Page 49 of The Boss

GINO

EARLY DECEMBER

I’ve spent the last eight hours in a warehouse with three of Russo’s men. Ryan, Jake, Gabe, and I have been questioning them for hours. None of us wants to do this, but we feel like we have to.

It’s early December now, and at this point Mateo coming back before the end of the year is less realistic and more of a hope and a dream.

According to every single one of them, Anthony knows nothing; none of them have been sent orders to do anything to us in New York. But there’s no way Anthony knows nothing. He has to know something or, at the very least, suspect something. You don’t hear accusations of your son kidnapping and torturing someone, especially someone you just made a deal with, without there being some validity to it.

The four of us are in the corner of the room watching them, seeing if any will tick.

“How long do you want to hold them?” Ryan asks.

“Not long, I want to see if any of them will reveal something. Anthony’s network isn’t massive here, and he doesn’t have hundreds of men crawling the streets. These men don’t seem to be as violent; they're here to run his real estate portfolio and be bookies.”

“Do you think this will get Anthony to do anything?” Jake asks.

“Probably not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he calls me once we let them go.”

“When do you want to let them go?” Gabe asks.

“Once I know they’ll call their boss,” I say.

“You want the call from Anthony,” Jake says.

“Yes, I do. I’ve noticed Lorenzo calls me almost as soon as I get off the phone with Anthony,” I say.

“So this is a way to try and draw Lorenzo out?” Ryan asks.

“Exactly. Wait thirty minutes, then let them go. I’m heading back to the house, so when Anthony calls, Drew will be there to do his tech stuff to help us figure this out,” I reply.

The three of them give a curt nod, and I leave the room.

The drive to the house is quiet. And I’m with my own thoughts for the first time in a while.

I’ve done everything that Lorenzo has asked of me. I’ve given him the money and drugs he’s wanted, but there’s clearly something more he wants. And I don't know what that is.

I’ve tried everything; I know I have. It’s almost like Lorenzo is doing this out of spite.

Pulling my car into the garage. I take a deep breath before walking into the house.

Walking into the house. I see Juliet in the kitchen, making dinner.

“Hey,” I say, clearing my throat. “What’re you making?”

“Chicken Piccata,” she replies.

I give her a soft smile. “Thank you.”

She turns, facing me with a spatula in her hand. “For what?”

“All of this. I know we thank you for it often, but truly, thank you. I probably would’ve gone complete mafia boss by now if it wasn’t for you.”

“How am I doing that?” she asks.

I walk closer to her. “A lot of ways. You’ve listened to every wild idea we’ve had. You’ve continued to be the listening ear to me and everyone else. You’ve become close with Vanessa, and that’s all I could’ve asked for when it comes to my sister.”

“Gino, you didn’t need to ask me to do any of that. I’ve always been the one who’d listen to any wild idea and then talk you down from the dumb ones.” She smiles. The perfect smile that lights up a room. And a smile that goes right to my cock.