Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 59304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“If you don’t do what we want, we’ll find you, motherfucker.”
I suck in a breath.
“We’ll find you and we’ll slit your thr—”
Dario snatches the phone from my hand. He’s standing in just his underwear, and he looks pissed. His expression is unlike anything I’ve seen on his face before. His broad chest rises and falls with almost violent urgency.
He brings the phone to his ear. “I’ll call you back.”
Hanging up, he glares at me.
“Who was that?” I demand.
“Why are you answering my phone?”
“I asked you first.”
“That’s not how this works,” he grunts.
“They said they were going to slit my throat–well, your throat. They thought it was you. Who would say something like that? And why? What the hell, Dario?”
“One of my clients is pissed at losing his investment. Now he thinks he can threaten me to get his cash back. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
He’s evasive, turning away, unable to meet my gaze.
Is he lying to me?
“Your clients for your finance job? What are you–an investor? A stockbroker? A hedge fund manager?”
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
“Something like that.”
“Dario!”
He spins on me. “You don’t need to worry about this,” he snaps. “Some asshole is calling me and talking a bunch of crap. That’s it. The end. It’s not your concern.”
I move away from him. “Okay, fair point.”
“Siena, I didn’t mean to snap.”
I hold my hands up when he approaches me. “No, you’re right. This is none of my business. I’m getting overfamiliar.”
“Overfamiliar,” he repeats, shaking his head. “After last night—”
“Forget last night.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“It was never supposed to happen anyway.”
“I don’t care what was supposed to happen. It happened, and I don’t regret it. Do you?” When I don’t answer, he growls, “Well, do you?”
“I need to get ready for work. I’m sorry for answering your phone. I shouldn’t have done that.”
He massages his forehead, his shoulders sagging. “I’m sorry, Siena. This stuff is stressing me out.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Let’s just get on with our lives, okay? Our separate lives.”
He winces at the word ‘separate’ as though it causes him physical harm. I know I’m playing with his feelings, and honestly, I’m playing with mine too. But just because I slipped up, and we got steamy last night, it doesn’t mean we owe each other anything.
“If you think you can just go on like normal,” I tell him, “I can too.”
“Define ‘normal’.”
“Back to what it should’ve been before last night. Just… friends. I won’t pry into your personal life or your work life. You’ll let me focus on my work.”
“I’m not forgetting last night,” he says. “I can’t. And even if I could, I wouldn’t.”
“I need to shower and change. Is that going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a morning run with my godfather, anyway. I’ll get out of your hair.”
I grab my stuff and head toward the shower, conscious of a rift opening between us.
As the water slides over my body, I return to the phone call. The threat. The viciousness of it.
My instincts were humming before. Now they’re screaming.
CHAPTER 18
DARIO
Iwalk to the end of the pier and call the number back, heart pounding, head full of violent notions.
Jeremaih answers on the second ring.
“You’ve got some nerve threatening a civilian, you stupid fuck,” I snarl.
“I didn’t know it wasn’t you on the other end of the line.”
“Then it’s even worse. It means you were threatening me. How do you imagine that’s going to end for you? How do you think this is going to go?”
Jeremaih and his goons have been trying to push hard drugs on our Family’s turf. I’ve tried to be civilized with them because my father wants to take the high road, but it’s reaching a boiling point. Eventually, it’ll be time for blood.
“I want what was promised.”
“Nothing was promised,” I grit out. “My father said he might arrange payment if you went peacefully. But you didn’t. You busted into one of our clubs and disrespected us on our own turf.”
“And you broke my second’s jaw in two places, Dario! That’s a fair trade.”
“You need to drop this,” I growl. “I’m serious. Let it go or face the consequences.”
“Big words for a man who fled the country.”
“If you’re living under the delusion that anyone in the Bianchi Family would ever run from you, Jerry, you’re sorely mistaken. And I’ll be happy to show you the error of your ways when I come home.”
“Aye, or maybe we’ll use your little vacation as an opportunity to show you who we really are. When the cat’s away…”
“You know I’m not scared of you.”
“I know that’s true, but maybe you should be.”
“Jerry,” I snarl. “You need to stop calling me. Stop making threats. You’re only making this worse for yourself.”
“Who answered the phone, Dario? You finally found a lady down there? Is that it?” When I don’t say anything, he goes on. “It is, isn’t it? That silence tells me all I need to know. Maybe I’ll find out who it is, pay her a visit.”