Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“What? She’s only known him a few weeks!” I exclaimed.
“Oh my God!” Jess said. “Hypocritical much?”
“This is different,” I said defensively, running my hand down Dmitri’s thigh.
“Oh yeah, totally,” she said flatly. Then she said, “So Cat’s marrying into the Dombruso crime family. That’s interesting.”
Joe had taken Dante Dombruso up on his offer of employment after his old boss got hauled off to jail. Gregor Sokolov currently faced charges on drug smuggling, racketeering, and the kidnapping and assault of a police officer (that would be me). The Packard had been checked for evidence linking him to the Pasteretti murder as well, but the forensics team hadn’t actually found anything in the car. Still, Dante had given the police enough evidence linking him to other crimes that Gregor would be behind bars for a good long time.
Sokolov’s arrest had been a big feather in my father’s cap, as had the arrest of the two police officers that had been on Sokolov’s payroll. Joe had given up the names, along with documentation willingly, it turned out, when he saw it would help him cement his new position in the Dombruso organization – and his new position as Catherine’s main squeeze.
“It’s not ideal,” Dmitri said. “But Joe Rudin will be good to her. She could do a lot worse, actually.”
Charlie wandered in through the back door then. He paused for a moment, taking in the group of us, and then said, “Hey guys,” as he crossed the room to our booth.
“Hey Charlie. What’s up?” I asked.
“I came to tell you that I finally did it, Jamie. I came out to my parents.” He looked at me levelly and said, “It didn’t go well.”
“I’ll bet. Wait, did they kick you out?” Charlie still lived at home, because he’d never been able to afford his own apartment in the city.
“Oh yeah. Out on my ass. I kind of thought they might, so at least I had the foresight to pack up a few clothes and stash them in my truck before telling them. But that’s kind of as far as I got in the planning process. I don’t actually know where I’m gonna live now.”
“Well, my old apartment’s empty. Dmitri and I got the last of my stuff moved out this weekend.” We’d decided to move into the spacious apartment that had been standing empty above the bar. It was a great space with a lot of potential, and I was looking forward to making it our home. “I’m held to my lease through the end of the year, so you’re welcome to crash there,” I told him.
“Thanks. I owe ya,” Charlie said, pushing his short, dark brown hair from his forehead.
“You’re about to owe me even more,” I said with a grin. “I decided I need to round out my staff, so if you still want the waiter job, it’s yours.”
Charlie shot a quick glance at Dmitri before looking at the floor. And he asked hesitantly, “I’d love the job. But is that…is that going to be ok with everyone?”
“Of course,” Dmitri said. “I trust Jamie’s judgment.”
“So can you start tonight?” I asked before picking up Dmitri’s drink and taking a sip.
“Can we please make it tomorrow night? I kind of have a date tonight,” Charlie said as he fidgeted and glanced at me from beneath his dark lashes.
“Absolutely.” I said. “A date, huh? That’s great. Is it anyone I know?”
“I think you do know him,” Charlie said. “I met him here last night. His name is Dante Dombruso.”