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Especially since our meeting led me to Winter.
I’d fallen into a sort of obsession with her from the first moment I saw her. I’d wanted to know everything and I’d done so, quietly, without anyone else knowing.
And while I didn’t need someone to offer her to me, I could have just as easily taken her, I didn’t want a seventeen-year-old. So, I watched from a distance until I was ready.
Things had been quiet on Maddox’s end as our truce held strong, but I was still plotting against him. And after Winter turned 19, I realized I was going to follow my instincts and take her.
So, I’d let her pitiful, strung out brother run his tab up with the family and right before Winter’s 21st birthday, I’d struck a deal with Richard to exchange her for his bill.
And now here we are.
My plan is thrown to shit, Winter’s swirling brown eyes and plump lips a distraction I don’t need or want.
Her sudden strength and attitude are both an irritation and an inconvenient turn on.
And the goddamn war hasn’t even got started yet.
Because Maddox Hawthorne doesn’t realize I’m ready to reveal my pawn.
A pawn who behaves a hell of a lot like a queen these days.
I grab the scotch bottle off of my desk, popping the top and bringing it to my lips.
Fuck using a glass.
I let the scotch wash down nice and slow before taking another chug.
Slamming the bottle down, I tap my papers one last time before grabbing my phone. I barely look at the screen as I find Dox’s name.
“To what do I owe this phone c-”
I cut the old bastard off. “We need to have a meeting.”
CHAPTER EIGHT: WINTER
“You scheduled a meeting with Dox?” Maximo’s own shock mirrors my own as everyone in the room stares at Giovanni.
I like this whole new thing where I’m included in the meetings, but apparently it’s because Giovanni has completely lost his mind.
That has to be the only reason he decided to schedule a meeting with Dox. On Seven Quad territory.
My brows pull together as I study Giovanni. He’s the only person in the room relaxed and I can’t help but to wonder if it has to do with the half empty bottle of scotch on his desk. His back is pressed firmly against his chair, his arm laying flat on the armrest and the other one high while he holds onto a cigar.
He looks more like a man on vacation than one about to walk into the den of his enemy.
“Yes,” he says simply, blowing out a puff of smoke.
I watch as Maximo turns an eye toward Vito, raising a brow. The two seem to be having a silent conversation and I think it’s the first time I’ve seen such an interaction take place. Any other time, they’re too busy arguing to be on each other’s side. Another sign that Giovanni has undergone a lobotomy if Maximo and Vito are looking to each other for guidance.
Maximo eyes his brother. “Times are changing, because all of a sudden I’m the sane one,” he mutters before grabbing the bottle of scotch and turning it up. He takes two long swallows before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
He turns to Lucia who is on the other side of him, holding the bottle out to her. She eyes it for a moment before shrugging and taking it. “Cogli l'attimo,” she says.
Which must mean ‘all has gone to shit, so why not?’
I eye the bottle, wondering if I’m allowed a turn. Lucia’s eyes meet mine and a smirk crosses her face before she leans over Maximo, extending the bottle to me.
I reach for it, but Vito beats me to it, taking the bottle. He reaches onto Giovanni’s desk, grabbing the top and plopping it down onto the bottle. I can’t help but to glare at the side of his head.
