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“Areyouokay?” I slide into the chair beside him.
He stares at the crumpled-up note peeking out from his clenched fingers. “No….” He huffs out a breath, eyes still fixed on whatever is in his hands. “I suppose I will have to be,figlio mio.” He finally looks up, spears me with those dark eyes that I’m sure could read every secret in my black soul. “Listen to me, Dante, you are going to become a man soon. Being a man means taking responsibility for your actions, cleaning up your own messes.Capisci?”
“Yeah, Papà, I understand.”
“We all make mistakes, son. Some worse than others, but you meet them head on and you do what’s right.”
I nod, wondering if he’s waiting for me to come clean about skipping practice.
He turns away, stares at that note again and stands. “Go, Dante, go do your homework. I have something important to take care of.”
“Yes, Papà.” I jump out of the chair and dart down the hallway, all too eager to get away unscathed.
I never did find out what had Papà so spooked. I was only a kid back then, seven or eight at most, but there was something about that scene that remained in my mind all these years.
The sharp squeal of my phone lights up the dash, drawing my thoughts back to the present. I press the green answer button when Tony’s name flashes across the screen.
“What?” I bark.
“I got bad news, boss.”
“Cazzo, what now, Tony?” The only time I ever hear from this guy is when he’s got bad news.
“Three of our warehouses in Meatpacking were emptied out.”
“What do you meanemptied out?”
“All the shit is gone, Dante. All the supplies, machinery, special material for the commissioner’s new docks are gone.”
“Fuck…. How?”
“The cameras were scrubbed, there’s nothing, D. My guess would be the Red Dragons, but it doesn’t seem their style. They would’ve set the warehouses ablaze, not steal the stuff. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Who else could it be?” My thoughts flicker back to the Christmas tree lot with Rose. The new player Clara keeps talking about, what was their name? Damn it, I should’ve been paying better attention.
“Not sure, boss, but Luca’s going to lose it when he finds out this is going to cost us the commissioner’s project.”
“The fuck it will. We’ll find out who the hell stole our shit and get it back.” There’s no way I’m admitting to my little brother I dropped the ball on this multi-million-dollar deal. Losing Caroline’s father’s new high-rise is bad enough.
“So, you coming back to the city?”
“Yes,” I growl. Incompetent idiots can’t do anything without me. “What about Rose’s apartment?”
“I don’t think it was the dragons….”
“You don’tthink? I need you to be sure here, Tony.”
“I’ve got nothing concrete, but no way Feng wouldn’t take the credit. You know what a peacock that guy is.”
Damn it. He’s right. Then who the hell is fucking with me?
* * *
The house is quiet as I stalk inside, the steady crash of waves off the balcony the only sound. After that talk with Tony, I need to burn off some of this wrath, and I know exactly how to quell those dark desires. Hopefully, Rose obeyed me and is still naked in our bed.
Ourbed? Where did that come from?
I race up the stairs, anticipation quickening my stride. “Rosa? You better be drenched, naked and ready for me, sweetheart.” I reach the landing and jog through the double doors into the master bedroom. The bed is empty, sheets still in a tangle.
