Long Way Down by Paul Carr Read Free Book Online Page B

well.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She turned and looked at him.
    “You saved my life.”
    How do you respond to a remark like that? Besides, he still had the kiss and those smooth, long legs on his mind.
    Candi opened the robe and dropped it to the floor.
    “Look if you want to,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m just too tired right now to care.” She slid under the sheet with the grace of a cat.
    Sam did look, only because he couldn’t tear his eyes away. She looked very sexy settling under the thin sheet. He wondered if her remark might be a cue for him, but he had his answer a few seconds later when she fell asleep.
    He sat at the table for another hour, drinking gin with very little tonic, thinking about his plan for La Salle, and he got slightly toasted by the time he finally got up and went into the bathroom. He took a long, cold shower and tried to wash away the searing image of Candi Moran lying naked just a few feet away.
    ****
    THE SHAFT of morning sun sliced its way through the east window, illuminating the tiniest of airborne particles, and covering the table with a pleasant brilliance. La Salle sipped espresso from a tiny cup and read the front page of the Miami Herald . The limousine explosion and death of the coffee shop waitress garnered only four square inches of news space.
    La Salle looked up from the paper at Marcus who stood on the other side of the table with his hands hanging crossed in front of him, his right hand bandaged with gauze and tape and appearing twice its normal size. Poor Marcus. Maybe he had learned his lesson. Marcus glanced away from his boss and rolled his shoulders, then glanced back, probably to see if he still stared at him. La Salle ate a bite of toast and marmalade and had another sip of coffee.
    “Tell me again how it happened,” La Salle said.
    “Gino waited up the street until he had her in the cross hairs, but by the time he fired, she dropped out of sight.”
    “He missed?”
    “That’s correct, Mr. La Salle.”
    “So he thought he would salvage the operation by blowing up Tommy’s car.”
    “Them was his words, exactly.”
    “He knew Tommy was in the back?”
    Marcus’ eyes slid away for a split second, and then came back.
    “Yes, sir. That’s how he found Candi, by following Tommy.”
    “How did he blast the car?”
    “I believe he said he used a rocket launcher.”
    La Salle sipped espresso and nodded.
    “Is Gino outside right now?”
    “Yes, sir, I believe he is.”
    “Ask him to come in. I want to speak with him.”
    Marcus turned and walked out. He returned a few seconds later with Gino in tow.
    “That will be all, Marcus.”
    Marcus glanced at Gino and then nodded to La Salle and made a fast exit. Gino sidled up to the table, his face flush and hands trembling.
    La Salle leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms in front of him and stared at Gino. Gino, about forty, carried a little extra weight and had thin black hair with a business cut. Though he seemed nervous, his eyes stayed steady and gave away nothing. La Salle liked that.
    “Marcus told me how you blew up Tommy’s limo. Do you realize the kind of damage you caused on that street?”
    “Yes, sir. I didn't realize the rocket thing could do that.”
    “You put me in a bad position, Gino. The authorities are already after me about Philip Moran, and they know Tommy and I are competitors.”
    “I’m really sorry, boss. I didn’t mean to....”
    La Salle waved his hand in the air and closed his eyes. Gino stopped talking.
    “No explaining, Gino. You screwed up, big time. But your biggest problem is that you missed your target. I want you to get out of here and find her, and this time you’d better not miss. Is that understood?”
    La Salle leaned forward and his eyes connected with Gino’s.
    Gino nodded. “Don’t worry, boss, I won’t miss.”
    “Okay, see that you don’t.” He gave Gino the look again. “I’d hate for you to miss out on our little project.”
    Gino had