From the way Bianca’s eyes glittered every time she said Guy’s name, I could tell she was no impartial judge.

“So, are you ready to meet your new boss?”

HOPE THE FACE OF AN ANGEL

HOPE

THE FACE OF AN ANGEL

Bianca knocked on an office door, waited, then opened it. Behind the desk sat a man about my age, with a close-cropped Vandyke and short braids. He was running figures through a calculator, and his eyes stayed fixed on the result as we walked in. His suit coat hung on the chair behind him, and his white shirtsleeves were rolled up to reveal well-muscled dark forearms. Guy Benoit, the gang leader.

“Guy? This is Faith.”

“The Expisco?”

“Yup.”

He grunted something that could have been “good,” then jotted down a figure before looking up. A cold-eyed evaluation, but unlike Romeo’s, I couldn’t tell whether I’d passed or failed. A second grunt and he returned to his accounting. I glanced at Bianca. She’d made herself comfortable, draped in a chair, long legs crossed in front of her, blue eyes fixed on Guy.

“I presume Bianca told you the rules of conduct?” he said, fingers flying over the calculator.

“She did.”

“Thus ends your training, Faith. We expect our recruits to hit the ground running. Your crew mates will help, but don’t expect anyone to hold your hand. If you don’t work out, there are a dozen more to take your place.”

“Yes, sir.”

I added the “sir” instinctively, thinking even as the word left my mouth that he might take it as sarcasm. Had this been a job interview, I’d have been seriously considering how badly I wanted the position.

“I don’t need to tell you the importance of being a loyal crew member. I’m sure the recruiter explained what happens to those who betray us, either intentionally or through carelessness.”

“Yes.”

“Then we won’t need to discuss that ever again.” He lifted his gaze to mine for a split second before returning to his work. “This club has a line every night yet it barely breaks even. For us, it’s all about the marks. Miami is full of rich brats looking for a good time.”

From the twist he gave “rich brats,” I wondered whether the cover story Benicio gave me had been such a good idea.