Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Amaranthe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She raised her dark gaze to his and sent him a tentative smile before turning her attention back to Elie and Stefano and their questions.
“The council sent you to New York without so much as informing Geno that you were investigating someone in his territory?” Stefano pursued.
For the first time she looked uncomfortable. Geno wished he hadn’t pulled his shadow away from hers. He kept his gaze on her face. She had beautiful skin. Nearly flawless. There was one tiny scar along the right side of her chin, but one had to look very closely to see that little white line. Her lashes were very long and curved at the ends. She used them to veil her eyes when she didn’t want them to know what she was thinking.
“I was to establish my cover. I applied for a job in the theater, both in Little Italy and at the Ferraro Performing Arts Theatre Company. The International Council of Riders has suspected for some time that there is a group—a faction—that is undermining shadow riders. They use young kids as their eyes and ears in the neighborhoods to commit petty crimes and to turn the people against the riders. Of course, the neighborhood knows nothing about the riders, only those in authority, such as Geno or Stefano. This group seems to be able to sow mistrust over time, and they do a fairly good job. After they manage to turn the people against those who have been protecting them, the murders start. The conclusion was the murders were done by a shadow rider—or a team of shadow riders.”
“Was Geno a suspect? Was that why you didn’t go to him and let him know you were in his territory?” Stefano asked.
“I wasn’t to go to Geno unless there was trouble. He wasn’t considered a suspect, and neither were his brothers, but everyone else in his organization was. Every rider who came through and worked under him was considered a suspect. I went to a lot of trouble establishing my cover as a dancer in both communities. It’s a solid cover. If I were seen with Geno Ferraro, it would put me in his camp, something I can’t afford as an investigator.”
Stefano nodded. “Geno caught on to the neighborhood teens, younger men and women being used to spy, and he set a trap after his parents were murdered. How is it you were the one caught in the trap?”
“I teach ballet class to a group of children ranging in ages from very young to eighteen. During break I overheard one of the girls telling her friends she was afraid for her older brother. He’d stolen a wallet from a man at a restaurant on a dare. He was going to get a lot of money for the dare. The restaurant was owned by the Ferraro family, and everyone knew you didn’t steal from them or the people who frequented any of their businesses. She was really frightened. She’d brought the wallet to the studio and put it in a locker. Her brother didn’t know she took it. I think she planned to throw it in a dumpster. I thought I’d return it to the restaurant and simply say one of the children found it.”
“But that isn’t what happened,” Geno said, speaking for the first time.
Her dark eyes met his. She shook her head. “I realized the minute I took it out of the locker that the wallet had a kind of a sophisticated tracking system in it. I ran the name of the gentleman the wallet supposedly belonged to. The identity was a good fake, but definitely a fake. Someone had constructed an entire background for this man and deliberately dangled the very fat wallet in front of a teenage boy. I wondered who would do that. I thought it would be a good idea to find out. Imagine my surprise when that man turned out to be Geno Ferraro. I was both shocked and horrified. He was the one man I counted on to be clear of this mess, and yet he was daring teenagers to steal for him.”
Geno studied her averted face. Her dark hair partially fell across her high cheekbone on her left side. She had a beautiful face. “You didn’t consider the possibility that there might be another reason that wallet led you to me?”
“I allowed your bodyguards to capture me and throw me in your interrogation room. They weren’t very nice about it. There were a lot of threats. I recognized them and knew they worked for you, but until you walked in, I still didn’t think you were involved. Not only did you walk in, but Stefano did, and with him, two major criminals. Valentino Saldi and Dario Bosco both have reputations and are known to be very dangerous men. I believed I had the upper hand until that moment. I knew I was in trouble and had to figure out how to get myself out of there.”