wished he ’ d thought to bring some of that disgusting chicory coffee substitute Jamie drank.
Jamie must have read his mind because he patted his jacket pocket. “ I ’ ll be fine. I have a thermos of green tea and some almonds. ”
“ You and those damn nuts. ”
“ Yeah. Whatever. So, uh, what are doing here for real? Cashion ’ s pretty sure this is the real deal. You gotta be extra careful now, man. If Riggo finds out who you are …” Jamie trailed off like he couldn ’ t stand to finish the sentence.
“ I know. I just needed a reality check. I ’ ve been surrounded by dumb garlic-eaters too long. When Cashion told me you were leading the security detail, I figured I ’ d find you out here. Just swung by to say hi. I gotta go pick up Peaches and take him to his poker game. ”
Jamie stared at him, stone-faced and serious. “ It was good to see you, man. But don ’ t this again. The next time I see you, I don ’ t want it to be in a body bag. ”
Nino let the words hang on the air for a few seconds. Then he stepped back into the shadows and melted back into the night.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sasha juggled her armload of grocery bags and fished her keys out of her purse. Connelly must have heard her from inside the condo because the door swung open.
“ Ah, thanks. ” She squeezed past him and dropped the bags on the kitchen island. Java immediately leapt up and stuck his head inside a bag to investigate its contents.
“ What is all this? ” Connelly asked, as he eased her coat of her shoulders. He gestured to the pile of groceries.
She picked up the cat and deposited him on the floor. Java took a moment to glare at her before stalking off, no doubt to take out his mood on the dog.
“ These are the ingredients to make my nana ’ s Russian tea cakes, ” she said.
“ You ’ re going to bake? ”
“ We ’ re going to bake, ” she corrected him. “ Six dozen, for Christmas dinner. I called my mom and told her we ’ d take care of them. ”
“ I thought you were swamped with the insurance coverage thing. When are we going to make seventy-two cookies? ”
She walked to the sink and started washing her hands. “ No time like the present. Are you going to stand there and ask questions or help? ”
“ Okay, then, I guess I ’ m going to help, ” he said with a grin and joined her in the kitchen.
Within minutes, eggs were being whisked, butter was melting, and a light dusting of flour coated most surfaces. Connelly even voluntarily turned on her holiday music playlist without grumbling.
“ It ’ s a Christmas miracle, ” she cracked.
He shook the rolling pin at her and she laughed again.
“ So what happened today? You ’ re more relaxed than you ’ ve been in weeks. ”
She blew a stray tendril of hair out of her eyes and considered the question. “ Mainly I ’ m relieved that the deposition went as well as it did. The Maravaches have a solid case. ”
“ You think their insurer will see the light? ”
“ Eventually. ” She might need to file summary judgment papers, but she doubted the case would go much further than that briefing.
“ That ’ s great news. ”
“ It is. But the even better news is the corporate representative did what I hoped she ’ d do and connected the dots. She caught on to the pattern of approvals right away. ”
“ She did? Her attorney didn ’ t shut you down? ”
She shook her head. It was a good, but misguided, question. It assumed Phil Chadwick, Esquire, had paid sufficient attention to the case to grasp the significance of the data. She highly doubted that was the case. He was an insurance defense lawyer. He paid attention to notice provisions and exemptions from coverage. He wouldn ’ t have noticed or cared that the same group of people routinely put through fire claims that were uniformly paid. “ No. He didn ’ t. But she was careful about what she said in front of him. She ’ s no dummy. She got it
Jamie must have read his mind because he patted his jacket pocket. “ I ’ ll be fine. I have a thermos of green tea and some almonds. ”
“ You and those damn nuts. ”
“ Yeah. Whatever. So, uh, what are doing here for real? Cashion ’ s pretty sure this is the real deal. You gotta be extra careful now, man. If Riggo finds out who you are …” Jamie trailed off like he couldn ’ t stand to finish the sentence.
“ I know. I just needed a reality check. I ’ ve been surrounded by dumb garlic-eaters too long. When Cashion told me you were leading the security detail, I figured I ’ d find you out here. Just swung by to say hi. I gotta go pick up Peaches and take him to his poker game. ”
Jamie stared at him, stone-faced and serious. “ It was good to see you, man. But don ’ t this again. The next time I see you, I don ’ t want it to be in a body bag. ”
Nino let the words hang on the air for a few seconds. Then he stepped back into the shadows and melted back into the night.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sasha juggled her armload of grocery bags and fished her keys out of her purse. Connelly must have heard her from inside the condo because the door swung open.
“ Ah, thanks. ” She squeezed past him and dropped the bags on the kitchen island. Java immediately leapt up and stuck his head inside a bag to investigate its contents.
“ What is all this? ” Connelly asked, as he eased her coat of her shoulders. He gestured to the pile of groceries.
She picked up the cat and deposited him on the floor. Java took a moment to glare at her before stalking off, no doubt to take out his mood on the dog.
“ These are the ingredients to make my nana ’ s Russian tea cakes, ” she said.
“ You ’ re going to bake? ”
“ We ’ re going to bake, ” she corrected him. “ Six dozen, for Christmas dinner. I called my mom and told her we ’ d take care of them. ”
“ I thought you were swamped with the insurance coverage thing. When are we going to make seventy-two cookies? ”
She walked to the sink and started washing her hands. “ No time like the present. Are you going to stand there and ask questions or help? ”
“ Okay, then, I guess I ’ m going to help, ” he said with a grin and joined her in the kitchen.
Within minutes, eggs were being whisked, butter was melting, and a light dusting of flour coated most surfaces. Connelly even voluntarily turned on her holiday music playlist without grumbling.
“ It ’ s a Christmas miracle, ” she cracked.
He shook the rolling pin at her and she laughed again.
“ So what happened today? You ’ re more relaxed than you ’ ve been in weeks. ”
She blew a stray tendril of hair out of her eyes and considered the question. “ Mainly I ’ m relieved that the deposition went as well as it did. The Maravaches have a solid case. ”
“ You think their insurer will see the light? ”
“ Eventually. ” She might need to file summary judgment papers, but she doubted the case would go much further than that briefing.
“ That ’ s great news. ”
“ It is. But the even better news is the corporate representative did what I hoped she ’ d do and connected the dots. She caught on to the pattern of approvals right away. ”
“ She did? Her attorney didn ’ t shut you down? ”
She shook her head. It was a good, but misguided, question. It assumed Phil Chadwick, Esquire, had paid sufficient attention to the case to grasp the significance of the data. She highly doubted that was the case. He was an insurance defense lawyer. He paid attention to notice provisions and exemptions from coverage. He wouldn ’ t have noticed or cared that the same group of people routinely put through fire claims that were uniformly paid. “ No. He didn ’ t. But she was careful about what she said in front of him. She ’ s no dummy. She got it
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