Las Vegas Crime Noir: Max Rossi Series
He tried to escape his past, but his past came with him.
When a game of high-stakes poker turns into a boxing match, Massimo "Max" Rossi, the son of mob "fixer" Boston Rossi, winds up with more than he bargained for. All eyes turn to him when the police find his opponent, a hitman from Chicago, dead. And if that isn't bad enough, his only alibi--the dead man's girlfriend--is missing.
Now, if the cops don't get him, the mob will!
Rossi is in the struggle of his life, where every turn brings him closer to an untimely end. He's got to find the girlfriend before his time runs out. But in fledgling Las Vegas, time is an abstract concept, and people can hide almost anywhere.
From The Book
She took a curtain in each hand and flung them open, holding her arms wide. It took her a moment to register what she was seeing. I suppose it would have taken anyone a moment. But when she did, she let out a scream. That’s when the shots began. Tony pushed the cart out of the way and ran to Tina. He should have run faster, but his legs seemed only able to move at a turtle’s pace.
He was yelling, but I couldn’t hear him. I think I might have been yelling too, but I couldn’t tell. As Tony leapt into the air toward Tina, I pulled my gun from its holster. It took minutes, or was it seconds, to get the thing in front of me and minutes more before I could pull the trigger. Tony had landed on top of Tina and glass was flying everywhere.
The man standing on the other side of what was left of the sliding glass door was holding something at his waist. Something that was spitting fire repeatedly. I tried to aim for the fire. I pulled the trigger over and over again until all I heard was clicking. But the fire was still coming. I tried to leap behind the sofa and that’s when someone touched flame to my shoulder. I fell hard on my back. I would have gotten up, but the room went black.
ROSSI’S GAMBLE
Rossi is forced into a choice he doesn’t want to make!
Drawn into a world of sex and drugs, where every move could be his last, Rossi must navigate his way out before it’s too late. He’s got to find the head of the Highwaymen, then decide how to stop them without sacrificing his morals and convictions. If he can’t, there might just be two holes filled in the desert.
When Meyer Lansky makes you an offer, how can you refuse? Even if it’s one you don’t want.
The Highwaymen, a group of grifters and conmen, has come to town, and it is up to Massimo “Max” Rossi, the Sands Hotel and Casino’s newest house detective, to stop them before they hit. But finding a group that specializes in hitting quickly and getting out fast isn’t as easy as it sounds. And to top it off, Rossi is tasked with escorting a high roller’s gal pal around town, one that’s more trouble than she’s worth. Even if Rossi does find the Highwaymen and identify the leader, is he willing to help fill a hole in the desert?
From the Book
I removed my lid and placed it on the small desk, then I hung my suit jacket on the hook by the closet, and turned on the table lamp. Lizzie emerged minutes later clothed in nothing but her undergarments. She slid over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Then she kissed me. It was a soft kiss. A kind kiss. An inviting kiss.
She pulled back and smiled.
I put my hands on her hips. They were nice hips, soft and curvy, just like hips ought to be. They were inviting me as well. Inviting me to do things I had no business doing with someone I had no business being with. But there she was, standing in front of me, fiddling with my tie, wearing next to nothing, with perfect red lips, staring into my eyes. I pulled her head to my chest and she hugged me tightly.
ROSSI’S RISK
Intrigue, Betrayal, Murder
The newest casino in Las Vegas, The Moulin Rouge, opens to a fanfare of excitement, that is until one of its up-and-coming singers is found dead. All fingers point to a sax player in the band. The only problem—the singer is white and the sax player? Well, he is not, and in a town known as the Mississippi of the West, that does not bode well.
When Rossi agrees to look into the matter at the request of a friend, he becomes embroiled in a world where he doesn’t belong. One that could cost him his career, if not his very life! Ignoring all the warning signs—including pushback from the mob—Rossi finds out the hard way to beware of friends bearing gifts or needing favors.
From the Book
I set my glass on the counter and gently caressed her cheek. “It’s healing nicely,” I said. “Not even tender to the touch.”
“Hey,” she said. “What’s all this about?”
She tried to pull away, but I held her close. After a moment, she pressed into me.
“Who took a poke at you?” I asked. “Sal?”
She leaned back and studied me intently. I helped her take another drink. The effect was beginning to show in her eyes.
“You’re one of Sal’s girls, aren’t you?”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Name’s Rossi,” I said. “Max Rossi.”
“Ummm, the sax player,” she said.
“That’s right. And your name is Evelyn. You’re one of Sal’s girls. Isn’t that right?”
She took another drink, then laid her head against my chest. “Does it make a difference?” she asked.
“It does to Sal,” I said.