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A banging on her office door jerked her head up and she blinked, refolding the photo carefully, reverently, and locking it back up in her drawer. The knocking didn’t stop, her door vibrating under the force of it. She already knew who it was. Because her people knew fucking better. “What?” she barked.
“You can open this door or I can kick it down.”
She rolled her eyes. This motherfucker really thought he was her man. Just over here making demands as if that would endear him to her. She ignored him, picking up her phone and checking in with the guy she’d sent to New York.
“Yes, boss?” Like a perfectly trained soldier, he answered in the middle of the first ring.
“Any updates?”
“None.” He sounded contrite, as if it were his fault. “They don’t do much. Just go to church, to the hospital, home.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.Toro kept banging on her door.
“And their phone calls?” She’d diverted him from watching Israel’s house in Queens to Reggie’s—Israel’s partner in business and in life—parents in Brooklyn. They had to be in contact with their only son, whether by phone or in person, and she wanted to know the moment they did. They just might be the ones to lead her to her son.
“We’re listening, but nothing so far.”
Her office door crashed open, splintered and off the hinges, revealing Toro, who stood there with a smile on his face. Her men came rushing in with their guns drawn. These fuckers were always late where Toro was concerned.
She heaved a sigh and spoke into the phone. “I want to be informed the moment there’s something. Doesn’t matter the time. Understand?”
“Yes, boss.”
She ended the call, waved the guards away, and sat back, arms folded. “You know you’re paying to fix my door, right? Acting like you ain’t got no goddamn sense.”
Toro stepped over the mess he’d made and approached until he stood on the opposite side of the desk, staring down at her.
She narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Are you hungry? I made that breakfast I’d started earlier.” He glanced at the phone in his hand. “Guess it’s technically brunch now?” He shrugged.
She hated him. His smug face and his muscles and his fucking mouth that she wanted to taste almost as badly as whatever food he’d managed to scrounge up. He stood there as if he had a right to be in her presence. As if it was the most natural thing. No questions. No more curiosity as to what he’d learned earlier. It was as if it never even happened. She should be glad but she wanted to demand he ask her things just so she could tell him to fuck off.
Shit.
Maybe she really was crazy.
She waved a hand in resignation. “Fine. Feed me then.”
His expression got all soft and happy, and she sighed.
Why did she always have to be the bad guy? When Toro turned away to head out of the office, she called out, “Hey, you.” He met her gaze over his shoulder. “This will be your one and only warning: don’t fall for me. You’ll only fuck around and get your heart broken. Don’t do that shit.”
10
Toro watched Seraphina eat.
She remained behind her desk, refusing to leave her office to go sit at the kitchen table. His mother would’ve been scandalized. He’d brought the food to Seraphina. It was no hardship at all since he took particular pleasure in serving her.
Now she sat there primly, legs crossed, all her focus on the food. He hadn’t made anything impressive. The chef had told Toro what she liked, so he’d made it: an egg white veggie scramble, almond butter spread on whole-wheat toast, and half a grapefruit. She ignored him in favor of eating, and he didn’t mind because it meant he got to watch her take dainty bites and chew as if she were cataloging every taste and texture.
Very un-Seraphina-like.
He loved that weird shit she had going.
He perched on the edge of her desk, sitting so close to her he was practically on her plate. A move he made to deliberately bait her, but she didn’t mention it.
Her warning from earlier still rang in his head.“Don’t fall for me… Don’t do that shit.”He didn’t have the heart to tell her she was months too late.
