Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I knew he was lying through his fucking teeth. But I couldn’t question him in front of everyone else.
So I opened the door, letting everyone spill inside.
Lore was nowhere to be seen, but I never actually did find her in the common areas of the apartment. She was always in the bed.
But, yeah, I really only came home late, so I guess that made sense. Surely, she moved around the apartment during the day.
Another thing I didn’t know about her.
I shook that thought off as soon as it formed, not wanting it to take root.
“Boss,” Cinna called, making me turn to find her standing there, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing an all black outfit of skinny jeans, a tee, and a nice-looking leather bomber jacket. “Got what you asked for,” she said, reaching into her pocket, and sliding a box across the island toward me.
I snatched it up, shoving it in my pocket.
“What?” I asked, feeling her look at me, something unreadable in her gaze.
If there was one person in my organization that I didn’t want to play cards with because they had a fucking wicked poker face, it was Cinna.
I guess when you were a woman in any male-dominated field—let alone one as violent and unpredictable as organized crime—you had to lock your thoughts and feelings down tight.
“Is this some Costa hatred shit still?” I asked, already getting tired of that narrative.
It was done.
We were allies.
They had to fucking accept it.
“No,” Cinna finally said, the word clipped and hard. “No, it’s not about the Costas. Not all of them,” she added, giving me a hard fucking look that I couldn’t suss out before turning and walking away.
The fuck was that about?
“What’d you say to sweet Cinna?” Dav asked, coming up to the island, passing me a drink I fucking sorely needed after this frustrating-ass day.
“Sweet Cinna?” I balked, snorting at him. “There’s nothing sweet about Cinna. I’m pretty sure she’d rip your balls off for suggesting that.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure there’s at least one thing really sweet about Cinna,” Dav said with a wicked smirk.
I didn’t see Cinna that way.
She was a capo, like any of my other capos.
Not the subject of some sexual fantasy.
Clearly, though, that wasn’t something felt across all the capos and soldiers in the organization. Dav wasn’t the only one who would happily take the woman to bed if she offered.
But she never did.
I didn’t know who Cinna fucked, but it wasn’t any of my men.
I guess that made sense.
As much as I liked to think my crew wasn’t sexist and backward like other organizations, I could understand that Cinna would think that men in the crew would lose respect for her if she fucked them.
“That woman is immune to your charm, Dav,” I said, sipping my drink.
“Oh, I’m wearing her down,” he said, his easy confidence an aura he wore around him all the time.
“Sure. Sure you are,” I agreed, shaking my head at him.
“Food!” Rico called, coming in with his arms piled high with boxes of pizza, and one box on top that likely had subs or meals inside.
“That yours?” I asked as he pulled one of the foil-wrapped hot subs out of the top box, and placed it on the top of the microwave.
“No,” Rico said, rummaging for paper plates. “Elian caught up with me and told me to order an eggplant parm,” he said. “For your wife,” he added in a way that suggested he thought that I’d given the order for Elian to talk to Rico about what she wanted.
But I hadn’t.
Elian, it seemed, knew my wife better than I did.
Something bubbled up inside me, a sick, swirling sensation it took a long moment to recognize as fucking jealousy.
The fuck was that about?
Elian was as loyal as they came.
There was no way he was being inappropriate with Lore.
But, still, he knew shit about her that I didn’t.
And, apparently, I didn’t like that.
“Right. Yeah, thanks for grabbing that,” I said, my gaze slipping toward the bedroom door, wondering if she was going to show her face.
She didn’t seem like the partying type.
She was so fucking shy and quiet.
I didn’t see her happily joining a party full of strangers.
“When am I going to get to use my charms on that wife of yours?” Dav asked.
“Never,” I declared, getting a smile out of him.
“Hey, you picking up reading?” another of my men asked, waving a thick fucking hardcover book around.
A book.
Lord knew I didn’t enjoy reading.
But, clearly, Lore did.
I was surprised by the joy I felt at seeing something of hers sitting around in the common area, evidence of her existence outside of the bedroom.
“Don’t touch her shit,” I said, voice casual, but he brought the book over to me, setting it on the island.
“It’ll get spilled on over there,” he said, shrugging, and walking off.