Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“All right,” Rocco said curtly. He didn’t treat Nick with the same reverence he’d treated his father, but he still knew the chain of command. We all did. “What about Baxter? What are we going to do about him?”
“Rocco, look…” The Don lowered his voice, softening his stance. “You want revenge; I can understand that, but, if you whack Baxter, it’s war between my family and Gambini’s. I’m not prepared for that war. It’s going to fuck up business, too. I’ll arrange a sit-down with Gambini to sort this out with him.”
“Sort this out?” Rocco was clearly pissed, but he kept his temper in check and his voice steady. “He tried to blow us to pieces.”
“I made the decisions, not you,” Roselli said angrily. His father would never have said that—he wouldn’t have had to. Emilio had been the boss, but he’d ruled fairly and had always shown good judgment. The same could not be said for his son. “This conversation’s over.” Roselli’s tone was blunt. “Now, get the fuck out of my face.”
Shit.
Roselli strode away, on boots that likely contained lifts. His bodyguards joined him, flanking him as he moved through the crowd. He was probably trying to look important, but with his stiff little waddle, he mostly looked constipated.
Shit.
“This was my fault,” I began, words that didn’t slide very easily from my mouth. Roselli waved me off.
“We all agreed to go up there.”
Julian shoved his hands in his pockets, his brow furrowed. “I just wish I knew how Baxter knew. I know he didn’t follow us the whole way up there.”
I believed him. Checking for a tail was second nature to us. And now, Julian had lost his car. It was a shit heap, but he’d loved it. Guilt was another emotion that I wasn’t used to, but I felt it now. “I’m sorry, guys.”
No one responded, but they didn’t need to. They were my best friends, practically my brothers and I knew they weren’t going to hold this against me.
“What do we do about Baxter?” Julian asked. Roselli had just told us to leave him alone, but I wasn’t surprised by my friend’s question.
“We find out what we can,” Rocco said. “Discreetly.”
“Want to meet at the Rusty Bucket the night after next to talk about it?” Julian asked. “I know a certain bartender who said she wants to buy us drinks.”
Rocco grunted. “We owe her, not the other way around.”
Julian grinned. “She seemed pretty impressed by your fighting skills.”
Rocco didn’t say anything, but he didn’t exactly look displeased. But then he sighed. “I got plans.”
I exchanged a glance with Julian, but we didn’t ask. Rocco often kept things close to his chest, but he let us in when he needed to.
“Want to grab some hot dogs for lunch?” I asked, since it was clear the meeting was over.
“Yeah,” Rocco said, and Julian nodded.
As we walked through the park, my good mood returned. The weather was mild. Kids were playing ball and shouting as they chased each other around the playground. We got our dogs and sat on a park bench, talking about nothing in particular, but that didn’t matter. These guys were my family, and that was what mattered.
When we were done, and parted ways, I passed by the coffee kiosk without looking at the girl manning it. Instead, I kept seeing the image of a dark-eyed beauty the killer figure.
Last night, Julian had his hands on her slender hips, the lucky bastard. If our positions had been reversed, it would’ve made almost getting blown up worth it.
Almost.
6
MAGGIE
I read the text for the third time.
Hey, Maggie. Rocco here. Can you meet me at my place tonight at seven?
The third reading didn’t enlighten me any. It also made me wonder how Rock had gotten my number, but I didn’t spend too long dwelling on that. Clearly, the guy had connections. But he also seemed to have communication problems. He seriously couldn’t have spared another sentence or two to explain what he wanted?
Mystified, I looked up the address he included. It was an apartment building a couple miles away from the tiny studio I rented.
So getting there wouldn’t be a problem, but I’d really like to know what was up. Had his wound reopened? If so, I sure as hell was the wrong person to contact. Unless he’d been so out of it that night after the explosion that he’d gotten me and Piper confused?
Or it could be a booty call. That thought made my stomach do a funny little flipflop, but that didn’t seem to be Rocco’s style. If I even knew his style. But he’d never done anything flirtatious at the bar, though I’d caught him watching me a few times. That came with the territory of working at that kind of place.
I set my phone down and paced the length of my small living room. It didn’t take long. Sighing, I tugged on the end of my ponytail. A new thought hit, one that almost made me laugh. Maybe Rock was pissed that I’d sat on Julian’s lap and almost kissed him while Rock had been passed out on the sofa.