Dark Justice by Kristi Belcamino (most popular novels TXT) 📕

It could not have worked out better.

She’d killed people.

And gotten away with it, but still.

His heart raced.

It wouldn’t be long.

Everything was falling into place beautifully.

Soon he would be with Nicoletta forever and they would be wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.

Nicoletta had been perfect.

The handbag was the final touch.

“Just dumb lucky, honey,” she told him.

“You don’t have to kill him,” he’d told her. “Just talk to him and touch his arm. Then walk with him over to the lot. I’ll handle the rest.”

He, of course, hadn’t gotten his hands dirty. He’d paid for the beating and then when Rosenbloom was down on the ground, he’d stood over him and pulled the trigger. Marshall had tapped into the cameras on the street, and they’d determined that no camera angles reached the lot. They were safe that way.

He sent the photos and video to Marshall.

Marshall immediately replied. “These will work.”

He wrote back. “How long?”

“Give me a few days.”

And now that he had video footage of Gia, they could not go wrong.

He figured after one or two more murders at the most, the stage would be set for the final, most important murder.

He stared at the photo of Gia and smiled.

“Hope you like prison, baby.”

It was time for the next murder, which would hopefully seal the deal.

Marshall told him what to do.

He dialed Nicoletta.

“You ready for your next performance?”

Nineteen

James couldn’t sleep

This was normal when he had a murder to solve. Especially when a serial killer was on the loose. But with Gia as the main suspect? He was more motivated than ever.

He’d spent most of the night going over the details from the crime scenes, looking for similarities. Data on the ballistics and whether it was the same gun used in both shootings was still being analyzed, but it appeared that the manner of death was the same: both men had been shot dead through the forehead at close range.

So, it had to be someone they knew. Like a beautiful woman.

If he could prove that the same person killed both men, it might also clear Gia. The chances that she arrived in town and then immediately went and murdered Glass would be unlikely. Possible, but unlikely. And then to kill Rosenbloom? It didn’t make any sense at all. There was zero motive.

He texted Gia even though it was two in the morning.

“Where did you go when you got to town?”

She didn’t reply.

He waited a while and then texted Dante.

“Do you know what Gia did when she first got to town? Where she went?”

No response.

If he could nail this down, it might clear her name.

He printed out an enlarged picture of Gia at the crime scene and stuck it on the wall by his computer.

Although he couldn’t prove it, he knew it wasn’t Gia.

But so far, all the evidence, and this picture, pointed toward her.

It looked like her. If you didn’t know her.

He knew that body nearly as well as he knew his own. Those thighs, tightly encased in black leather, were not the thighs he’d caressed. The shape was wrong. The ass? No way. It was not the shapely one he had fondled.

But how the fuck was that going to prove her innocence?

“Excuse me, Chief, but I know that ass and those thighs, and that is not Gia Santella.”

Fucking ridiculous.

Because other than that, it could be Gia. It really could.

Sure, it could also be any other woman in the city, but it was a really tough argument when video footage at the hotel an hour earlier had shown Gia leaving the hotel in that exact get up: leather pants, black hoodie, dark sunglasses. But the camera hadn’t caught her feet.

He would swear that Gia would never wear high heels with that outfit. She wore her fair share of heels but never with leather pants and a hoodie. He knew her style. He knew her taste.

But again, how was that going to prove her innocence? The chief would laugh at him.

He texted Dante again.

“Stupid question, but would Gia ever wear high heels with her leather pants and a hoodie.”

To his surprise, the little bubbles on his phone appeared.

“Tacky. No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“If you have any more questions about Gia you are going to need to speak to our lawyer.”

Damn.

“Believe it or not, I’m on your side,” he wrote.

The next text he received was a shared contact for Dante’s attorney.

James shook his head. Didn’t Dante know he wanted to prove Gia’s innocence more than anything in the world.

Even as he thought that, he had the smallest glimmer of doubt.

What if she had changed? What if something had happened to her during all the years they were apart that had turned her into a stone-cold killer without remorse? It was possible. Unlikely, but possible.

It had been a hell of a long time since they’d been together. She’d been through a lot. He suspected there had been a lot more murders on her part. After all, she’d been married to one of the most notorious drugs lords in the world.

Nico Morales had a reputation that lived long past his death.

He had killed hundreds before Gia had come into his life.

Then he supposedly stopped. Supposedly.

But who knew for sure.

James was tired and frustrated.

His phone dinged. It was Nicoletta. She sent a picture of her in a coral-colored nightie. She was in bed, leaning forward so her cleavage showed.

“Are you busy? I can’t sleep. Can’t you come over? I’ve been tossing and turning all night. I watched the Real Housewives entire season and am still wide awake.”

He laughed. “It’s three in the morning.”

“I know. Please. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Imagining her soft body and warm bed was tempting.

“I think I could make it over.”

Her place was closer to the station anyway. And there was no way he was going to sleep tonight. He’d power through. Maybe doze a little in her arms and then head to work.

“See you soon,” she wrote.

Twenty

Charles liked filming Nicoletta.

She was grace personified. She was truly the most beautiful