AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t roll up to the Four Leaf, planning to cause trouble. Or trouble is exactly what you’ll find.”
My eyes widen, and I wonder whether he went outside in pursuit of the man who followed me from school. If so, he obviously caught up to him and then… what? Hit him? I’m startled by the thought. I assumed the man had just run back to his car and sped away.
“Well, hopefully he won’t try to follow any other women. That was scary.”
“He knew your name.”
“What? No.” I shake my head insistently. “I’ve never spoken to him in my life.”
“He said he wanted to talk to you about something. Knew your whole name, in fact. Before we did. Olivia Nichols?”
My eyes widen. “Yes. But how?”
“Don’t know. A police prowler was about to come around the corner. We let him go before we got all the answers. You’re sure you’ve never seen him hanging around before?”
“I’m sure. But just because I didn’t notice him doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. I’ll have to pay closer attention.” I lick my lips, my mind reeling. I’d assumed the man was just some guy who picked me at random.
The fact that he knew my name means something else.
It means I have a stalker.
CHAPTER5
LIAM
It’s fucking unfortunate that Giovanni Di Luccio and his side piece decided to check out this show on the same night I did. I bet I know how it happened. Aiden mentioned to Leonardo that we were going to see an alt rock band, Silver and Rust, that happen to be playing here. Leo, who hasn’t mentioned once that his cousin Gio is in town too, passes the information along to Giovanni. As he must be doing with everything, including our joint business plans.
I’m not surprised about the passage of information. We all expected that to happen. Leo, Aiden, and I are here to hash out details of a deal that’s been in the works for six months, one Giovanni and I started when we were on friendlier terms. Now, trust has been broken and I don’t want to see the lying bastard anymore.
The deal, however, is still a good one, and Giovanni’s father Donato, head of the Di Luccio crime family, and Joe Sullivan, head of the Sullivan crime family, are pushing for it to go forward. Understandable. The plan is for their Italian New York crime family to combine forces with the Irish Mafia in Boston in a sweet underground gaming enterprise that will operate up and down the eastern seaboard.
The gaming scenario was an idea first floated by one of the C Crue syndicate’s masterminds, but they backed out of a joint venture when we looped in Italians from New York. There’s a lot of bad blood between the crue, a brash young crime empire based outside Boston, and the New York families.
Now that my relationship with the Di Luccios has soured, I regret ever getting them involved. I wanted our friends from C Crue in this operation with us and so did Joe. But C Crue went its own way, as it often does. They’re running games, too, of course. Quietly. And in even better locations. Private islands where they control everything. Sleek and slick, typical of them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Olivia lean over to talk to Aiden again. It makes me want to slide a hand up her skirt to distract her. Or to turn her over my lap and remind her who she belongs to.
I keep my hands to myself. Giovanni is watching, and there’s no need to throw gasoline on a fire. I told him Olivia’s a student training for a job. My words were almost verbatim for how he used to describe his mistress Delilah, the fucking man-eater. I don’t know what he sees in her, aside from the pair of tits he paid for. Almost everything about the woman is in-your-face fake. From the caterpillar eyelashes and dyed blond hair to the spray-tan and balloon lips. I couldn’t get it up for her female Frankenstein looks without a bottle of Viagra.
I glance over at the angel-faced girl sitting next to me. Yeah, this is what does it for me.
My frown returns as I think of Giovanni trying to question me about what I’m doing. Fucking hypocrite. And a liar to boot. I feel zero remorse about getting involved with Olivia. The Di Luccio family deserves the contempt they’re getting from me.
After the show, Giovanni gets in a fight with his mistress, and it’s time to go. Aiden and Leo lead the way downstairs with Delilah’s shrill voice following in our wake.
Olivia looks over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. “Did she just call his wife a fat pig?”
“I don’t know,” I say, reaching out for her hand as we head down the steps.
She pulls her hand away and grabs the railing instead. “Why did you take me out partying with a man and his mistress?”
It’s the first time I’ve heard an angry tone from her, and I don’t care for it.
“More or less ran into them by chance. But the man’s personal life is none of our business. Just as we’re none of his.”
She folds her slim arms across her chest and clenches her jaw as she stomps down the remaining stairs.
“Olivia—”
