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“Finally lose your virginity?” Enzo asks with his mouth full.
Nico and Enzo high five, laughing, while Bash rolls his eyes.
At that exact moment, Uncle Ricky walks in behind Dante. “We got his location.”
Pop goes that bubble.Thanks, Dante and Uncle Ricky.Come on. I thought we’d be great friends.
My eyes immediately connect with Nico’s. I can’t read his expression. My heart takes a dive.
“Way to ruin the dramatic effect.” Dante pretends to be offended as he sits.
Uncle Ricky hands Bash a folder.
“He’s holed up at one of their facilities. It looks like a normal warehouse on the outside but there’s two underground floors. Security is tight around the perimeter and the building itself. Blueprints and exact location are all in there. We still need to study them up,” Uncle Ricky explains.
Bash looks through the folders while I eye them curiously.
“So, what happens next?” I ask.
I’m not sure if I want to hear the answer.
“We need the Outfit’s cooperation,” Bash replies.
I can’t hide my shock. The brothers look equally as surprised.
“We?” Nico asks.
“Cooperation?” I follow.
“Yes. We. Cooperate,” Bash says, sounding annoyed that we made him repeat himself.
“I thought once he’s located, you’re out and I go home.”
I need to hear him say it; otherwise, I’d think I hallucinated this whole conversation.Am I not going back?
“Change of plans. I’ll set up a video call with the Outfit,” Bash says as he wipes his mouth with a napkin, indicating he’s finished with his meal and this conversation.
Then a thought occurs to me. The Natalie part of me would hang back in the shadows, not because I was submissive but because I couldn’t draw attention to myself. However, now, as Anya, I can’t just sit around and let not only the Cosa Nostra and the Outfit call the shots for me but anyone for that matter.
Before he leaves, I call out to him. “I’ll be there.”
He stops and turns around to look at me as we silently communicate. I’m scared as shit, but I need to take agency over my own life, and the time is now. I can’t keep letting these men run things. The Triad is mine. Mine to build and mine to rule.
Bash nods and leaves. I grab the folder from where Bash left them and look over at Dante. “I want these blueprints blown up so I can study them.”
“You got it.” He grins.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself. I look over at Nico, who is smiling proudly at me, and my heart strings tug. I can’t let him go.
This gives me time to consider my options. Whatever they may be, leaving Nico isn’t one of them. I swear I’ll call my uncle himself and leave an anonymous tip that his location has been uncovered, so he can find somewhere else to hide. Shit, I don’t even know if Nico wants me long-term.
Chapter Twenty
Nico
She’s smiling, her dimple appearing. I love that smile. Actually, I love so much more than that. I shake my head to cut off my thoughts, but it’s no use. There’s no getting Anya Liu out of my system. Was a man like me capable of love? Worthy of it?
Ten minutes after Bash leaves, I get a text from him saying our meeting is in an hour. We all sit in Bash’s office. Anya, my brothers, Dante, Uncle Ricky, and a few of our captains. Cesare, Dominic, and a room full of men I’m assuming are also their captains appear on the screen. I spot the Matteo fucker to the left of Dominic. Anya jumps up like a firecracker with the biggest smile spread across her face. Fuck, it’s kind of hard to hate the two men that can make her smile like that. Then again, I want to be the reason she smiles like that.
