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“Uh, sure.” I’m confused… Who would have ordered me cake? I don’t know anyone here. I pull out my wallet, find a fifty, and hand it over to the waitress.
“I can’t take that.” She looks at my money like it has the ability to burn her.
“What do you mean? How much do I owe you? I don’t think I have anything smaller.” Surely fifty dollars is more than enough to cover my order.
“No, I meant you don’t need to pay. Your meal was already covered.” The waitress then turns around and walks out the back, leaving me more confused than ever.
I pull a pen and paper from my bag, and write down a little note. I don’t know who thinks they can pay my tab, but I don’t need anyone’s money. I wrap the note around the fifty and leave it on the counter. Hopefully no one else takes it before the waitress returns.
The whole walk home I have that same prickly feeling, like someone is watching me.Following me.Yet, every time I turn around, no one is there. It freaks me out enough to quicken my strides. I make it back to my building in five minutes, locking the door and turning on every light in the empty apartment.
I spend the next few minutes pacing the small space, before deciding to shake the feeling off as simple paranoia. And the discomfort of being in a new city…
ChapterThree
“You know I’m trying my fucking hardest to tune you the fuck out, right, Neo? And I can’t do that when you’re constantly yapping.” I grunt at my cousin, who is also my second-in-command. Although, I may be on the hunt for his replacement in the very near future, if the son of a bitch didn’t learn to shut the fuck up already.
As tempted as I am to pop a cap in his ass and silence him for good, he’s one of my best capos. That, and ourrulessay you can’t shoot a made man just because you’re sick of hearing his voice. Whoever the fuck thought that one up obviously hadn’t met Neo.
There’s also the fact that, despite his annoying-as-fuck personality, he’s my best friend. The one person in this world I trust to have my back.Always. No matter how fucked up a situation gets, I know he’ll be by my side, guns blazing. Fuck, the guy’s so loyal he’d willingly follow me into the pits of hell and face off with the devil himself.
“Yeah, well, someone has to talk some fucking sense into that thick skull of yours. You’re seriously going to tie yourself to her, to that family? For what? Because your papa says so? Fuck that. It ain’t the fucking fifteenth century, man. Arranged marriages should not be a thing anymore,” Neo yells, hitting the steering wheel with his open palm.
Why is he so fucking worked up over this? It’s not like he’s the one getting hitched to someone he’s not even remotely attracted to. Don’t get me wrong. Lana, myfiancée, is a knockout. Beautiful.Model-worthy even.The problem is… I’ve been friends with her since we were in diapers, and she’s like my fucking sister.
As to why the fuck our fathers put this plan together, I have no idea. But my old man’s the Don, and you don’t saynoto the fucking Don. It ain’t a fucking option. So, like the dutiful son I am, the underboss, I set the example and follow my father’s lead.In everything.
Besides, it could be worse. It could always be worse. At least that’s what I tell myself… “Mypapais the fucking Don. So, yeah, I’m gonna listen to him. Take the orders and follow through on this sham of a fucking marriage. Don’t even try to tell me you’d do anything different.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. Believe it or not, I don’t have a fucking death wish,” he grumbles.
“Yeah, news flash, asshole.Neither do I.I just wish I knew what the fuck they’re trying to achieve, by bringing the families together like this.”
I don’t understand why my father made this deal. Every time I’ve brought it up, he’s blown me off with the usual nonsense of telling me it’s time I settled down and started a family. That I need an heir.Yeah, bullshit.I’m fucking twenty-five years old. Why the fuck does he think I need an heir already? Maybe he’s dying. If that’s the case, I wish he’d do it before the nuptials. That way, I can kill the deal with Lana’s family myself.
It’s not that I don’t love my father.I do.I even respect the hell out of him. He’s always been someone I’ve looked up to, someone I’ve thrived to be like. My old man rules with an iron fist, a bloody one at that. But he’s not just feared; he’s respected among the men. I only hope I can be half the boss he is when it’s my turn to lead the family.
Neo pulls up to the shopfront. “You ready to have some fun?” he asks with a smile. The bastard is bloodthirsty. This is the part of the job I do because I have to. But Neo? He does it ‘cause he fucking likes it. I think he gets off on the violence.
“As I’ll ever be. Let’s get this over with. I’m craving your sister’s lasagna.”
Neo laughs. “I should tell Aunt Gloria that you like Helena’s lasagna better.” He jumps out of the car, dodging the punch I was throwing his way.
“She would never believe you.” I smirk. My mother thinks I’m a goddamn saint. I’m sure if you asked her, she’d even tell you the sun shone right out of my ass, and she’d believe it too. But she’s Italian—most of our women are like that with their boys.
“I’ve got photo evidence of you eating at Helena’s. A lot of it,” he continues as we walk into the storefront. The little bell hanging above the door informs the occupants of our arrival.
It doesn’t matter though. There’s nowhere to run.We’d find them.If they’re smart, they’ll stay put and face us. If they’re stupid, which they usually fucking are, they’ll run and force me to chase them. And I don’t fucking like playing cat and mouse—it never ends well for the rodent. Thankfully, these idiots seem to be the former. They stand there, their mouths gaping open like fucking fish out of water. If they don’t pay up tonight, they might just be the fishinthe water. With a brand-new pair of fucking cement shoes, courtesy of my father’s men.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Neo, you know, I thought Luca and Paul here would have known better than to try to rip me off.”
“Please, T, I didn’t. I’ll get you the money. We just need more time,” Paul stutters out.
“You see, Paul, if I give you more time, then I gotta give Joe Blow down the street more time too. And then his cousin. And his fucking uncle. I’d never get paid. You can see how that’d be a problem for me, right?” I say as I fold up the sleeves of my white dress shirt.
“Please, we’ll get you the money. I swear.” Luca tries to plead their case this time.
“Mmm, I don’t know, T. They seem genuine. Maybe we should give them a chance,” Neo offers. He’s a fucking psychopath, letting them think he’s on their side right before he strikes. I see the flash of relief cross over their eyes. It doesn’t last long. My cousin pulls his piece from his holster and shoots Paul’s knee out. The fucker falls to the ground screaming. Meanwhile, Luca just stands there with his hands in the air. “Or not.We aren’t known for being lenient, and I wouldn’t want to wreck the Valentino name.” Neo smiles.
