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"I'm surprised your caveman nature didn't balk at promising your brother dinner alone with me, even if you were confident you'd win."
"I never said it would be alone."
That sounds more like the Atlas I know.
"Whatever." I slide into the driver's seat and adjust it to fit my frame. "No more bets about anything to do with me."
He shrugs. Which is not a promise. "It got you an armored car nine months before a new one could be delivered."
His tone says it all worked out so what is my problem?
"Is Orion driving a regular car?" I ask, worried. "Is that safe?"
He's the family lawyer, which makes him a target on two fronts.
"Don't worry about my brother," Atlas grumps, his possessive nature reasserting itself. "He's fine. He can drive one of the security vehicles until his new car arrives."
Chapter 43
LUCIA
A few days later, I am working in my office on payroll.
It's not something I need to teach Helios. He'll be using a bookkeeper going forward. So far, they haven't recruited anyone local with the skill set. For now, the payroll and monthly bookkeeping will be done by someone in California.
The Hades Brotherhood can't hire a regular accountant any more than the Cosa Nostra can. With the mafia, there are always two sets of books. Those for the tax man, and those for the syndicate with record of all money laundered through the club and where it came from.
I haven't suggested myself for the job because I'm still wary. Bookkeeping is a lot safer than running one of their front businesses, but there is still risk. Lessened significantly if the Rokos brothers protect me, like Atlas promises.
I want to trust him, but I'm scared that if I do, he'll hurt me again.
Both our secrets are out in the open, but I wait for the other shoe to drop. Are there still things I don't know about him? Will Atlas start treating me like Tino now that I'm pregnant?
Chance of rain, less than 20%.
My ruthless enforcer still asks my opinion about things, even though the Hades Brotherhood have made their move to secure territory and taken over my club to do it.
So does Zeus. Which is weird. He can be a jerk when challenged, but apparently one that respects my intelligence. He even told me he would never threaten to run sex workers out of Nuovi Inizi again and that he shouldn't have done it the first time.
It's not an apology, but it's an admission of wrongdoing by a man with the same authority and power as a don.
Orion is the same snarky man with the typical god complex of an influential lawyer. He doesn't tell me he's sorry. He tells me to stop dicking his brother around and to get over myself.
The attitude is so much like Rocco that I start to cry. Orion gives me an awkward hug to comfort me and tells me not to be such a crybaby. It's like these Rokos men are intent on proving that I'm part of their family, whether I like it, or not.
"Hey, boss, you look pensive." Willow stands in the doorway of my office, or rather Helios's office.
"Come in sit for a minute." Other than announcing the change in ownership to the employees, I haven't talked to Willow about what's happening.
She relaxes in the chair closest to my desk, no stress or anger evident in her posture. "I guess you weren't loaning your boyfriend money that night, huh?"
I shake my head. "Not exactly, no."
"At first, I worried you were being coerced into selling. You worked so damn hard to make this place a success." Willow eyes me thoughtfully. "But every day that Helios takes on a little more responsibility, you get more relaxed."
"I do?" It surprises me she can tell. I put a lot of effort into hiding my real emotions behind an even-tempered façade.
"Not sure anyone else has noticed, but I've worked for you since you opened this place."
