Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“You know it’s true,” Gallo says. “This wily little shit snatched the girl out from under our noses. Isn’t that right, Costa?”
“Yes,” I confirm. “I have Heloise Accardi in my possession, although she likes to be called Hellie.”
“Hellie,” Frost repeats, head tilted. “I like that.”
“Fuck what she wants. That girl’s head needs to be mounted on a spike outside my goddamn casino doors.” Gallo sits forward, glaring at me. “When are you going to give her up?”
“I’m not.”
“Bullshit.” Gallo looks at Frost. “Tell him we need to kill the girl.”
“For once, I agree with the old man. We need to kill the girl.” Frost keeps staring at me. “But if that’s all you planned on doing, you wouldn’t have called us all here in person.”
Gallo groans as he sits back. “That’s a good point. Ah, shit, Costa, what do you have planned?”
“The girl is too useful to kill. That would be a waste.”
“It would be fucking revenge.” Gallo practically spits the words.
“She didn’t steal from us,” I point out. “The actual thief is hiding out somewhere on a Caribbean beach enjoying his millions. If we kill his daughter, he’ll be sad and maybe some other would-be con men might think twice if only to preserve their own precious spawn, but it won’t bring Danny out of hiding.”
“Perhaps getting at Danny isn’t the point anymore,” Frost says. “Hurting the girl, and doing it in a very brutal and public manner, might be all the revenge we need.”
I glance at the woman sitting in a chair behind him. Her face shows nothing: his personal assistant must be used to this brutality by now. Across the table, Alberto looks pleased, and the two thugs behind him are grinning like idiots.
“Torture sounds great to me,” Gallo says. “Cut the girl’s toes off. Make her eat them.”
“Brutish, but that would be effective.” Frost strokes his chin. “We could film it. Release the footage online or trot it out whenever someone gets too fresh. That would be a very good deterrent.”
“I like it.” Gallo’s beaming. “You’re not so bad, Frost, for a fucking stuffed suit.”
“We aren’t killing the girl, let alone torturing her.” I speak loudly to draw their attention back to me. “No, we’re going to use her. Did either of you do any research?”
“What’s there to research? She’s some bitch spawn of a shithead thief. She’s got to die.” Alberto’s not smiling anymore.
“She’s a painter,” I say, looking over at Frost. “A good painter.”
He frowns at me. “I don’t see how that matters.”
“Instead of murder, I propose we make her work off the debt. I’ve provided her with a list of important paintings that have been stolen over the years, some completely lost, some thought to be destroyed. She’ll make forgeries, damn good forgeries, and the three of us will sell them on the black market. We split the proceeds three ways until we’re all made whole.”
My plan sits in the air between the men. Gallo barks a laugh after only a few seconds, shaking his head like I’m the most insane person in the world, but I never expected him to go along with it.
Frost, however, seems thoughtful.
“Can she do it?” he asks. “It wouldn’t be easy, making a passable fake.”
“She can do it,” I confirm, and I genuinely believe that’s true. I’ve seen her work; there’s a wide range of styles and technical abilities on clear display. “Making the forgeries isn’t the problem. Selling them is, which is where you two come in.”
Gallo sighs. “We should just kill her and be done with it.”
“We can kill her later,” Frost says. “I’m interested.”
With that, I have them. Gallo will make more noise, he’ll complain and delay, but eventually he’ll play along. Which is good, because his family makes their real fortune selling stolen goods, from art to electronics. Meanwhile, Frost’s got a huge network of filthy rich collector friends who wouldn’t mind breaking a few laws to get their hands on something truly rare and historical.
And all of this will be fake.
Orchestrated from my house in the desert.
Masterminded by myself.
Created by Hellie.
There are a dozen ways this can go wrong, but I was raised to go after profit no matter the stakes. Risk is acceptable, so long as the risk can be managed.
And I believe I can manage Hellie Accardi, whether she wants it or not.
Chapter 6
Hellie
I get a fitful night of sleep before waking up early. I stay in bed, still unwilling to accept my current reality, but eventually I have to use the bathroom, take a shower, and put on my old, dirty clothes. That’s something I’ll have to figure out.
But for now, I check the door, and it’s unlocked.
Erick said I’d have freedom in the house, and I can’t help but test those boundaries. I sneak out into the hall, but instead of going down toward the art studio, I take the stairs to the first floor.