Irrevocable (Evan Arden 5)

“I’d rather not. I don’t want to have to go looking for it, and having a steady one on the side makes it easier. I just haven’t found one I like. I’ll be careful this time, though.”

“I hope that’s a lesson you’ve learned.” His voice is stern and fatherly.

“It is, sir.”

“Good. Back to business talk.” Rinaldo leans back on his desk and looks up at me. “I need someone to take over the gun sales.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

“I was hoping you would have a suggestion.”

“Beni makes sense, but I don’t know if he’s ready for it. He hasn’t been around long enough to do it on his own, but he could shadow you for a while until he gets the hang of it. Jonathan is capable, but I wouldn’t use him long-term. He’d get bored, and that could end up turning into sloppy. You need someone who can focus on the task.”

“What about Becca?”

“I don’t know her.” I rub at the chain around my neck, wondering when I had put my dog tags on. I don’t remember doing it. “Where did she come from?”

“She was running one of the clubs up north,” Rinaldo says. “She’s good at books and numbers.”

“I don’t have an opinion.”

“Form one.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What about Lucia?”

I’m treading on dangerous ground, and I know it. I also know Rinaldo expects me to speak my mind when we’re alone, and I’m not going to paint a picture of puppies and rainbows when the subject matter is a pile of dog shit.

“She can’t handle the pressure,” I say simply. “She’s great at the diplomacy, but she’ll never be able to handle the rough decisions.”

Rinaldo closes his eyes for a moment, sighs, and looks back at me.

“I’m afraid you are right.” He finishes his drink in one gulp before setting the glass on the desk with a thump. “I thought she was getting better at all of this, but that fiasco with the Russians and the division of caviar sales were enough to make me consider a vasectomy.”

I can’t help the half-smile that appears but keep myself from laughing out loud. It’s a little late for that sort of action anyway, and Rinaldo’s a devout Catholic. Well, in name anyway.

“What if she started doing m

ore of the bookkeeping?” I suggest. “You know you can trust her. That will open Becca up for other opportunities, assuming she’s able, and you really think she’s with us long-term.”

“Not yet,” he says with a shake of his head. “I want you to get a better feel for her first.”

I glance at him sideways, wondering just what he means by that.

Rinaldo laughs.

“Feel free to use what you have at your disposal,” he says. He gestures up and down my body. “They can’t seem to resist you. I think you are better off sticking with your hookers though.”

I chuckle a little, but I’m also relieved. I didn’t want to have to pursue some chick to get information on her. Thinking of Becca in such ways reminds me of the other new woman in Rinaldo’s employ.

“Can I ask you something, sir?”

“Of course.”

“Felisa has been around for a few months, correct?”

“Yes, she has.” His voice is guarded.