Page 21 of Hot for Her Italian Mafia
“Get your things, buy your clothes, and go home. I’ll pick you up from your place, and we’ll do this right.”
I throw my arms over his shoulders and hold him tight. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 13
Luca
Ican still taste her on my lips. Every word I speak is a haunting reminder of where I could be instead of here. Balls deep inside my little lamb’s virgin womb.
“Construction continues as planned. The Irishman and the Yankee won’t get in our way.”
This is a turning point for my organization. We’ve worked hard to garner the trust of the Stillwater community, twisting their perception of us being lowly greasers with slick-backed hair to upstanding citizens who want what’s best for them.
Of course, it’s all a front of our more sinister dealings. A way to show real money on the books, while the real wealth comes from the heavy distribution of various narcotics across the United States.
“They’re causing quite a stir. They stood against the Lion’s Den and they aren’t going to be happy with the idea of three more towers obscuring their skyline,” Antonio says. He wraps his lips around a fat cigar and sucks until smoke fills the air.
The men in this room make up the core of my team. Antonio, my most trusted, along with the finest soldiers and commanders I’ve had the pleasure of working with. If it were up to me, I’d have most of my organization sitting at this table, listening in on our meeting, and understanding just how important this move is for us.
My father, for the harsh man he was, had one lesson that stuck with me from the day I’d taken over his work. Get to know your people—from the highest-ranking officers to the boot-shining degenerates. Don’t have your soldiers die for a stranger.
Simple advice that has given me the strength and power of a united army and not a group of rag-tags looking for a quick buck.
“This town knows who they are. Filthy scum who aren’t worth the shit on our boot. But us? They think we’re the heroes bringing in a brighter tomorrow. Gentrification of the lower communities but instead of pushing them out, we offer them a taste of the rich life at an affordable cost.” I cup my whiskey glass in hand, bringing it to my lips for a taste. Top shelf, the best money can buy, but it doesn’t beat the taste of the cheap swill of the Sunken Sailor. I guess that’s why folks go out to drink as is. Who you spend that drink with makes it all the sweeter. “Do you think a dockworker and loan shark have any way of competing with that?”
“And what if they retaliate?” Antonio asks. For a room full of people, it seems we’re the only two talking.
“The irony isn’t lost on me.” I rise from the table. Devin McCalister has been waiting in my office since this meeting began, and I’m far more intrigued by what he has to say than bashing my head against a brick wall. “But I’m going to quote someone, loosely at least. If they bring a knife, we bring a gun. If they send one of ours to the hospital, we send ten of theirs to the morgue. That’s our way, and that’s how we take this city.”
The fifteen men sitting around the boardroom table don’t say a word as I take my leave.
“Good news or bad?” Devin asks as I enter the door.
“Start with the good.” I head to my desk and take a seat opposite him.
His face is barely visible beneath the wide-brimmed hat he’s wearing. The low light of my desk lamp doesn’t help. But even with the visual impairments, I can still make out the scar running along his chin and intersecting his lips.
“I found the man you’re looking for.” Devin sits back, exposing the rest of his face. His short stubble beard doesn’t do much to hide the scar running further up his face. The gash makes its way past his lips, up his cheek, and stops clean against a now-milky eye.
The work of some twisted fuck Devin had the misfortune of hunting during his detective days.
“I guess this is where the bad news comes in.”
“Only if you count Max Lauren as bad news,” he says.
“What does that shark have to do with this?” I know the answer before he says it, but I need the confirmation before I dare let my feelings get out of hand.
“A little birdy told me about your interest in the girl,” Devin says apprehensively. “I’ve known for a while, but didn’t think it necessary to mention.”
I don’t know how to feel about this. Anger is my first reaction, feeling the fire deep inside my gut, but it’s quelled by the fact that Devin hasn’t done a single thing about it. He’s wise enough to leave my business to me.
“And it is now?” I bite back the flames reaching for my throat.
“The dad owes Max a good chunk of change, and he isn’t good for it. And Max…well, he’s not happy,” Devin says. His voice shifts, with every word inching ever closer to the bitter truth. “He wants the girl as collateral.”
A silence falls between us. First, he wants to come after my business and now he’s coming after my woman? Max Lauren’s starting to become a thorn in my side too deep to ignore.
“I’ll have to deal with him then.”