The Love Killers Read Online Free PDF Page B

throaty cough. They bargained and then walked briskly to his nearby hotel. He insisted on entering first, alone, and she followed a few minutes later.
    His room was small and poky, the bed unmade. Lola began to undress, and the man told her to keep her boots on. He took nothing off merely unzipped his trousers and shook himself free.
    They started to have sex. Lola stared unseeingly at the ceiling. She was calm and detached; she knew exactly what she was going to do.
    He finished quickly, and Lola took her money and left. She walked slowly home.
    Charlie was asleep. She went into the kitchen, stared into the fridge, took out a can of Coke, opened it, and drank straight from the can. The cold bubbles hurt her throat. Then she reached on top of the fridge, groping toward the back where she knew Charlie kept his revolver. Reaching the gun, she checked it carefully. It was loaded.
    Lola fitted on the silencer. Living with Charlie had taught her a lot about guns.
    Walking to the door of the bedroom, she called out his name.
    Charlie awoke slowly. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Lola pointing a gun at him. ‘What the fuck—’ he began, leaping from the bed.
    She shot him in the leg. The bullet made a satisfying soft thud.
    His face was a mask of seething fury mixed with surprise. ‘You dumb cunt!’ he yelled.
    She shot him between the legs, aiming at his crotch.
    He screamed out in agonizing pain.
    She didn’t hesitate. She shot him in the chest, and he fell to the floor with a heavy thud and was finally silent.
    Putting the gun down beside him, she walked out of the apartment, took the elevator to the forty-seventh floor, and let herself out of the fire exit door to the roof.
    Determinedly she walked to the edge and without stopping hurled herself over.
    Lola was impaled on some spiked railings and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    The revenge was Rio’s idea. They couldn’t kill, they weren’t murderers, and anyway the man who had pulled the trigger—Charlie Mailer—had been dispatched by Lola with a bullet through the balls. As she’d promised, they read about it in the newspapers,
and
about her own sad suicide.
    Rio hired a detective to get them a dossier on Enzio Bassalino. It turned out he was a bad boy—a Mister Big bad boy. He didn’t seem to care about anything or anyone. And yet he had three weaknesses—his three sons, Frank, Nick, and Angelo.
    If one wanted to hurt Enzio Bassalino, there were three logical ways to go about it.
    * * *
    â€˜It’s settled, then?’ Rio asked. She stared around at the small gathering in Cass’s living room. “Cause I don’t want
nobody
backing out once we agree. You got it?’ She leveled her gaze at Lara. ‘No getting bored and hightailing off to some hot-shit jet-set paradise.’
    Lara spoke vehemently, her face flushed. ‘Listen, Rio, this is no game to me. Margaret was my sister, and different though we may have been, I loved her as much as any one of you.’ Her green eyes challenged Rio. ‘I know what I have to do, and believe me, I’ll do it very well.’
    â€˜Rio didn’t mean anything,’ Cass interjected, always one to keep the peace. ‘We’re all uptight. Who wouldn’t be after the last few weeks? Now that it’s settled and we’ve decided what we’re going to do, I think we’ll all breathe easier. I know
I
certainly will.’
    Dukey K. Williams stood up, his powerful frame menacing the room. ‘Nobody’s goddamn listenin’ to me,’ he complained, ‘but believe me—
my
way is the right way.’
    â€˜Your way!’ Rio scoffed. ‘Your way is shit. What do you think? That we can just go up to the dude and say Oh, good morning Mister Big Boss Man Bassalino, I understand it was you who gave the order to shoot Margaret. Well, come over here, Mister Bad