Chapter 6 - The Man Who Chose Her Side
Victor entered Marino Auto alone.
That frightened Frankie more than if he'd brought twenty men.
His expensive coat was buttoned neatly.
His expression was calm.
“Give me the ledger.”
Gabriel stood between him and Frankie.
“You've made an extraordinary number of mistakes today.”
Victor smiled.
“My biggest mistake was spending fifteen years making you rich.”
Gabriel's expression didn't change.
“You used my name.”
“I built your name.”
“You stole from me.”
“I expanded your interests.”
“You targeted civilians.”
Victor's smile faded.
“You've become sentimental.”
Gabriel glanced toward Frankie.
“No.”
His gaze returned to Victor.
“I've become selective.”
Victor laughed.
“Over a mechanic?”
Frankie stepped beside Gabriel.
“Careful. The mechanic speaks Sicilian.”
Gabriel's mouth twitched.
Victor looked disgusted.
“You think this is funny?”
“No,” Frankie said. “I think you're losing.”
She held up the ledger.
Victor's eyes locked onto it.
“There are copies.”
That was a lie.
But Victor didn't know.
His face changed.
Frankie saw Gabriel notice.
“You copied it?” Victor asked.
“Maybe.”
“To whom?”
Frankie smiled.
“Poor lending judgment.”
Gabriel actually laughed.
Victor lost control.
“You have no idea what you're holding!”
“I know exactly what I'm holding,” Frankie replied. “My father's insurance policy.”
Sirens sounded somewhere outside.
Victor froze.
Frankie looked at Gabriel.
“You called police?”
“Not exactly.”
Marco entered.
“Financial crimes unit. City investigators. Two federal attorneys.”
Victor stared at Gabriel.
Gabriel straightened his cuffs.
“You spent years moving money through legitimate Costa companies. That makes your bookkeeping exceptionally interesting to people with subpoenas.”
Victor's face drained.
“You'll implicate yourself.”
“Yes.”
Frankie looked at Gabriel.
That surprised her.
Victor did too.
“You'd expose your own companies?”
“To remove you?”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Yes.”
“You could lose millions.”
“Money returns.”
Gabriel's eyes became cold.
“Trust doesn't.”
Victor stared at him.
Then at Frankie.
“You did this.”
Frankie shook her head.
“No.”
She held up the ledger.
“My father did.”
Investigators entered moments later.
Victor Salerno left Marino Auto without the ledger.
And without his empire.
---
Hours later, Frankie sat on the hood of the Chevy she'd never finished repairing.
Gabriel stood nearby with two coffees.
He offered her one.
She accepted it.
“Leo?”
“Sleeping in your office.”
“Your people staying?”
“Until morning.”
Frankie sipped.
“Thank you.”
Gabriel looked surprised.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You've never heard gratitude before?”
“Not from you.”
“Don't get used to it.”
He smiled.
Frankie looked toward him.
“What happens to the eighty thousand?”
“Your brother still owes it.”
“Of course.”
“But the interest is canceled.”
Frankie frowned.
“Why?”
“The loan wasn't authorized.”
“And the principal?”
“Leo received the money.”
“Fair.”
Gabriel took another sip.
Frankie studied him.
“Why did you risk exposing your companies?”
“Victor had corrupted them.”
“You could have buried the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Gabriel looked toward the old Marino Auto sign.
“Your father kept records for years because he believed someone eventually had to do the right thing with them.”
His eyes returned to Frankie.
“I decided not to disappoint a dead mechanic.”
Frankie smiled.
“He would've hated you.”
“Most intelligent people do initially.”
“That's remarkably arrogant.”
“I'm remarkably successful.”
“There he is.”
“Who?”
“The soulless octopus.”
Gabriel looked at her.
Frankie waited.
Then he laughed.
The sound echoed through the empty garage.
May you like
And for reasons Frankie didn't completely understand, she liked it.
---
