Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 161899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 809(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 809(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
The right thing to do in this scenario was explain to Lee that he’d gotten it wrong. That although Lottie had tried to hook them up, unlike all the others, it didn’t take. Pepper and he were not an item, and with the way things were going, especially how he’d blown it today, they never would be.
He didn’t do that.
He asked, “Did she tell Shirleen why she was looking for her brother?”
“Shirleen didn’t share that, and she’s taken off for the night. You got her number?”
Auggie was maneuvering into the front drive of the high-rise, his gaze on the valet, as he answered, “I have her number. I’m on something right now. Will she mind if I call her later?”
“Considering she’s a woman who likes to be smack in the middle of everyone’s business, you could call her at midnight, and she wouldn’t mind.”
Shirleen was good people. She was also good at her job. She’d been such a good foster parent, she’d adopted both of her boys and they’d been nearly of age when she did it, so they picked her as plain as she’d picked them.
She was also good at being in people’s business.
Even if he wasn’t hip on people being in his, he’d learned a while ago that with his crew, it was impossible to keep folks out of it.
You picked your battles.
But Shirleen was already in and she might have something he needed.
So he wasn’t going to dick around getting it.
“Thanks for the call, Lee,” he said as he stopped at his destination.
“Hope you two work shit out and the reason she needs to find her brother isn’t a bad one.”
He hoped that too, on both sides.
But now he had to do this.
“Later, brother,” he bid.
“Later, Aug.”
They hung up and Auggie, having parked by the valet stand, shut her down and angled out of his vehicle.
“Here to see Mr. Rappaport,” he told the valet, handing over his key.
“Gotcha,” the valet replied.
Aug went into the grand foyer and saw straight through to the back, which was a wall of windows with a view to a manicured garden that had a lighting design second to none.
And in the foyer, there was a massive lime green rug on the shiny floor that had a subtle geometric design in cream. Dead center on it was a huge round black table with a gigantic flower arrangement sitting in the middle of it.
The elevator bays, one on each side, were discreetly tucked in the back. A seating area was between them. There was a member of staff that was probably another valet plus security hanging unobtrusively in a not-so-well-lit corner. And the concierge was sitting at a desk with two chairs angled in front of it so tenants and guests didn’t have to do anything taxing, like stand, when they asked for their packages or dry cleaning.
He walked there, but before he opened his mouth, the concierge said, “Mr. Hero for Mr. Rappaport?”
Well…
Fuck.
Cisco knew he was coming.
But thinking on it, that wasn’t a surprise.
Because Brett “Cisco” Rappaport didn’t hide what Auggie had found. And if Cisco didn’t want something known, it wasn’t known. But Auggie had found it in no time.
So after what happened that day, he knew Aug would run it down.
And therefore, Auggie would be right where he was right then.
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
The concierge looked beyond him, dipped his chin, and Aug looked over his shoulder to see the other guy moving toward the elevators.
“Mr. Rappaport is expecting you,” the concierge declared. “Brandon will show you up,” he finished.
“Thanks,” Auggie muttered, moving to the elevators.
He got there, Brandon fobbed him up, and Auggie wasn’t surprised “Mr. Rappaport,” better known by his street name, Cisco, had a unit on the top floor.
Cisco also had a five-thousand-square-foot house in the mountains.
Because crime paid.
Auggie couldn’t think about that. Thinking about that put him in a place where he had to consider what he’d learned about an hour ago. And he was there to deal with that, not lose his shit about it.
He’d lost his shit already today, and he regretted it. He’d rather have lost it with Cisco, and not Pepper, but he couldn’t turn back the clock.
That said, maybe it was good he’d put a line under them.
He’d have preferred to do it another way.
But he was a Hero. Hero men weren’t averse to fucking shit up royally.
You could ask his father.
And his mother.
Though, she’d gotten hers back.
A thousand-fold.
The elevator doors opened, he got out, saw another table, also round, much smaller, as was the flower arrangement on it (but it was fresh). He looked left and turned right.
There were only two units on that floor.
And he needed unit 2002.
He walked that way and hit the button by the grand double doors.
He waited around five seconds before one side of the doors opened and Cisco’s driver, bodyguard and right-hand man, Joe, opened it.