AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No. Hell no.
I grin.
“Mia Mancini, you are about to be the first woman asked out on a date by Connor Barrett. And while I’m at it, I’m going to fuck your sweet pussy a few more times,” I say out loud.
Two birds and all that.
Mia fucking Mancini.
“You might be fooling everyone else, but I know who you are, princess.”
And she just became my pawn.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, I’m sitting in a random bar downtown when Nathan slides into a barstool next to me.
We don’t look at each other.
He orders a beer.
Nathan has a new tattoo on his neck since the last time I saw him. Nearly seven weeks. I hate that it might not have been his choice. But then again, being inside the Italian mafiaishis choice. We all have our reasons for doing this, and Nathan does too.
I lift my cheap, shit-tasting whiskey to my lips. There is no Macallan in this bar. I didn’t bother asking or looking.
Though I might be recognizable in NYC, with my baseball cap, bomber jacket, and jeans, I look just like any other American guy.
The no-brand clothing helps. And I left my thirty-five-thousand-dollar watch at home.
“’Sup,” Nathan says when the bartender slides the beer across to him.
“Nice ink,” I reply.
He just nods, leaning his thick forearms on the wooden bar. We’re both watching baseball on the screen in front of us, just drinking our beverages. We wait for the commentators to go nuts about something and then make it look like we’re discussing it.
“Cade Mancini is preparing to take over,” Nathan announces, and my brows rise on their own—like right the fuck to the top of my hairline.
There is no way The Rock—Joseph Mancini—is stepping down. His son isn’t ready, nor is he someone anyone on either side of the law wants in the top seat.
Fuck me.
Joe Mancini is a dangerous man, but Cade Mancini is a narcissistic psychopath. Twice as dangerous and ten times more unstable.
He’s also Mia’s brother.
“How much support does he have?” I ask Nathan, knowing without asking this is a coup.
They happen in the mafia. Most are shut down before they get much momentum because someone gets scared and talks. When it’s a family member, the chances of success do increase.
Yeah, I analyze this shit. Know your enemy, and you’ll always be one step ahead.
Nathan lifts his beer and takes a long swill, then points it at the screen. “Some key influencers on the team. Reasonable concern.”
I signal the bartender. “Another one.”
The shit is burning my throat, but this is all for show. I’m tempted to ask him to add fucking lemonade, but I’m not a pussy.
“Names?”
“Giordano, Botticelli, The Icepick, and...” Nathan glances at me, then spins on his seat to survey the bar behind him. It looks like he’s just chilling, but he’s carefully making sure there is no one listening or watching. “Salvo Vitale. New partnership.”
