Read Gangsters with Guns Episode #3 for Free Online Page B

shoes made of fine leather, a thick gold chain at his neck, his hair sleekly styled but not oily, and a little too much cologne.
    “He told me everything was done, and I didn’t realize until…well, I didn’t realize that he’d taken the money but hadn’t done all of the work.” Although the excuse slithered easily from his tongue, the bruises darkening his jaw and cheek seemed to call his carefully orchestrated smoothness into question.
    “You don’t work here,” Jack said, not quite calling him out.  
    Mikhail was here almost as much as Aleksei, constantly tempting him away from responsibilities. Aleksei did nothing all day other than hang out in his office playing cards with Mikhail and their buddies, ogling the waitresses, and smoking cigars. If Jack ever questioned or challenged him, he shrugged his shoulders and said he was working. What was Jack’s problem? Wasn’t there money in the till?
    There was. There was always money, enough at least to cover basic expenses. But where did it come from?  
    His brother-in-law had a practiced line, a smooth excuse for every pretty waitress hired and every bookkeeping oddity. Jack had wanted to believe him. Now, he wondered if he’d willfully let himself be blind.
    Jack wasn’t the type to wallow in denial. His wife might accuse him at times of acting no better than a big kid, but he faced his problems like a man. He refused to be ruled by suspicions, doubt, or perhaps even unadulterated jealousy of a man who was easily successful when Jack struggled.  
    “Don’t blame Aleksei. It was my fault. I recommended the contractor,” Mihail said. He plastered a small, self-deprecating smile on his face. Jack had seen that same expression before on the married men who hit on his waitresses and then apologized for being overcome by their charms. He wanted to gag.
    Just like that, all the guilt he harbored over spying on Aleksei and his friends solidified into a hard resolve. In this, he had done the right thing.
    “What did you bring?” Becca asked. Jack noticed then that Mikhail was holding a black plastic case in one hand. What was in it? Money? Gambling chips?  
    “Is it a present? I love presents,” his daughter said with flirtatious innocence.
    “It is a present,” Mikhail said, “but I’m sorry. This one’s not for you, sweetheart. I’ll bring you something next time.”
    “Really?” Her eyes lit up.
    “Really.” Mikhail chucked her on her chin, and she fell easily under his spell. She clasped her hands to her heart in a romantic gesture Jack had seen only in cartoons. Don’t fall for his tricks. His resentment and suspicion burgeoned to a rolling boil.
    “You should have told me about the security problem,” Jack said sharply. He directed his comment to Aleksei and ignored Mikhail. “We’ll have to have someone else in to install the cameras. Obviously, we need them. I’ll make a few calls.”
    “I didn’t want to disappoint you,” Aleksei said.  
    True or false? It almost didn’t matter. In that moment, Aleksei seemed to believe his own words. He hunched his shoulders in apology and looked at Jack with such a boyish expectation of forgiveness. Was that how he made a woman like Katya forgive him again and again?  
    “Too late for that.” Jack couldn’t hide his bitterness. Aleksei nodded as if to say he understood and there would be no hard feelings.  
    “Here. Take some more candy for later,” Aleksei said to Becca, perhaps reaching for the approval and affection Jack had just denied him.  
    “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” she sing-songed. She shoved a handful of candies into her pocket and then raised her plump little arms up to hug her uncle. Aleksei bent to her, and she gave him a big, wet kiss on his cheek. He gave her a brilliant smile and then surreptitiously wiped his wet skin with his hand.
    “Now run along. Mikhail and I have business we need to discuss,” Aleksei said to her.  
    Jack bristled at the dismissal. He