An Offer You Can't Refuse by Sal Bianchi (best beach reads .txt) 📕

by him that I’d never said more than a few words to him before, so it probably came as a shock to hear me speak so much and so disrespectfully.

“It’s standard policy,” he replied curtly, “to check identifications in cases of large wins.”

“Large wins?” I scoffed. “I barely won more than a thousand dollars. Does the casino consider that a large amount? It couldn’t be that the Family is hard-up for money, right, Tony?”

His eyes went wide as saucers at the casual way I’d just mentioned the mafia. I honestly didn’t care anymore. The way I saw it, he had a lot more to lose than I did if rumors started spreading that the casino was owned and operated by the mob.

“You can’t just demand people’s IDs!” The tattooed girl huffed indignantly. “People have rights! And we were about to leave anyway, so what’s your problem?”

Her shrill voice had caught the attention of a few of the other casino-goers, and I could see Tony gritted his teeth in anger at the scene we were causing.

“My apologies,” he snarled. “I must have been mistaken.”

He cast me one last hate-filled glare before turning around to march away, his two henchmen at his side.

“What was his problem?” Kat muttered thoughtfully. “I’ve seen people win bigger jackpots and not have any issues.”

“Who knows?” I smirked as I watched Tony slip away into the crowded casino floor. As I took the cash from the cashier, I started to wonder why it had taken me so long to start doing whatever I wanted.

16

Nick

The first thing that registered after I woke up was a throbbing at the back of my skull and, oddly enough, in my knee. I groaned as I opened my eyes, only for the pain to intensify as I looked at the light streaming through my bedroom curtains.

After we’d left the casino last the previous night, the girls had taken Jase and me to a nightclub that they’d insisted was amazing. Jase and Kat snuck away at some point during the night, and the tattooed girl had eventually slunk away after declaring that she felt like a third wheel. Erica and I had stayed at the club for a couple of hours longer before finally making our way back to my apartment.

Half of my memories of the night were either blurred from drunkenness or just missing entirely, but I could distinctly remember banging my knee against the coffee table in my living room as we stumbled inside. That explained the pulsing pain I felt in my leg.

It didn’t explain where Erica was, though, since I was definitely alone in bed right now. I glanced around the room and noticed that all of her things were gone, including the trail of clothes we’d left between the front door and the bedroom. She must have left while I was still asleep, then.

I pressed my hands against my temples as I got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. It had been a fun night, but I was paying for it now with a hangover. I downed a couple of aspirin from the medicine cabinet behind the bathroom mirror before stepping into the shower. The steady thrum of hot water felt nice against my aching head, and I stood there until the water began to run cold.

Once I was showered and changed, I started to gather up my things to head to the SDCT office. As I did, I wondered if I should tell Flint about the fight with Domenico the previous night. It didn’t really have anything to do with the case, but Flint would probably want to know about anything that happened between me and the mafia.

In the end, I decided not to bring it up unless Flint did first. Nothing had really come of it, and if I told him, he’d probably just get grumpy about it and tell me to stop doing stupid things.

It wasn’t until I left my apartment and was standing in the parking lot that I remembered I’d left my car back at the club the night before. I’d been drunk enough that Erica and I had decided to take a cab back to my place.

I sighed as I trudged back into my apartment to get my bike. As I dug it out of the back of my closet where I’d shoved it back when I first moved in, I realized it was in worse condition than I remembered it being. Nevertheless, it would have to do until I got to the SDCT office and retrieved my car.

Jase and I used to ride our bikes up and down the boardwalk when we were still in high school. I’d used it while I was in college, too, but I’d barely touched it since I’d gotten the rusty trash heap that was my car. As I dug it out of the back of my closet where I’d shoved it back when I first moved in, I realized it was in worse condition than I remembered it being. Nevertheless, it would have to do until I got to the SDCT office and retrieved my car.

The trip to the office took about twice as long by bike as it would have taken if I’d driven, and my back was sore by the time I arrived. I made it a point to exercise and stay in shape, so I wasn’t really tired, but I wasn’t used to the bike-riding position anymore. I took a moment to stretch and pop my back before making my way into the building and up to the office.

As usual, the floor buzzed with sound and movement as the agents went about their work.

“Just strolling in whenever you feel like it as usual, huh?” Bette sighed at me melodramatically as I passed by her desk. It was impossible not to, since hers was the closest to the main entrance. I had to walk by her literally every time I came to the office.

“Good morning to you too, Agent