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“I’m more than okay, Riley…” I find the strength to look back at her, hoping that the water running through my hair and dripping over my face will shield my tears. “I’m happy,” I admit, shocked at my own words and realizing that this is it. This is the feeling I’ve been chasing my entire adult life. And Riley’s the one who’s given it to me.
“Well, I’m glad about that, but you’ve completely ruined your clothes.” The sounds of her laughter echo around the bathroom and encourage me back onto my feet. I lift her body onto mine and rest her back against the tiles, careful not to crush the precious life she’s growing between us.
“You think I care about the suit?” I attack her mouth with mine like I’ve been starved of her, and then slowly, and with more appreciation than I ever thought I’d be capable of understanding, I make love to the woman who’s changed my life.
* * *
We’re both smiling when I carry Riley out of the bathroom and lie her on the bed. My soaked suit is still on the floor, and the pair of us are wearing only towels as we lie out on the bed together and wait for our baby to make his move again. I’ve never been more in awe of something in my whole life, and it’s while I’m lying in elation that the door bursts open, and Ricardo barges inside.
I totally forgot that I asked him to come up here and bring the laptop, but as soon as I see the look on his face, I know that something isn’t right.
“What is it?” I sit up, already thinking of ways to end whoever thinks they’re taking Riley away. I don’t care if it’s her brother or the police. I’ll take them all down. She wants to be with me. It doesn’t matter how that came to be. I’ll kill anyone who tries to interfere with that.
“It’s your brother, boss,” Ricardo says, catching his breath. “He’s dead.”
* * *
I’ve left Riley to get dressed, and now, I’m in my office pacing the floor and waiting for Gioele to get to me. This is bad, really fucking bad. Not because my brother is dead. That fucker had that coming to him. No, this is bad because I didn’t control it. Despite our differences, we share the same enemies. Everyone knows we’re family, and whoever went for Adriano could very well be coming for me too. I don’t have a clue who did this or why they’ve done it, but until I do, I can’t rest.
Gioele lets himself in and clears his throat awkwardly before he takes a seat.
“So what do we know?” I ask, rubbing the back of my neck nervously and lighting up a cigarette.
“It’s not good, Raphael,” the old man tells me solemnly.
“Your brother has been under investigation for some time now. It appears he knew about it, and he planted one of his men right in the thick of that it,”
“Undercover officer?” I ask, knowing the way my brother works. Like me, he knows it’s best to have connections. Anyone can be bought if the price is right.
Gioele shakes his head. “He had one of his men fucking Helen Scott’s daughter,” he reveals.
“CIA agent Helen Scott’s daughter?” I check, struggling to believe what I’m hearing. Turns out my brother was way smarter than I gave him credit for.
Gioele nods back at me.
“So, how did it come to this?”
“A few weeks ago, Adriano had Helen and her husband killed. The daughter was supposed to be in the car, but she wasn’t, and it’s come to light that Helen had some insurance in place.”
“Insurance?” I stare back at him, confused.
“The Souls.” Gioele raises his thick gray eyebrows at me.
“The motorcycle gang?” The Dirty Souls’ name has been coming up far too much just lately.
“There’s more,” Gioele adds, taking a long breath.
“Whatever it was that happened, it went down at your mansion in Woodland Park.”
“What?” My anger reaches a whole new level. “How am I only just hearing about this?” I smash my fist into my desk.
“The Souls cleaned up.” He lifts his shoulders. “We still haven’t found your brother’s body,” he admits.
“So then, how do we know he’s dead?” I ask, trying to stay calm enough to take all this in.
“I said we hadn’t found his body.” Gioele lowers his eyes to the floor. “We have his head. It was dropped off at his home in Taos this morning. And when I say dropped off, I mean literally. They tossed it over his security wall, and it landed in the pool.” I swear I see a flicker of a smile starting to form on the old man’s face before he reins it back in.
“I’ve already sent men out to your house. They assure me the place is clearer than a surgical room…”
