Page 43 of Complications

“Boss, you can’t leave me hanging like that,” Joey growled.

Now was not the time for me to get a chubby, but damn, that voice did something to me. I was so busy thinking about what Joey sounded like when he whispered in the dark that I somehow forgot what the fuck we were even doing.

“Frankie! Frankie! Frankie!” Matteo shouted. “Are you even with us?”

“Sorry, Boss. I got lost in my head for a second. Can you repeat that?”

“Fuck me, are you trying to get us killed?” Joey snapped.

“Settle down, Jojo. I won’t let you die.”

“Don’t call me that, asshole.”

The first time I’d called him that aloud had been an accident. This time was deliberate. At some point in the long, tense drive home, I’d decided I was tired of pretending he wasn’t my Jojo. So, fuck it. He’d get over it. Or not. Either way, my mind was made up.

“Hush. We can fight about it later. I’ll even let you think you won,” I said with a wink. It was only slightly condescending.

“I swear to fucking God, you motherfucking stub⁠—”

“That’s enough,” Matteo barked. “You two can fight, or fuck, later. I don’t give a shit which one you pick. Hell, go wild and do both, but now, I’d very much like to concentrate on my goddamn problems.”

Joey glanced at me and somehow was both chagrined and defiant. He’d never looked sexier.

“Sorry, boss,” Joey said.

I nodded my agreement to the apology, and Mattero accepted it with a curt nod. “You said they came after Conner?” I asked

“Yeah, I keep my client list short, so I’m not sure who’d be brave enough to try and get one over on me.”

Joey glanced at me with eyes that I knew well enough were trying to pass on a message he didn’t want to say in front of Matteo.

“Boss, if you’re good with it, I’m going to help Joey get his stuff out of the car. With his shoulder, he’s even more useless than usual.”

There was no heat in my words, but Joey rolled his eyes at me anyway. Matteo waved us off, and we strode out of the room toward the garage, which, if we were lucky, would be empty.

Neither of us spoke until we reached my car and slid inside. We might fight, but we were in sync when it came to our jobs and places in Matteo’s organization. He depended on us, and we’d catch a bullet for him without thinking twice. And now that included Connor.

“What is it?”

“The boss is right about the client list, but someone knows how important Connor is to him.”

“Yeah, and?” I asked warily.

“What if it’s not about Matteo and the target is really Connor?” Joey answered slowly. The wheels churning in his brain were almost visible.

“His uncle?” I clarified. Joey nodded. “But he’s dead.”

“Yeah, but that asshole had a fuck-ton of associates of his own.”

“You really think someone cares enough about the fucker to get revenge?”

Yeah, even villains had people who wanted them protected, but nothing in the uncle’s background seemed like he was the kind of guy anyone would plot out revenge for.

We both sat in silence while we tried to puzzle out the answer. Every part of me wanted to feel him, touch his skin, feel his hot breath on my skin, and taste the salt on him. Now that I was considering it, I probably would process more if I had some inspiration. Before he could tell me fuck off, I plopped my hand on his muscled thigh.

Joey’s leg jerked like I’d sent a surge of electricity, and I felt the breeze when he whipped his head around to look at me. What he didn’t do was shove my hand away and tell me to go fuck myself. Instead, he laced his fingers between mine and returned to his private thoughts. Here in the darkened cocoon of the car, away from prying eyes or eavesdropping ears, we didn’t have to pretend.

“Connor was farmed out for a debt. If he owed someone enough, they’d be pissed they weren’t gonna get paid. If they take Connor, maybe Matteo would be willing to pay off what he owed them,” Joey drawled slowly. Each word was pulled out of him slowly as he pieced together his thoughts.