Page 2 of Jackpot Joker

Sitting across from my desk is a man zip-tied to a chair. My nose wrinkles at the blood on his wrists from where he’s struggled in a failed attempt at escaping. Better men have tried to escape my brother’s torture. None have succeeded.

“Mr. Caruso,” the man sputters when I step in front of him, leaning against my desk with my legs stretched out in front of me. “I beg for your mercy. I swear I didn’t take much, and I can pay it all back.”

I wave a hand in front of the man, recently hired as a cashier here at Angelo. I’m not entirely sure how much he stole from me, but it doesn’t matter if it was one dollar or one million; he will learn it’s unacceptable. “When you signed your contract with Caruso Enterprises, you signed on to be a part of a family. Whether you work in the casinos, the hotels, or one of our other ventures, we make it clear that loyalty is valued above anything. Would you consider yourself loyal?”

My traitorous employee sucks back in the snot that’s been leaking from his nose. “No, sir, but I will be, if you give me a second chance.”

“And what makes you think you deserve that?” I ask, knowing I truly don’t care one way or another. This isn’t baseball. You only get one strike with the Caruso family.

“You see, my daughter, she’s so sick,” he stutters out. “I only took the money to try and cover some of the medical bills my family has been hit with. I was too proud to ask for help, and I made a bad decision. Please don’t leave my baby girl without a father when I was only trying to do right by her.”

My eyes flit up to my brother, who shakes his head. “Tell me more about your daughter. How old is she?”

“She’s, uh, six.” I don’t miss the way he looks down at the floor.

I smile at him, though it doesn’t reach my eyes. “Fun age. I bet she loves unicorns. Luca—” I look at my brother who stands with his arms crossed behind the man. “Let’s get her one of those giant stuffed unicorns and send it her way.” Nobody else would notice, but my brother’s lips quirk, and I smile at myself for the flitter of reaction.

“And she’s sick?” I ask. He answers with an emphatic nod. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Uh, a tumor. Yeah, a bad tumor. Biggest the doctor has ever seen.”

I nod sympathetically. “Where?”

“Her brain.”

I tsk and move beside my desk, pulling out the weapon from the back of my waistband and tossing it on the desk with a thud. I fucking hate guns, but when your family deals with weapons, you’re expected to carry one. I arch my back from where the thing was pressed into me. Perhaps a new one is in order.

I lean back and cross my legs in front of me in a relaxed pose that has my former cashier loosening his shoulders. “I hate to hear your son is sick. I can’t imagine how tough it must be to see him going through that.”

I twirl the gun next to me, spinning it in circles. The man immediately tenses again, staring at the piece, as though that’s the most dangerous thing in this office. I smirk, knowing that’s far from the truth.

“Yeah, it’s been awful. I just wanted to help him, ya know?”

I smile at how easily he forgot his story, then knock on the desk and stand, striding his way. “Tell you what,” I say, bringing my hand down to his shoulder. “Let’s forget about the money. You don’t have to worry about paying me back.”

A relieved choke escapes the man before he starts laughing. “Thank you, Mr. Caruso. Thank you for understanding.”

I curl my fingers, digging into his flesh until all sounds of relief cease and heavy breaths of discomfort kick up. “I understand completely. I understand that you stole from me. Then you come to my office and lie to my face.”

“I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” His words tumble from him as large tears begin to spill down his face. Luca steps up behind him, but I shake my head. It’s me he stole from. Me he treated as though I’m some sort of fool.

My hand moves to his throat, tightening around it, enjoying the feel of his quickening pulse.

“What are you doing?” he manages to gasp as I tighten my grip.

“I’m not some fool who will allow you to come into my home and steal from my family.” I continue to squeeze, watching his eyes roll to the back of his head. I hold my position as his body spasms against the restraints keeping him in place. His legs kick out at me in his attempt to free himself, only causing me to press tighter.

When his last breath spills from his lips, I relax my hand. “I’m no fool,” I spit in his face. “I’m the goddamn Joker.

Chapter 2

Jasmine

This coffee is cold. How is it supposed to give me life when it barely has any of its own? I place the cheap, white mug with its crackled glaze on the table and look at my best friend.

“I can’t believe she got married,” Penny says for at least the fifth time since we met up this morning. We’re sitting across from each other at the same diner where we found out our friend, Anna, drunkenly married a man she literally met that same night.

The tips of my ponytail brush my neck as I shake my head, thinking about my friend who is always so calm and put together. Anna is the poster child for the perfect person. She doesn’t get angry. I don’t know that she’s ever done a single thing out of line. The news of her nuptials definitely came as a shock.