Unspoken Betrayal (Casino King)

15. Vitorio

Islam my shoulder up against the old wooden door and it splinters. The wood falls away, rotten and damp from the forest elements. An earthy smell fills the air. Sharp and tangent.

I kick away the rest of the pieces so that I can step inside the abandoned main section of my father's old house.

I left Nicki at the cabin, making breakfast with what we could find among the canned goods. But there isn't much there at all, nothing substantial enough to keep us going - especially if we are going to be here for a few days. Or who knows how long.

The house is in a similar state to the cabin. Big old sheets cover the furniture and are coated with a thick layer of dust and mildew. The house is damper than the cabin was, and I notice a few broken windows. Perhaps they were vandals or even wild animals.

I step carefully, not wanting to wipe out and hurt myself, making my way to the kitchen. I know that there is a really big pantry towards the back and there was always a lot of food stored in there.

I hope some of it is salvageable.

In the kitchen, I scratch around until I find something to carry the food in, a big stainless-steel pot, used for bulk cooking.

The pantry is filled with canned foods, sealed airtight condiments, and glass bottles of water. I take only what we will need for a day or two, at least knowing that there is enough here if we do have to stay longer.

I carry the pot to the front door that I kicked in, but my instincts tell me not to leave yet. My father's office is on the second floor. I just feel like it is worth looking in there. This house was abandoned around about the same time as Nicki's father passed away. I never know what I might find in there.

Very carefully, I make my way up the stairs. The marble flooring is still in good condition, but it's slippery and damp. The iron banister on the other hand is rusted and not stable at all. I keep climbing until I reach the second floor, and make my way to the office, hearing the flooring move and squeak beneath my steps.

My father was a meticulous man. He kept things well organized, and his filing cabinets were in good condition. The airtight seal of the library vault book shelving he had installed against the far wall is still intact. I unlock the glass door and tug at it. At first, it doesn't move. I bash against it with my shoulder a few times and then tug the handle again. A hiss of air and a popping sound tells me that the seal has opened.

It smells like ink and paper when I pull the door open.

I scan the rows of shelving, pulling out different boxes that I think might be relevant.

I get so absorbed in the task that I don't realize how much time has gone by. Only when I find a newspaper clipping in one of the boxes, do I sit back and remember I was only supposed to take a quick look, and that Nicki might be worried that I have been gone for so long.

The newspaper clipping is what I have been looking for though. Well, almost. Perhaps not actually. Staring down at the face of the woman who came to talk to Nicki in the casino, I am filled with more questions than answers.

The article is about her suspected death after she went missing.

There are no details, and there is very little information about who she is, other than her name. The article only refers to her as Sasha, but on the side of the article, written in pen is her full name. Sasha Alegro. It doesn't awaken any memories to light for me.

I fold the newspaper clipping, shove it into my pocket, and check to see if there is anything else in that box, but there isn't.

I had better get back to Nicki.

Stepping out of the house into the fresh morning forest air, I take a deep breath, enjoying the clarity of it as it fills my lungs. I didn't realize how stuffy it was in the old house.

While I am walking, I think about Sasha. We have her surname now. Did Nicki know her surname before?

I walk faster.

Who was - is - Sasha Alegro? And where is she now? And why would she be at that grungy club? Who is her contact there?

Nicki runs out of the house when I get close.

"Oh my word, I was so worried Vitorio. You were gone for ages."

Her face is scrunched up, her brows knotted, and her shoulders are tight. I feel terrible. I should have rather gone back to look around after I found the food.

"Sorry, Nicki. I got a bit caught up in looking through my father's old office."

"Oh. Did you find anything?"

We are walking together towards the cottage. I pause, my hands full holding the pot and the food I am carrying in it. I turn my hip towards her. "In my pocket."

She hesitates for a moment, then with a slight grin on her face, she dips her hand into my pocket, feeling around for a second, sending shivers through me, until she pulls out the piece of folded paper.

Her cheeks are blushed pink, and she won't look at me. She just keeps her eyes down and the slight grin on her face is still apparent.

"Go on, open it, tell me what you think of it. I'll put this in the kitchen. I found quite a bit of food in the pantry there. At least we don't have to worry about starving to death. Perhaps only about being shot or hacked to death by some angry mafia lord - but not starving."

"Vitorio," Nicki exclaims loudly, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open, but the smallest grin hiding in her expression.

"I am just kidding. Just being a bit dramatic." I chuckle.

"Well, it's hardly kidding if it's a real risk." She rolls her eyes.

"Mm. Yes, true. I tend to use humor to deflect really bad situations." I shrug, pushing the pot onto the kitchen counter and nodding towards the newspaper article in Nicki's hand. "Well?"

She goes quiet for a moment as she reads through it. I unpack the cans and bottled water onto the counter along with the other things I found.

"The article is pretty useless. I mean, it tells us nothing at all but the reporters' speculation. But this…" She traces her thumb over the handwritten name. "Sasha Alegro."

"Does it mean anything to you?"

"NO, nothing. But I want to call Danny and tell him, then maybe he can do some more research."

"Neither of us has a phone anymore." I remind her.

"Shit."

"We can drive to see him?"

She bites her lip. "It's risky right now, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is really risky to be out in public, especially with the murder investigation and us being fugitives. Ok, how about this? We just make our way to the old truck stop along the road coming up to the forest. We can use a phone there to call Danny and tell him what we found out."

"It's still risky." She frowns.

"Everything is a risk right now; we just have to choose the best one to take. Either way, we need to get to the bottom of this and that isn't going to happen if we just hide in here the entire time."

"I know. I know. Ok, let's do it." She takes a deep breath, pushing away her worry, and putting her brave face on.

After breakfast, we climb into the car, and with a tight tension in the air, we drive out of the forest cover and onto the open road towards the small gas station. The problem is that if someone spots us here, it is likely they will know we are hiding in the area somewhere.

But I know we have to do this.

The gas station truck stop is really quiet, and to my relief, the old security cameras aren't even on, and if they were they are so covered in dirt that anyone caught on them would be unrecognizable.

The old man behind the counter moves slowly and speaks with a rough edge to his voice from years of smoking home-rolled tobacco, which he is busy with right now.

"You want to use my phone?" He asks Nicki. His skin is leathery and deep creases move across his face when he frowns at her.

"Yes, please, I would really appreciate it."

"I don't have a phone." He croaks.

"No phone?" I ask, in disbelief.

"No, but there is an old motel around the back of the gas station. They aren't operating anymore, but they used to have a pay phone. It might work?"

Nicki thanks him and rushes outside while I purchase a few chocolates and snacks that aren't over a decade old.

When I go around the back of the gas station Nicki is looking excited and punching a number into an old handset boxed into the wall.

"It works." She exclaims loudly. "I can't believe it." She jumps a little and does this cute little dance of excitement. I grin, watching her, enjoying her smile.

"Danny. It's me."

I step closer and she tilts the headset sideways so that we can both hear if we keep our faces up against each other.

Being this close to her makes my heart race, and my skin feels hot, with my cheek pressed against hers.

"Thank God, you are ok. Where are you? No, wait, don't tell me. It's safer if you don't. Are you ok? Do you need anything?"

I clench my fist, trying to push the jealousy away.

"I am safe. Vitorio is with me. Listen - we found something out about Sasha, and I need you to look into it for me. Her last name is Alegro."

"Mm. I found something out about Sasha too. Her last name is Rembrandt."

"Well, that doesn't make sense. It can't be both Alegro and Rembrandt?"

"It can't. Unless she got married? I don't know, but I'll find out. Can you give me an hour or two and then call back?"

"Sure. We can do that." Nicki nods while she speaks and her soft cheek brushes across my face.

She hangs up the phone and raises her eyebrows at me.

"What should we do? We have to call him back?"

"I think it is safe enough here to sit down and have a coffee at the old man's truck stop. I've parked the car at the back in the motel parking area, so people won't see it from the road."

Sitting in the old truck stop, on dirty vinyl seats, peering through windows that haven't been washed for years, I chuckle. "Good thing we ate already, I can't imagine what the kitchen looks like."

"I am wondering if it's even safe to have coffee here, I mean, does he store milk in a fridge?" She laughs.

"We do like to like an adventurous life, don't we?"

I reach out and run my hand over her thigh and electricity immediately sparks between us.

She smiles tightly, with a look of lost thoughtfulness in her eyes. I wonder what she is thinking. She seems to be holding herself back, nervous, and worried.

There are so many things happening right now, I really can't blame her for having those feelings.

The old man shuffles through in slow motion and places two filtered coffees on the table in front of us.

The smell of rich, dark coffee steams up towards me.

"We don't have sugar." He gruffly informs us.

"This is perfect. Thank you."

Nicki lifts her mug and tentatively takes a sip.

She closes her eyes and licks her lips.

"Oh my word, this coffee is really good. I'm shocked." She laughs.

I sip it as well and have the same reaction.

The old man pauses in his shuffle and turns to look at us again. "Coffee is my specialty." It's the first time he has smiled since we got here, and his teeth are stained yellow.

Nicki and I sit and talk about a wide topic of things. We laugh, chat, and share things about each other, about our lives growing up, and about how crazy this whole situation is. I love talking to her. She is smart and sassy and has a great sense of humor.

After our second cup of coffee, she tells me she thinks it is time to call Danny back, so we pay our bill and make our way back to the pay phone around back.

"Danny. It's me again."

"Nicki, you are not going to believe this."

We hear the sound of papers moving and then Danny typing furiously into a keyboard.

"Danny?" She shifts her weight from one foot to the other impatiently.

"Just - one - sec - ok here it is. These two pieces of information are going to blow your mind." Danny sounds excited. I guess for a detective, finding any piece of the puzzle is exciting. "Sasha was in a relationship with Diego Vitali, Vitorio's father - they were lovers."

Nicki's eyes pierce into me, while Danny explains the very personal relationship between Sasha and my father. "Also, here's a kicker, Sasha is your father's little sister, Nicki. She is your aunt."

Nicki snorts a laugh of disbelief. "Come on Danny, I have never heard of her. My dad didn't have a sister."

"He did. She was thirty-three at the time of his death five years ago, and she was definitely his sister."

Nicki takes a slow, controlled breath.

"So, Sasha, whatever her surname actually is, was sleeping with Diego Vitali, and is Leonard Dellacroce's sister, even though I have never heard of her before."

"Well, I figured, seeing as I have a number to reach her on, we could ask her ourselves."

I talk before Nicki can reply. "Danny don't call just yet. She is very skittish. This Sasha woman will be on the run before we can even finish dialing. We need to be smart about this."

"Agreed. Give it some thought. When we talk again, we can decide what to do. I am going to keep looking into her in the meantime."

Nicki repeats the information back to Danny, obviously trying to force it to make sense in her mind. She shakes her head, her brows knotted tightly together.

I hear a car pulling at the front of the truck stop.

"It's time to go," I say to Nicki. She nods in agreement.

"Danny, thank you so much. We have to go. I will try and call you again soon. Keep looking, Danny."

"Stay safe. Both of you."

I push Nicki towards the car. At least I parked on this side of the gas station, right by the motel, so we could make a quick getaway. There is no way to tell who has arrived. It could just be a trucker. It could be anyone. But I am not keen on taking any risks that we don't need to take.

In the car, as we drive away, I glance in the rearview mirror. It was a long-haul truck and nothing for us to worry about.

Relief eases the tension in my shoulders.

Nicki is sitting with her knees up against her chest as she chews at her fingernails.

I have never seen her biting her perfectly manicured fingernails before.

What Danny told her must be really messing with her badly.

I reach out and take her hand, wrapping her fingers between mine.

"Hey, it's ok. We will figure it all out." I say gently.

She drops her knees down and huffs loudly. "I don't get it. It's impossible. How can this be possible?" her voice is high-pitched and full of frustration.

"I've learned to accept one thing - and that is that anything is possible."

She nods and bites at her lower lips.

"Hey, we know more today than we did yesterday. This is good."

"But - if she was dating your dad, and related to my dad, who would she have been loyal to when the shit started going down? Whose side was she on? Someone in your family signed my dad's bounty - "

"Are you sure your dad never mentioned a sister? A half-sister? An adopted sister?"

"Never." She shakes her head, her forehead creased with frustration.