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“Intimidating witnesses. Mishandling investigations. Tampering with evidence. That kind of thing. Again, nothing quite in your league,” Hayes replies.
“Shame,” I mutter under my breath.
“So?” Hayes grabs his pants off the floor and holds them in the air. “You gonna let me get back to work before anyone notices I’m gone?”
“You’re an asshole, Hayes, but you got balls of steel, I’ll give you that. You hear anything from Mulcahy, you let me know.”
“His wife’s with you, right? Her cousin married your brother?”
I fix him with a glare. “Miss Stone’s whereabouts are none of your concern.”
He doesn’t break eye contact when he replies. “Of course not.”
The fucker really does have balls of steel.
* * *
“We needto deal with him, D, before he becomes a liability. He’s holding us partly responsible for Mia leaving him. He’s already proven he’s prepared to tank his career. He won’t stop until he has her back. Even without the threat to Mia, allowing him to live isn’t good for business or our reputation.” Talking to Hayes confirmed my initial gut feeling that Mulcahy is a problem we need to rid ourselves of.
Dante’s deep sigh communicates his reluctance to go against Mia’s wishes. Kat is firmly on her cousin’s side, and he’s rarely willing to do anything that displeases his wife. But he knows I’m right about this.
I lean against the edge of my desk. “I’m prepared to do it myself, quietly, if that makes things easier,” I suggest.
“I’m not lying to my wife, Loz,” he says with a frown. “I told her I killed her own brother, I think she can handle this.”
“Tell her then. Tell them both. Mia might be pissed, but she’ll learn to live with it.” I don’t understand why—and I don’t wish to explore my reasoning—but I hate the thought of doing anything to cause her any degree of unhappiness. Still, I’ll take her displeasure if it means keeping her safe from that fucker. Family is everything, and Kat is my family. At least that’s what I’m telling myself to justify my commitment to Mia’s well-being.
Dante glances between Max and me. “I don’t want either of you running around the country looking for this sack of shit,” he says with a shake of his head. “Mia’s safe here, and she has no plans to leave. When Mulcahy comes back to Chicago for her, do whatever the fuck you want with him. In the meantime, let Hayes do his thing. The man might be a slimeball, but he’s smart and ruthless. If luck’s on our side, he’ll solve the problem for us. An ex-cop is easier to deal with than a cop.”
I don’t have to like it, but his reasoning is sound. My baby brother has grown up a lot—he didn’t have a choice. Dante was never meant to be the head of the Cosa Nostra, but his ability to curb his impulses and look at the big picture makes him the best man for the job, and I respect him enough to follow his lead.
“You okay with that, Loz?”
“Fine. But as soon as he comes back here…” My chest tightens.
“Do whatever the fuck you like with the slimy prick,” Dante finishes with a cruel smile.
ChapterTwenty-Four
MIA
Ithumb carefully through the well-worn copy of Little Women, wondering who read this book so many times that some of the print has faded. How many times did their hands caress these pages while being absorbed in another world? That’s the true beauty of reading—being able to be anywhere you want while staying right where you are.
Closing the cover, I lift up on my tiptoes and slide the book into its proper space on the shelf. The door opens, and even with my back to it, I know it’s him. It’s been a week since he fucked me on top of the piano in this very room, and despite our agreement that it wouldn’t happen again, it’s happened at least once a day. And again every night. Lorenzo comes to my bedroom every evening after I go to bed, but he never stays, always leaving once I fall asleep.
The room charges with electricity and sexual tension. Every cell in my body responds to his presence, and my breathing grows faster, my heart rate kicks up, as he draws near.
I feel his warm breath on the back of my neck, and I shiver with anticipation. Strong hands slide over my hips, pulling my backside against his hard cock.
“You’re a distraction, sunshine,” he says with a low throaty growl, lips dusting over my ear and making goosebumps prickle along my forearms.
A smile spreads across my face. “I am?”
“An addictive distraction. You look good enough to eat.”
“So eat me,” I offer, wiggling my ass against him.
He sinks his teeth into the delicate skin of my neck, biting down and making me yelp from the combination of pain and pleasure. His fingers dig into my hips as he sweeps his tongue over the sensitive flesh, soothing the sting of his bite. Then he presses his mouth against my ear. “Be careful what you wish for, Mia.”
