Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“How the fuck can I get a track record if you take jobs from me?”
“Job. One job. This isn’t the end of the fucking world, babe. This is just a big deal. You were smart in bringing it in. But I want someone more seasoned to seal the deal. It’s not about you. It’s about the money. And if you had gotten your head out of your own ass for two minutes, you would have seen that before storming in here.”
Saff’s jaw was still granite, her eyes still burning, but the flames were flickering out.
Yeah, she ran hot.
But she burned out quickly.
“You need to learn to trust me too,” she said, voice low enough that most of the people in the apartment couldn’t hear her.
“I do trust you. And, with some more time, I won’t even think of stepping in and taking a job from you. You just gotta put the years in, babe. Just like everyone else. Now, you want a drink?” he asked. “Hopefully not tequila, ‘cause you ruined that.”
You had to respect Renzo’s ability not to get his feathers ruffled when one of his own crew came at him. He was a hard boss, sometimes even ruthless, but he didn’t exactly want everyone kowtowing to him.
He wanted an organization full of people who didn’t need to be babysat. Which meant everyone had an attitude, a lot of ego, and big fucking balls. He understood that those things were what made a good capo, so he didn’t get bent out of shape when someone copped an attitude with him.
“Vodka,” she said, and Renzo nodded before moving behind the bar, grabbing the bottle of vodka, and pouring it into a glass, squeezing a lime into it, then handing it to Saff as Elian came by with a dustpan and broom to deal with the glass.
“This doesn’t mean I’m not still mad at you,” Saff said, taking a sip.
“I can live with that,” Renzo said, lips twitching. “Dav, where the fuck you been?”
“Davide?” Saff scoffed. “Trapped under a pile of women, most likely. God knows you’re not working,” she added with a little smile.
“Keep being a little shit and I might be motivated to steal your next few jobs out from under you.”
“I dare you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.
“What are you gonna do, bite my ankles?”
Renzo was right about Saff being green. Not that it was her fault. She was barely old enough to drink. Which was probably why she had such a big brother/little sister relationship with many of the other capos. Myself included.
And as much as she might throw attitude around about it, I got a feeling that she secretly liked it, since she had no actual family of her own.
“Just been busy,” I told Renzo. Which was true. I’d been busy taking care of Cinna. “Did I miss one of these?” I asked.
“No, no. Just mean in general. Haven’t seen you around much. You, Cinna, everyone seems busy as fuck without giving me much info on what jobs you’re up to.”
“I’m looking to expand a bit,” I told him. It was true. It just wasn’t something I was actively working on. “A few low-level guys got pinched on charges unrelated to the family. Simple assault over someone running their mouth at a bar. Want them replaced. Can’t have people that sloppy in my crew.”
“Good. Any idea what Cin is working on?” he asked, making my gut clench. I’d hoped that I would only have to mention Cinna once. And here we were for the third time.
“Just know she’s busy as fuck. Barely spared me a word when I passed her,” I told him. Again, not lying. I had passed her in the hall in the middle of the night and she’d shot me tired eyes and kept along her way to go ‘busy herself’ by icing her ribs.
“Oh, didn’t know you’d seen her,” he said.
“A few times,” I said, nodding.
“Oh,” Renzo said, shoulders relaxing. I wondered if someone on Cinna’s crew was running their mouth about not seeing her. “Right. Good. She’s always distracted when she’s busy,” he agreed.
Someone called him over then, saving me from more evasions.
But when my gaze slid back to Saff, I saw her watching me with penetrative eyes, her head tilted to the side.
“You’re… lying about something,” she said, making my heart seize in my chest. “But I can’t figure out what.”
“Now what would I have to lie about, kid?” I asked, trying to rile her, so she let it drop. Of all people, I didn’t think it would be Saff who would be suspicious.
“I don’t—“ she started, but cut off as something behind me caught her gaze.
Turning, I found one of Renzo’s soldiers walking in.
Coal was a kid who’d been working for someone who was trying to take over the family after Renzo’s wedding. A guy who’d been strapped to a chair and beaten, but he hadn’t broken. He’d impressed Renzo enough to offer him a job.