Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
This is what I’ve been hiding her from. These men don’t care about her, not at all—they’d gladly rip out her intestines if it meant showing Vegas that they’re still strong.
Wolfie arrives before it gets too bad. He carries the painting to the front of the room and sets it up on an easel the casino supplied for this occasion. With a flourish, Wolfie removes the covering, and reveals the work to everyone in the room.
There’s total silence. The two bosses stare. Gallo’s face twists with confusion, while Frost strokes his chin.
“What the fuck is this?” Gallo asks.
“This is a Vermeer.” I gesture and Ren walks to the computer at the front of the room. He types, clicks, and pulls up an image of the painting, projected onto the wall beside our fake.
The men stare. I sit back, smiling to myself, astonished all over again at the quality.
“I have to admit, that’s incredible,” Frost says, his voice very soft.
“So what, it’s a good fucking copy.” Gallo sounds pissed, which is no surprise. He didn’t want this from the beginning. “Who gives a damn?”
“It’s an incredible copy.” Frost walks to Hellie’s forgery and studies it closely. “The brushstrokes look fantastic.” He looks at her, shaking his head. “You really did this in a few days?”
Nobody speaks. Everyone stares at Hellie. I nudge her and she clears her throat.
“Yes,” she says. “I can do better if you give me more time.”
“Better?” Frost seems delighted. “This is perfect already.”
“No.” Hellie’s voice is small but strong. I’m amazed she’s speaking out of turn, but also pleased. “There are issues. The materials are all wrong. Some of the details aren’t right. I had to rush some things to get finished in time. If you give me more time and the proper paints, I can make it pass for the real thing.”
“Even if an expert studied it?” Frost’s eyes narrow. He steps toward her, head tilted.
“Yes,” she says, but she doesn’t sound convinced.
“This is foolish.” Gallo bangs his hands on the table. “The painting is good. Fine, so what? It’ll always go like this. She’ll demand more and more, a never-ending supply of excuses. We can’t trust her. We might as well end her right now.”
“No, I’m interested.” Frost returns to his seat, leaning back. “I spoke with some friends recently. I may have a few contacts.”
Gallo groans. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Can you paint us a final version in five days?”
Hellie goes stiff. She grabs my hand tightly like she wants to dig her fingers into my flesh. I know what she’s thinking, and I speak up for her.
“Making this painting in three days nearly killed her,” I tell them. “She barely slept, barely ate—”
“Oh, how awful,” Gallo says, deadpan.
“Five days will wreck her. She needs more time. Two weeks, at least.”
Frost’s lips push together. “No, we don’t have that long, and I worry that Gallo’s right and she’ll keep on dragging this out. If she can do that in three days, she can do better in five.”
“Fine, give the girl five,” Gallo snaps. “Pain in my ass. I’ll even broker this travesty.”
I grind my jaw, trying to stay calm. “You want to burn her out on a single deal. I want to keep her around and make us all some real money. Think long-term.”
“If she pulls this off, there will be a long-term,” Frost says, his tone hard. “But if she fucks it up or tries to ruin our plans, we’ll hand her to Gallo and let him have his way.”
“I like the sound of that.” The old bastard shows teeth.
I want to cut their throats. I want to murder them here, in cold blood. But instead, I nod sharply. “Fine. Five days.”
Hellie lets out a little whimper, but I put a hand on her knee to silence her.
“Then we’re done here.” Frost smiles as he walks to the forged painting. “Mind if I keep this? I’ll hang it in my house. What beautiful work.”
“Be my guest,” I say, stand, and drag Hellie out of the room. Ren and Wolfie follow at a distance, both looking grim.
“I can’t,” Hellie says on the walk to the car. “I can’t do it again.”
“You can and you will.”
“Erick, please. You know I can’t.”
I stop and face her, pulling her close and staring into her face. She looks back, her expression vacant, haunted, and afraid.
“You can do this. I’ll give you whatever you need to make it happen. I’ve already gotten most of the historically accurate materials, and now it’s just a matter of getting through the next five days.”
“I almost lost my mind the last time.”
“I know you did. But you can do this, and I swear, if you pull it off, things will be easier.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
She’s right. I know she’s right. And a little piece of me loathes myself for that. “I’ll fight for you.”