurants, with their many busboys, waitresses, and chefs, is an easy place to turn for anything in Vegas. Drugs, girls, black market items—and information.
“The media told everyone she was coming in from Missouri to Casino Diamond. Once they knew that, they worked the system to find out what day she was due, then—”
“Delayed the real driver and intercepted her at arrivals,” Terry finishes for me.
“Uh huh.” It’s an uncharacteristically savvy move for guys the caliber of Tony and Bobby. But I’m the one who gave them the