Charlie Opera
Page 24
“We’re missing something,” Charlie said.
“What’s that?”
“A nice, light aria.”
Samantha made a face.
“Trust me,” he said, “it’s better than Aerosmith.”
Charlie was at the stereo searching for a CD from the collection he had brought to Las Vegas. He held one up. “‘Una furtiva làgrima,’” he said. “Down her soft cheek, a furtive tear.”
He set the disc in the CD player and pressed PLAY. He adjusted the volume as the first few strings of a harp were plucked. He sat on the couch alongside Samantha and kissed her cheek.
“What happens now?” she whispered in his ear.
Charlie pointed to the dog. “We need a bigger place,” he said.
“He can sleep with me,” Samantha said.
“What about me?”
“We’ll see.”
“You still holding a grudge?”
“I should.”
“I was —”
“Shhh,” she said. “I think I love you.”
Charlie could feel the dog moving on her lap. “You talking to me or the dog?”
Samantha reached for him. Charlie picked the dog up from her lap and set it on the couch. “There,” he said. “My turn.”
Epilogue
Donna Bella was anchored in the shade of the Marine Park Bridge. Anthony Cuccia argued into a cell phone with an associate about a truck seized in a Jersey City warehouse.
“Hey, that’s my nephew’s guy, break his balls,” Cuccia said. “It’s almost a week now I haven’t heard from that one.”
He downed half a glass of white wine as he dropped into a chair. He watched a woman racing on Jet Skis make a third pass by the boat. The woman removed her bikini top this time. She held it in one hand as she passed alongside Donna Bella.
“I don’t care there was DEA there,” Cuccia said into the cell phone. “That’s got nothing to do with me, my friend. I’m on this boat all week. Now you tell me this, I’m not getting off.”
The jet skier had turned around and was on her way back. She slowed alongside Donna Bella, and Cuccia stood up to get a better look at her breasts.
“Can I use bathroom?” she asked with a Russian accent.
Cuccia heard the accent and immediately hesitated. He noticed that a wallet belt was tied to a steering handle and that the woman was wearing sandals. He glanced at her bare breasts and shook his head.
“Can I use?” the woman asked. “Please.”
“I’ll call you back,” Cuccia said into the cell phone. He turned it off and waved at the woman to come aboard.
The woman smiled as her top fell from her neck. She grabbed it off her leg and held it up for Cuccia.
“Nice,” he said and dropped a rope ladder over the back of the boat.
The woman brought her Jet Ski up against the back of Donna Bella as Cuccia leaned over the transom. She revved the Jet Ski engine hard as it touched the back of the boat, and Cuccia lost his balance. He grabbed at the transom to keep from falling.
“What the hell...” he said just before a bullet tore through his neck.
He fell backward onto the floor of the boat and clutched his throat. As he rolled on the deck, he saw the woman level the gun against the top of the transom. He tried to roll away as the next bullet entered his stomach. He coughed up blood before the next bullet pierced his heart.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 4a>
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Epilogue