Chapter 5 - The Velvet Counter-Strike
“Celeste thinks I’m dead, and she knows you’re the loose thread,” Lorenzo stated, tracing the rim of a crystal glass. “She’s calling an emergency summit at the Drake Hotel tonight to consolidate my territory with the syndicate.”
“Then you storm the hotel and shoot them,” Evelyn said coldly.
“No. Chicago’s police commissioner and half the federal judges are on their payroll. If I walk in with guns, they paint it as gang warfare and seize my assets legally. I need Celeste’s primary ledger—the hard-drive keycard she keeps on her person at all times.”
Lorenzo looked at Evelyn, assessing the sharp, intelligent fire behind her eyes.
“She knows my lieutenants. She doesn't know you survived the restaurant, and she certainly doesn't expect a waitress to walk through the front door of the Drake.”
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Evelyn looked down at her bruised hands. “Get me a dress that costs more than my life, and teach me how to lift a pocket.”
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