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She wipes at her cheeks and smiles. “Don’t mess with your best friend, then.”
Best friend?My chest expands. “You started it,” I grumble.
“Because you guys are one angry argument away from fucking. There is a thin line between love and hate.”
“More like hate and oh, look, he’s got tattoo covered abs and not a bad-looking face.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re going to eat your words, lady. Now help me fix this, so I can go talk to Martina.” She gestures at her face.
Once Mel is out of the staff room, I try to figure out my next step. I could go to a hotel, provided Dante rememberedto tell them I’m no longer blacklisted, or… I could go to our office and sleep there. I’d be away from prying eyes, and out of everyone’s way, and I could use the facilities here to shower and get ready in the morning before Dante even got in.
Exhaustion outweighs my growling stomach, so I decide to go straight there and crash. I don’t even remember the last time I ate. Breakfast was it? But it’s not the first time I’ve not eaten all day. I’ve gone much longer than that on nothing but water and crumbs.
The office is locked, but with the key I swiped from Dante’s desk earlier today, I should hopefully be able to get in. If not, I’ll have to go looking for help, and there will be more questions and more lies I’ll have to come up with. Thankfully, in no time, I’m pushing the door open and stepping inside.
I don’t turn the lights on, gazing out the large window instead at the colourful lights below me and the ocean not too far away. It feels like light years away when I stepped through the door for the first time, but it’s only been this morning. Maybe it’s because I spent most of the day by myself, or maybe it’s the feeling of belonging. I have this weird feeling like I’m living through one long déjà vu. Walking through streets I’ve seen before. Seeing houses that look familiar. And then there’s the ocean. Its waves greeting me like a long-lost friend, calling my name in their hushed whispers.
I’m clearly overtired. With a heavy sigh, I pull the stuff I took from the laundry room out and bundle it up into a makeshift pillow. First, the freshly washed uniforms, then I neatly fold my clean and dry clothes on top. Lastly, I cover myself with the black jacket and lie down on the floor, gazing out at the lights. I try not to think about how many times the jacket served as my blanket. And I try not to thinkabout the first time it did, when they found me as a toddler. I held onto this jacket for so long it’s honestly a miracle it survived this long. But apart from the pocket watch, it was the only thing I owned, tying me to my past.
Sometimes, I wish I could recall what exactly happened the day they found me. Or the events preceding it. But then I remind myself that some things are better left forgotten.
I yawn and close my eyes, my fingers digging into the familiar material. Just for a second.
18
DANTE
Even after three strong espressos, exhaustion is dripping down my body like a two-hour gym-induced sweat. There’s nothing I’d like better than to turn the car around and go back home. Take a few hours to myself and not care about all the shit that’s falling apart around me. But, instead, I’m sitting here in my designated parking space. The engine turned off as I watch the stars disappear and the sky turn from black to dark grey on the horizon.
Last night was a shit show.
The minute I got home, I had a phone call.
One of my men was found dead by the docks. Not just any man, either.
Fuck.
Someone shot one of my father’s longest standing soldiers, one who worked for the family for as long as I can remember. The same man who was with me during my first mission.
It wasn’t a clean kill, either. Whoever was involved had a sick sense of humour. The wounds and abrasions all overhis body made it clear Luigi suffered greatly in the last few hours of his life. Then, his body was dumped by the docks without a care.
Did Luigi stumble onto something he shouldn’t have, or was this a message addressed to me?
Discarding his body in my port sure as hell felt like a personal affront. And I have a sick feeling there’s more to Luigi’s death, something obvious I am missing.
Someone is threatening the peace the Santoros have had in Northern America for years. Someone is threatening the peace I have worked so damn hard for. And there’s no way in hell I will stand by and watch everything unravel without a fucking fight.
My most trusted men are combing through Luigi’s house as we speak, looking for anything out of place, any information that could shed light on his very recent demise. It’s a waiting game, and time is not on my side. With Nico constantly striving to undermine me, clearly making plans to take control over my port, and let’s not forget sniffing around the casino for god knows what reason, I have enough on my plate to be dealing with. And that’s just from one disgruntled capo who’s on a power trip.
Then there’s Alessa, the annoying bane of my existence. Although, I have to admit, fucking with her yesterday made my shit show of a day much better. Her outraged expression when I dropped all the pencils she painstakingly sharpened in the trash was the highlight of my day. Come to think of it, the prospect of making today difficult for her is the only thing still keeping me in the parking lot instead of firing the engine up and driving back home.
With a sigh, I open my door, letting the fog that came out of nowhere into the tight space around me. The damp air I used to hate so much as a kid, now a welcome reminderof where I came from and what I’ve built. I can taste the salt on my tongue as I inhale a lungful of air, making my way across the lot and into the familiar building. Black Royale is my baby. It was the first building my father entrusted me with, the first business he gave me free rein over. I don’t think anyone thought the casino would become as big of a hit as it did. Definitely not when I closed it and gutted the whole thing. But I was determined, and I had a vision.
A vision for a business that would surpass even the best casinos in Vegas. A vision for the town that would become a mecca for those under our protection. And a vision of what I wanted the future of the family to look like. I was met with an uproar when I first banned drugs from being sold on the streets of Blackwood and legitimised all mafia owned businesses. Then, with confusion when I provided jobs, houses and education for the citizens who were left with nothing. Those who tried to defy me ended up either leaving or dead. It was the easiest way of getting what I wanted.
Trust.
And people in Blackwood trust me. They fear me, but they trust me more. That’s why I need to figure out what the hell is going on and who’s behind it and make sure no one finds out about Alessa. Just how the fuck does one hide a five-foot-seven bombshell with legs for days? I have no clue. But I’ll figure it out. I always do. There’s a lot at stake here. If anyone finds out for certain who she really is, it could give Nico just the ammunition he is looking for to use against me. To ruin me, and everything I have achieved up until now. After all, I didn’t follow the explicit instructions of my initiation. In the mafia world, that meansfailure.
