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I took it without thanks and tucked it into my inside pocket.
“Keep me informed,” Anna-Vittoria said, her tone indicating a dismissal, “and make sure you are polite to the Castellani.”
I rose and strode from the room, spine rigid, and then I had to stand there and listen to Pedretti brown-nosing.ThenAnna-Vittoria let drop that he’d be staying at my place. This Castellani snake not only invading my crew but my personal space, too? But I knew better than to argue with her.
Pedretti, it seems, does not.
“Staying out of touch wasn’t part of the deal,” he says now, a hint of irritation in his voice. He hasn’t even moved to take out his phone.
“I will inform Don Castellani of my preference,” Anna-Vittoria says in that calm, no-arguments voice that I hate hearing directed at me.
“Alright, then,” Pedretti replies after a moment, the casual shrug not masking the tension in his shoulders. He hands her his phone.
“So you understand, Signor Pedretti? You will have no contact outside the Esposito Family. I will see any attempts to do so as a betrayal. And then our little friendship will come to a rather sad and abrupt ending.”
“I hear you.” Pedretti looks straight into Anna-Vittoria’s eyes without a hint of fear. It annoys me. Does he think he can macho-man his way through this assignment?
“Thank you, gentlemen. That will be all.”
She closes the door on us, and I stalk down the hallway after the house guard, Pedretti trailing behind like an unwanted shadow.
But as much as I hate the idea of having him around, I can’t deny that there’s something magnetic about him. Something that pulls on my attention as much as my irritation. I shake my head, trying to banish the thought.
“Welcome to the Esposito Family,” I mutter over my shoulder. “You’re in for a wild ride, Castellani.”
“Looking forward to it,” Pedretti replies. “But the name’s Pedretti. Or Max. Your choice, Fabrizio.”
“It’s Bricker,” I tell him right back. “Or Capo.” Might as well get him in line early. Because I have no idea what Anna-Vittoria’s game is here, but I can only assume Pedretti is going to be looking over my shoulder and interfering every damn step of the way.
“Get in,” I say, pointing at my Charger as we reach the front of the Villa. The sleek black vehicle gleams, its tinted windows hiding the interior.
Pedretti grabs his bag from the back of the town car and transfers it into the Charger. “Nice wheels,” he comments as I close the trunk, his gaze skimming over my car appreciatively.
I hate him completely. Dammit, why does he have to be so good-looking?
“Thanks, I stole it myself,” I shoot back, as I walk round to the driver’s side. He grins, unfazed, and slides into the passenger seat with a grace that irks me further. “Fuck you,” I mumble over the top of the car, where he can’t hear me, and then I get in myself.
With no further conversation, I start the engine and pull away from the Villa. But the whole ride home, I’m hyperaware of his presence beside me, like a stone in my shoe pressing into the tender part of my foot. But one thing’s clear in my mind: if we’re working together,I’mthe one in control. Max Pedretti will follow my lead whether he likes it or not.
“Ground rules,” I say flatly when we’re halfway home. “You do as I say, when I say. No questions. No arguments. Got it?”
In my peripheral vision, I can see Max looking me over with those cool, dark eyes. Calm. Unruffled. “Understood. You’re in charge…Capo.”
“Damn right I am.” I stare him down as we stop at the lights, searching for any hint of defiance.
But his expression remains politely detached, giving nothing away.
CHAPTER6
MAX
I get it.
I wouldn’t be happy with this situation either, if I was him. I’m not happy with it, and I’mme. Instead of handling a house security gig for Anna-Vittoria, like I did for the Castellanis, I’m helping in a heist run by my old partner’s kid.
Really not where I saw myself at this time of life.
“And let’s get one last thing straight,” Bricker says as he takes off again when the lights change. “I’m not your damn babysitter.”
