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“Fine. Have it your way.” He left both files, storming out of my office and slamming the door. My father obviously had him worried. Or maybe he wasn’t thrilled that I’d taken the helm.
“An interesting man,” Gabriel said as he chuckled. He headed toward my desk, casually flicking open the last file.
“A pain in my ass.” But he was damn good at what he did, well worth the million dollars a year salary he was paid.
“Your witness is a very pretty girl. Beautiful, in fact.”
“I haven’t noticed.” I shot him a look and grinned.
“Bullshit. So why is your father hot and heavy on you marrying?”
I snorted then took a sip of my drink, enjoying the smooth, robust flavor before answering. “He’s still entrenched in the old ways, believing that if I have a family, it will boost our reputation.”
“Then find a woman and marry her. You don’t need to fall in love. However, you need to deal with your witness.”
“What about you?” I retorted, throwing him a grin. He’d recently gotten married to a woman he’d vowed to hate, his abduction of her all about revenge. Then he’d fallen madly in love.
“My life is different.” He chuckled and shook his head. Our lives were similar in far too many ways.
Laughing, I lifted my glass. “I have no intention of being saddled with a girl who intends on spending my hard-earned money.” I wasn’t in the habit of killing women. That wasn’t my style. Then what the hell could I do to keep her from testifying other than using brutal tactics?
“Understood. Who is this witness?”
“She was a barely eighteen-year-old girl who’d lied about her age in order to work in one of our casinos.”
“A pretty girl with some balls?” He made it a question.
“What does it matter?”
He cocked his head. “Meaning. Could you stand fucking her?”
A few visions from the trial slid into my mind. The young woman had seemed so frail and innocent, but she’d been a delicious creature to look at, doing a damn good job of acting as if my piercing eyes hadn’t bothered her. I’d given her respect for her lack of emotions. “I could stand to do more than that.” Filthy thoughts swept through my mind. I could see driving my cock deep inside, taking her so roughly she screamed out my name.
“Uh-huh. That means you wanted to fuck her then. I have a suggestion.”
“And what is that?” Luciano had always been the one to come up with wild, often crazy ideas during our time spent in college. That had earned us bad boy reputations. It would seem Gabriel was following in his brother’s footsteps.
“Hunt the girl down. Marry her. That won’t help you with the Sicilians, but it will get the Feds off your back.” He used the slang term not realizing the blood that ran through my veins. The story went that the Thorn family was one of the original settlers in the United States centuries before when the truth was my brother, sister, and I were the first generation born in the country. However, my grandparents were royalty in comparison to the thugs within the Grasso organization. It was interesting Luciano and I had become friends since our grandparents had been enemies.
I laughed instantly, swirling my drink in my glass and tossing back every drop. “And why would I do that? Even if we were married, she could still testify against me.” The thought was interesting. I wouldn’t need to worry about how I handled her. If she broke, so what? If I selected a judge’s daughter or someone equally as empowered, she’d go crying to Daddy if I was rough with her, even if he wouldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“That’s not the point. If this comes up for trial, her testimony will likely be discredited if you’re married. Worth a thought. And it will get your father off your back.”
His grin made me laugh again. “You are a devious man, Gabriel. I’m certain we’ll work well together.”
“I am, but I’m also practical.”
“Understood,” I said, continuing to think about the option. “I could handle spending a year or two with her before discarding her. It’s finding her that could prove interesting.”
“Why not call Brogan?” he suggested. “He managed to locate a few assholes when my own team failed me.”
He’d called on Brogan to locate the Bratva Pakhan of New York when he’d been unable to.
Brogan Callahan was another member of the Brotherhood, a man who had a knack for finding anyone, especially those who didn’t want to be found. “Not a bad idea. Now, let go hit some balls. I need something to soothe the beast.”
As if that was possible.
I grabbed Jade’s photograph one last time before heading out, memorizing every angle of her face, every soft curve of her body. Gabriel was right. Capturing my perfect little bird, keeping her in a gilded cage would be the perfect retaliation against the prosecutor. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
