Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
She was right, of course. I pissed off the Don once already by running off on my own, it would be pretty damn stupid to do it again. I knew he’d give me his blessing after hearing about what happened at the house, all I had to do was talk to him.
“All right,” I said. “Steven, go talk to the Don’s people, tell them what happened, and ask for a meeting tomorrow morning at the bakery.”
“I can do that,” he said.
“Good. When you’re done, send a message to the boys. Until they hear from me again, nobody’s to make any big moves. Keep asking around, but if they hear anything or find anything, just keep an eye on it for now.”
“Understood.” Steven grinned at me. “You should’ve brought her around more often.”
I glared at him. “Get out of here.”
He laughed and walked off with a wave. I watched him get into his car and pull out before I turned to Aida. She was smiling sweetly at me, and I just shook my head.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. You’re just going to drive me insane.”
“You’re just mad I had a good idea and made you look stupid in front of Steven.”
“Damn right,” I said and laughed. “But I’m glad you’re here. He’s right, maybe I should’ve brought you around sooner.”
“Good thing I’m here now.” She leaned up against me and looked into my eyes. “Now, I’m hungry and exhausted.”
“I’d offer to cook, but you saw the house.” I leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll order something.”
“Sounds good.” She took my hand and led me into the house. I followed with a smile on my lips.
She was already proving to me why I want her around. The girl’s smart, sharp as hell. I had a feeling she would become my better half, the little bit of thought and restrained I needed to balance out my rash, violent tendencies.
Together, we’d take on this whole city.
27
Aida
We fell asleep early that night wrapped in each other’s arms. He woke me early after a deep, dreamless sleep. The sun still hadn’t risen yet, and the bedside clock said it was just after five in the morning.
“Come on,” he whispered and kissed my forehead, rustling my hair a little. “We have to meet with the Don at six.”
“Why so early?” I asked.
“Safer this way.” He walked over toward the door and opened it. “Get out of bed, lazy ass.”
I grunted something at him and he laughed before turning on the lights. He grabbed the sheets and yanked them off me before leaving the room.
“Asshole!” I called after him but managed to drag myself out of bed.
It was strange getting ready in his place. Since I didn’t have any clothes there, I was forced to hand wash my underwear the night before and hang dry it in the bathroom. I found the oldest, smallest shirt I could and a pair of jean shorts that must’ve been left behind by some other girl that was nearly my size. I looked silly, but I’d worry about finding better clothes later.
Dante looked immaculate in his suit as always. I came down to the kitchen and walked to the counter where a coffee machine chugged away. He grinned at me from the table. He had a gun in his hand and was loading bullets into a magazine.
“Morning. I made coffee.”
“You’re a saint.”
“No, darling. I’m definitely the sinner here.” He chuckled to himself then pushed the clip into the gun and pulled back the slide with a loud thunk. He nodded to himself and put the gun down gently. “Now, are you ready to meet with the Don?”
“I think so,” I said. “I feel like this time will go better.”
“Better hope so.”
He stood, walked to me, and kissed my neck. I smiled and kissed his lips.
“Where did you get these shorts?” I asked.
He frowned at them and shrugged. “No clue,” he said.
“Was there a girl in here before me?”
He laughed. “You don’t want to know, my Aida.”
I glared for a second but couldn’t keep it up. “You’re a dick, you know that?”
“I had a life before you,” he said. “Lots and lots of lives, actually.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a mug from the cabinet. I poured some coffee and drank it down as he finished gathering his stuff. When he was finished, we headed outside and found Steven already idling by the curb. I got into the back and he nodded at me, eyes bleary and tired-looking. Dante got up front and we pulled out.
“What’s the word from the Don?” Dante asked.
“Not sure,” Steven said. “Spoke with Paulo and I couldn’t get a damn read on him at all. I think the Don’s annoyed he has to come out to you again, but I told him it was important.”
“Good,” Dante said. “Let the old fuck be annoyed.”