Carlotta and the Krius Scepter (Carlotta Series Book 1) Read Free Page B

Us’. If there wasn’t, someone was missing a perfect marketing opportunity to this lot.
    Sitting at the right side of The Don was a young man, maybe as much as twenty years old, though I doubted it. Thin and nervous, I had him pegged as The Don’s son, not that there was much of a family resemblance. He looked out of place, if only because of his age and the sour, twisted look on his face. The rest of the men had stacks of plastic counters in front of them. His pile was pretty much depleted. He was a loser among losers.
    Five card stud was my instant assessment. The level of concentration shown by the players indicated the stakes were high. Judging by the piles in front of them the guy with his back to me was winning, but apart from the kid there wasn’t much in it.
    “Boss…”
    Hey, the gorilla knew a third word. If he used two more I’d have to revise my assessment of him upwards.
    The man I’d assumed was The Don looked up and scowled.
    “Bring her here… into the light.”
    A firm push in the back propelled me towards the table and almost into the guy with his back to me. He turned in his chair to stare at me.
    “Carlo DiMaggio, I presume?” I said with as much dignity as I could manage.
    “You don’t talk unless I ask somthin’, girly. You understand?”
    I responded with a single finger raised in a clenched fist. He was testing me and I knew how to react to that. Chairs pushed away from the table, but The Don laughed and the men settled back down.
    “Feisty, I like that.”
    “I could take her away and teach her some manners?” This came from the kid. He looked eager. I took it for another test.
    “I doubt you could get it up, but if you did I’d bite it clean off.”
    The kid flushed and began to get to his feet. The Don pushed him back into his chair with ease. What I’d assumed was fat were muscles. I factored the information into my fight plan.
    “Easy, Vinnie. She’s too valuable to damage … yet. You’ll get your turn later.”
    I laughed with open derision and The Don frowned.
    “Know your place, girly. You were sent in trade for the boy. But the way I see it, I’ve got two of you now. The deal’s off and you’re mine. Take her up to the Penthouse, Lou.”
    It was a dismissal. He turned back to the game and the gorilla put one of his paws on my shoulder.
    From the moment I entered the room I’d been making assessments to take out the opposition, a choreographed fight plan involving some spectacular moves on my part. Something told me I could do those things, though one or two of them seemed extremely unlikely. The gorilla’s hand on my shoulder proved to be my trigger.
    I spun in the direction he was pulling me, lowering my centre of gravity as I turned and bringing my knee up into his groin. He grunted and grimaced in pain, but he didn’t fly into the air the way my battle-plan said he should. Instead he grabbed for my throat.
    Recalculating, I stabbed at his eyes with open fingers. He fell back and let go before they arrived. Another miscalculation, I shouldn’t be that slow. However, the kick to the groin finally took effect and he rolled on the floor clutching at his family jewels. That was one of them out for the count.
    The men around the table were on their feet with pistols pointed at my head, all except for The Don who continued to sit. He had his hand under the table as though he might be holding something.
    “Don’t shoot,” The Don ordered and the two men nearest me turned their pistols into clubs by holding them by the barrels. They advanced on me. The other men kept their guns on me, but stayed out of the fight.
    The fight was all wrong. Every move I made resulted in having to recalculate. My speed and strength were a fraction of what I’d assumed. In the scenario in my head, these men were dead or fatally wounded and The Don was lying on the floor begging me for mercy.
    I factored my actual strength and speed into the fighting engine in my brain. The conclusion