Chapter SixteenRico was nursing a bourbon and water at the bar inside The Five Aces when John D'Angelo strolled in. When Rico heard the door open behind him, he looked up – as he always did – and saw D'Angelo in the large mirror behind the bar. He lowered his eyes and went back to his drink, at once hoping D'Angelo would not stop at the bar and knowing that probably he would. D'Angelo didn't disappoint. Recognizing Rico from behind, he sauntered up to him and occupied a seat at the bar two stools away.
D'Angelo was a large hulk of a man who could have passed for a middle linebacker. He was about an inch taller than Rico who, at well over six feet, was himself a powerfully built man, though more sculpted and compact than D'Angelo. The latter man had a massive upper body, a remnant of a nec
