Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
I head into the guestroom because screw that.
But I stop dead as soon as I step inside.
The bed’s been stripped, and the bare mattress is tipped onto its side on the floor. The skeleton of the frame stares back at me, almost like a joke.
That psycho prick.
I’m fuming as I stare at the mess.
Like hell this is going to be my life from now on.
Chapter 13
Luca
The depot’s busy on a Thursday morning.
There are two businesses happening at once. Mostly the trucks are making legitimate runs. My guys are actual drivers with real licenses and specific routes. We get hired to transport stuff like any other trucking company.
Except there’s the other side to what we do.
Those guys are legit too. They have all the proper paperwork and licensing requirements. Except their information is slightly less than legal, and their cargo would send their fucking asses straight to jail if they were ever caught. And each of my guys is paid a small fortune to ensure that they keep their mouths shut even if some uppity local cops find something they shouldn’t.
I like the morning chaos. I’d like it better if I had slept last night. I drink cheap black coffee and watch the legit guys get their routes from grizzled old Giorgio while the less-legit guys speak quietly with Enzo.
“What’s with the pissy look?” Stefano asks, leaning up against the wall beside me. His hands are stained black from working on one of the trucks. Not only is he my best muscle, he’s also a gifted mechanic.
“My wife is a pain in my ass.”
He snorts a laugh. “Aren’t they all?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Always felt like that was standard procedure. You get married, and everything goes downhill, right?”
I glance at him. “That’s not what I want.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I grind my jaw, glaring at the action. A truck starts up with a loud grumble and someone shouts nearby. “She slept in the guest room.”
His eyebrows arch. “That’s not too bad, right? I mean, you two are strangers.”
“Someone’s trying to kill her. I sat out in the hall all night again making sure she was okay.”
His eyebrows raise even higher. “Seriously? All night?”
“My fucking back hurts, and I didn’t sleep.”
“You’re an insane person. That’s psychopath behavior.”
“You’d do it too if someone wanted to kill your wife.”
He hesitates a second and only shrugs. “Guess we’ll never find out.”
“That’s what you say now. Meet the right woman—”
“Like you did?” He grins and lightly pats my shoulder. “Not in my future, boss.” He walks off with a slight wave, and I watch him go.
Fucking Fiorella. She’s so damn stubborn. If she understood how concerned I was for her right now, there’s no way she’d keep making this so difficult for me. But in her mind, I’m just being a controlling prick.
And maybe I am, but so what? If keeping tabs on her all night is what it takes to make sure she wakes up breathing, then that’s what I’ll do.
I never wanted any of this. When Adriano asked me to take one for the team, I accepted right away. My sister went through this, Adriano himself did it too, and now it’s my turn. That’s how things work in the Famiglia. You step the fuck up and do what you have to do.
Only I was like Stefano before Fiorella came into my life.
Marriage felt like more trouble than it was worth. All I ever wanted was a role in the Famiglia. Running this trucking company and keeping my crew going has been my entire world ever since Adriano raised me up to be his next Capo. I trust and love that man like a brother, and I’ll do anything for him.
That’s why I accepted this arrangement.
It was never about her.
At least until that day in my office when I plunged myself deep between her legs and felt something I’ve never felt before.
It was lust. It was need.
But it was also obsession.
And now it’s fucking me up beyond belief.
“Enzo!” I bark once he’s nearly finished prepping the drug shipments. “In my office. Bring the others.”
He nods, and I retreat into the back. The chair creaks as I collapse back into it with a groan. My coffee’s getting lukewarm, and I curse as I throw it all back. I need the energy more than I care about taste right now.
Stefano shows up first. The big man grabs a chair and starts talking about some brake pad issue he’s dealing with on one of the vehicles. Leo’s in next, looking squirrelly and shifty. Davide slinks in and takes his customary spot in the corner, looming and looking annoyed that we dragged him out of his computer cave.
“You do realize we have real jobs to do, right?” Enzo asks as he closes the door behind him.
“Giorgio can handle it for a while.” I glance toward the windows. Enzo shuts the blinds. We do our best to make sure the floor manager isn’t entirely aware of the full scope of our questionable operations. He’s not technically a member of the Famiglia, but I still trust him. Keeping him partially ignorant is about protecting him as much as it’s about protecting us.