House of the Rising Sun Read Online Free PDF

Judging by the big, shit-eating grin on Tony’s face, she also figured he had been successful in convincing his boss that the robbery wasn’t his fault.
    Tony slowed when he saw Jenny leaning against the bar. He stepped out of the stairwell and strolled toward her. “Shane really fucked up this time.”
    Jenny kept her back against the bar and tried hard to look unconcerned. “How’s that?”
    â€œAre you kidding me?” Tony threw an elbow over the bar, dangerously close to Jenny’s shoulders. It bugged her, but she didn’t move. He did stuff like that all the time. Because they used to sleep together, he seemed to think she didn’t have a right to personal space anymore, that he could walk up and violate it anytime he wanted.
    â€œWe did that asshole a favor,” Tony said. “We gave him a job and put him in charge of security. Then he let four guys come in and knock us off.”
    â€œFour guys with
guns
, Tony.”
    â€œTwenty years we been in business here, and you know how many times we been robbed?”
    She didn’t know but had a feeling she was going to find out. Tony held up his hand and made a circle with his fingers and thumb. “Zero. That’s how many.”
    Jenny stood up straight as she felt her anger rising. “What was he supposed to do?”
    â€œWhat we pay him for.” Tony stood up straight. “If he had any balls, he would’ve stopped those cocksuckers.”
    â€œStop them with what, a mean look?”
    Tony turned toward her and shrugged. “When Old Man Carlos calls me, I’m gonna tell him straight out, Shane blew it.”
    She knew Tony was talking shit, still trying to impress her with what a big man he was. “Why would Carlos call you?”
    â€œBusiness. The Old Man calls me just about every day.”
    She pointed to the stairs. “Weren’t you just up on the fourth floor making sure Vinnie didn’t think it was your fault?”
    Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Nobody cares what Vinnie thinks. Carlos is the boss. Only reason he lets Vinnie run this place is because they’re brothers, and it keeps Vinnie from fucking up anything else.”
    â€œCan I quote you on that?”
    â€œHe’s like the Queen of fucking England.”
    â€œAre you calling Vinnie a queen?”
    Tony snorted and shook his head. “What’s she really do? The Queen of England, I mean. She don’t do nothing. She’s a figurehead, just like Vinnie.” He tapped a finger against his chest. “I run the House.”
    â€œThat’s going to be a surprise to Vinnie. Finding out that you think he’s an English homosexual, and that he works for you.”
    Tony jabbed his finger in her face. “You keep your mouth shut, or you’ll end up on the street, selling your pussy on Tulane Avenue like any other crack whore.” Then he reached down and scooped her crotch.
    Jenny knocked his arm away. “Keep your hands off me.”
    Tony stepped even closer. “That’s not what you used to tell me.” He dropped his voice into what she knew he thought of as a smooth, sexy baritone. “How about you go home and get cleaned up, and later on I could drop by.”
    Jenny looked Tony straight in the eyes. “You want to screw somebody, why don’t you go home and screw your wife?” She turned away from him and walked toward the stairs.
    Because Jenny had known Tony for years, she knew how his devious little mind worked. As a class-A brownnoser, he wasn’t going to let any of the shit from the robbery fall on him. He would suck up to Vinnie, then go behind Vinnie’s back to his brother Carlos and bad-mouth Vinnie, subtly but effectively. It was a dangerous game playing the two brothers against each other, but if anyone was weasel enough to pull it off, it was Tony Z.
    As Jenny finished drying off, she wrapped the towel around her head and stepped to