Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
I give it two hours before I’m picking up my clutch and making my way out to the front lobby, grabbing my phone out and swiping it unlocked when I see Giovi’s pearly white smile flash over my screen.
“Baby girl…” he purrs, and my cheeks sting from my grin. “Is it about that time?”
I laugh, grabbing the packet of smokes I snatched from my mother’s stash. Pulling one out, I bite on the end and light the tip. “Yes. Please. But Papa has someone new stuck on me, so—”
“—you know we can handle Papa La Rosa’s little hellhounds.” Before I can blow out the cloud of smoke, a bright orange Lambo slides around the corner with Fifty Cent thumping out the windows loudly.
It skids to a halt in front of me and my idiot cousin’s face fills the space of his empty window, flashing me a wide fuck you, I’m a badass smile. Gio is good for those. “Get in.”
I toss the cigarette and lift the door up high before shutting it closed just in time to see Wicked at the door.
Gio floors it and my body crashes back against the chair as he drives us out, turning the music down a smidge. “Revio still reminding you how much he can’t wait to marry you?”
I shake my head, turning around to face him. “No, and honestly, I’d rather take his fluffy bullshit than the savage on my ass right now.”
“Well, whoever it is, I can kick their ass.” Leaning over, I plant a kiss on his soft cheek before sitting back in my seat. “Where we going?”
“Party at Papa La Rosa’s lake house.”
I lean my head against the back of the leather. “Are you kidding, does he know?”
“Who do you think planned it?” Gio grins at me again, his curly blond hair moving with the wind. Gio and Marcu’s mom is Papa’s sister. They’re my first cousins, but they call my father Papa too. They didn’t have much to do with their biological father, who was from another family.
“He actually told you to throw a party at the lake house?”
“Yes!” Gio smirks, dropping the gears down. We fly onto the on-ramp as he turns the volume up on the radio. “Now chill out and enjoy the ride out.”
“Shit!” I pull my phone out of my bag and open Poppy’s chat. “I should have brought Poppy with me.”
“Poppy, eh?” Gio nudges me with his shoulder while looking at the road ahead. “She hot?”
Hey! Sorry I dipped out before you. This is the address to the party that is happening tonight. Don’t tell your brother.
I knew he would be coming anyway, especially since this whole thing was my dad’s idea, but I still wanted to add it to the end. You know. For safety reasons.
I sit in the corner of the dark alleyway, leaning my forearms on my thighs as I watch Victor circle the man who is hanging up by his ankles from a fire exit at an old apartment in downtown Chicago.
“Please… I didn’t—I don’t know who it is, padrino, I swear…”
“Liar.” Tony Carpela rolls spit around his mouth and aims it right on the man’s face.
The fact that whoever Victor has hanging in the center of the alleyway is a made man should worry everyone who is here right now, bearing witness. Technically speaking, you can’t whack off a made man unless you’ve got clearance to do so, but by the looks of this, Victor doesn’t need approval, and I can’t say I blame him.
“Why were you following my daughter?” Victor pulls out a blade from beneath his gray suit, running it down the jugular vein on his neck. “Hmmm? You and I both know that you would know I’d have someone on her, so that tells me that you want my attention.”
The tip of the blade sinks into the soft flesh of the man, and blood starts trickling down, hitting the asphalt every few seconds. “You got my attention now…” There’s more muffling before Carpela rolls toward me, his hands in his pockets and his suit somewhat disgruntled.
“You know he’s going to kill him, right?”
I lean back slightly, kicking out my foot. “Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out a reason why he shouldn’t.”
Tony inches down, his gray suit jacket spoiled with blood. Probably from getting the man into the car. Since we were making our way out to whatever bullshit party the La Rosas are throwing before we ran into this motherfucker following their car, we’re all still dressed for a damn gala and less for murder.
“I swear!” the man calls out. “Look, there’s, there’s—a man. He’s young, sort of, and dresses like you. He paid me five thousand dollars to follow her.”
Victor looks over his shoulder, and from beneath the streetlight, he seems wider.
I stand, rolling my shoulders back and slowly making my way beside Victor. Tilting my head, I follow the trail of blood. “What?”