Paid In Full (Vitale Brothers Book 2)

Chapter 24

I pickedup a few papers and stacked them. Numbers jumped out at me as I glanced over one of the pages. Giancarlo was still on the phone. I had nothing else to do but watch him. Our date wasn’t until tonight, and I’d already cleaned the house. I was fairly certain if I distracted Giancarlo with sex again, Benito would personally stop by our house and drag him into the office.

Fuck that. I could be good and wait. I took the seat across from Giancarlo and laid out the papers I wanted to go over. A bit of math to pass the time. I blinked as a calculator was handed to me.

I took it and placed it to the side. Back when I’d been left at home for weeks on end, I learned that doing math was an easy way to distract myself from the overwhelming loneliness. I’d challenged myself countless times to do it all without a calculator. Sometimes it would take me days to solve a problem. Being abandoned was easy to ignore when I was knee-deep in a hard problem.

Things were different now. While I ran over every single number, I could still hear Giancarlo’s voice. It kept me grounded as I worked over them.

This isn’t right.

I did the calculations and came up with the same weird results. I did it again and again until I was certain I’d gone over every single number. Picking up a couple of sheets, I stood up.

Giancarlo looked up at me, phone pressed to his ear. “Wednesday will work around three; we can go over the floor plans then.”

I waited until he hung the phone up before talking. “Giancarlo, I found something.”

“What did the puppy find?” He slapped his knees, his deep voice going up an octave as he teased me.

Why me?Why in the hell did I gain the attention of someone like Gin? “You’re not all there, are you?” I tapped his forehead.

Gin laughed and moved my hand away. “What did you find?”

I laid the paperwork out before him. All four of the bank statements stood out the most to me.

“I calculated each of these, and there is about eighty thousand missing from them combined. The total down here adds up to the numbers you guys reported to the IRS last year. I pulled that sheet up, but once you go over the actual numbers and every statement, it doesn’t. Not to mention some numbers are inconsistent, almost like someone tried to make it look similar so no one would be the wiser.” I grabbed the other papers I’d gone over. “These are from the same year, but they add up correctly. Each one of these is from different times. It looks like money went missing every three to four months.”

“Are you sure?” Giancarlo asked. He stared intently at the papers I’d laid out for him.

My stomach tightened, and for a split second, I thought about backing down. “I’m sure.” I prepared myself for more questions. If need be, I’d break it down.

Giancarlo pushed back slightly. He yanked me onto his lap. My hands went up in the air as I tried to catch myself.

“Gin?”

“You trying to make me hard?”

Heat flooded my face. “That’s not very tough to do.”

“Are you calling me easy?” Gin reached around me, moving the mouse on the screen. He clicked on a few file folders, and more numbers appeared before me. The dates at the top changed, but I could tell they were from the same account.

“Go over these too. Tell me anything you see wrong. Here, take this,” he said, handing me a tablet from his desk drawer.

I glanced over my shoulder. “While I sit on your lap?”

“Am I uncomfortable?”

I shook my head and turned back around. Using the calculator next to me, I punched in the numbers. We worked in relative silence for a while longer. What felt like a few minutes had probably been an hour or two. Once I was satisfied with my results, I brought them to Gin’s attention.

“Gin.”

“Hmm?” He pulled me back.

I relaxed and held the tablet for him to see. “This is what’s missing overall.”

“Motherfucker.” He grabbed his phone. “You did great.” Giancarlo kissed me.

His praise sent warmth coursing through my veins. I’d helped Gin. My chest tightened as happiness danced in the middle of my stomach. I went to stand, only for his arms to band tightly around me.

“Benito, we have a problem.”

I relaxed in his hold, giving up. Oddly enough, it was comfortable being on Gin’s lap. I closed my eyes as he spoke to Benito, his deep voice surrounding me in a security blanket.

* * *

“Here we are.”

“What’s here?” I asked.

It looked like a truck stop off a highway. Giancarlo killed the engine. The smile on his face either meant I was in for a long night of crazy or it would be something fun. Or both; it was honestly a toss-up with him.

A few people were sitting around in and out of their cars. Several of the models I recognized. There was one classic car that caught my eye. I wanted to look at it up close.

“I’ll be right back, kid,” Giancarlo said. His voice sounded different, pulling my attention from the classic Mustang.

“What?”

Giancarlo was already out of the car and jogging away. Okay, just waiting it is. I watched him until a bright yellow Mustang came into view. My face was instantly glued to the window. I pressed up against it, wishing I could phase through the door and float right up to the car. It was so cool looking. The way the engine purred made me squirm. It had to be a work of art under the hood.

Time ticked by as I dragged my gaze away from the cars and searched the growing crowd for Giancarlo. I didn’t see him anywhere. Another minute passed with no sight of Gin. I fidgeted in my seat.

My foot bounced the longer I sat there. I stared at my cracked phone, frustration building with every passing second. A three changed to four, and I nearly screamed. I was out of the car in the next second, determined to find Giancarlo.

Where is he?

I messaged Gin, asking where he was. My stomach knotted with every passing second. I spotted the restrooms and headed toward the small bricked section. Phone in hand, I slipped into the restroom; everything around me was nothing but background noise as I waited for Giancarlo’s answer.

A grunt and the sound of flesh clashing together jerked me out of my little bubble. I stopped dead in my tracks. Giancarlo dropped the man in his hands to the floor. He slammed his foot down on the middle of his chest, pinning him to the dingy yellow tile. Giancarlo pulled out his phone. A smile tugged at his lips, lighting up his handsome face.

Shit, he’s gorgeous.

Giancarlo gazed at his phone. His hands were covered in blood as his thumbs flew over the screen. My phone vibrated.

Gin: Ran into a guy I know. Be right back.

“You thought we wouldn’t notice thousands of dollars missing?” Giancarlo asked, pocketing his phone. He brought his fist down on the man’s face.

The crack echoed throughout the bathroom. A muffled cry quickly followed. More blood gushed from the man’s nose and soaked into the rag stuffed into his mouth.

“Where’s our money?” Giancarlo asked. He yanked the rag away roughly as he glared down at the stranger. “Hurry the fuck up!”

“I’m so—”

“I don’t want to hear that bullshit. Tell me where the fuck all the money is you stole from us.” Giancarlo sounded terrifying. Tendrils of fear wrapped around my limbs, paralyzing me.

The man trembled on the floor, and his legs moved under him. Anytime he attempted to stand up, Giancarlo would punch him so hard he’d crash back down to the floor. Bloodshot eyes met mine, and new terror rushed through me. I reached up and turned the lock as the man let out a shout.

“Help me, please! He’s trying to kill me. Call the police.”

Giancarlo’s head whipped around, and our eyes locked. Fear and worry shimmered in his dark depths. I moved toward him, unable to stop myself. My gaze locked on Giancarlo.

“Hey, did you hear me? Run and get help.”

My blood thundered in my ears. With each step, I drew closer and closer to him. Sweat beaded his brow, and still, there was worry and what I could only understand as fear in his eyes. What did he have to fear?

I grabbed his hand and looked it over. “Come here.” I tugged on him to follow me. We walked over the man on the floor. I turned the water on and pulled his hand under, rubbing away the blood.

Giancarlo’s knuckles were red and no doubt bruised. Thankfully none of the blood was his. I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey!” the man shouted.

Giancarlo twisted around so fast I barely saw him move. His foot slammed into the man’s chin, snapping his mouth shut. A muffled cry came from him as he dropped to his side. Blood splattered in an arch and rained down onto the floor.

“Shit, Ash. I—”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t use your hands.” There were multiple scars over Gin’s knuckles, and I rubbed them as if I could make the pain he’d felt go away. “The stitches only just came out.”

Giancarlo’s hand wrapped around mine before he pulled me close. He brought his mouth down to mine. Our tongues twisted together in an electrifying dance that made everything around me fizzle away. All that was left was Gin and me. I twisted my hand and intertwined our fingers, moaning into the kiss as Gin deepened it.

In times like this, I wasn’t sure if Gin was going to devour me. Even with that possibility dangling over my head, I opened my mouth more for him, wordlessly begging for him to never stop. To take all of me.

I sucked in air the moment our mouths parted. This wasn’t normal. I knew that, but it was too easy for me to ignore the fact that Giancarlo was beating the shit out of someone. Possibly going to kill them. What did that say about me? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know or if I cared.

“Gin.”

He hummed, pulling me in for another kiss. I pressed my hands on his chest as I fought back the smile the simple act invoked in me.

“He’s running—crawling away.” I pointed to the man halfway across the bathroom.

“Shit.” Giancarlo pulled away, and I immediately missed his warmth. He walked toward the man before he doubled back, grabbed me, and took my mouth in another heated kiss. My toes curled in my shoes. I staggered back as he abruptly let me go.

“One second.” Giancarlo grabbed the man just as he made it to the door. “Nearly escaped.”

“I locked the door.”

Giancarlo’s head jerked up. “You locked it?” He glanced over his shoulder before he met my gaze again. “Someone wants to get lucky tonight.”

“Ptheese, helth me.”

“Stop talking before I introduce you to Silvy.”

“Whose that?” I asked.

Giancarlo looked sheepish as he avoided my gaze. “My best friend and partner.”

Who the fuck? Anger soared through me unchecked. I balled my fingers up in a fist as images of me watching a faceless person get the shit beat out of them assaulted my imagination. I wasn’t normally violent, but the thought of Giancarlo having someone else in his life made me irrationally angry.

“Here’s a picture of her brand new the day I bought her.” He passed his phone over.

It took everything in me not to smash the thing on the floor and demand he break it off. Until I saw it. I blinked. “Silvy is a hammer?” It wasn’t a person on the screen, but a fucking tool.

“Yep, best-looking hammer in the city.”

How in the hell did he continue to surprise me? “And you brought her with you?”

“Silvy goes everywhere.”

Lost for words was an understatement. I had nothing. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or ask more questions.

“Okay.” My eyes dropped to the man again, who had given up asking me for help. The knot in my stomach didn’t ease, but it was easy to ignore when my sole focus was Giancarlo. He demanded so much of my attention that I had no time to think about the guy.

“I won’t be long, Ash. Why don’t you wait outside for me?”

We were supposed to be on our date. “Gin.” I bit the inside of my cheek, pushing past all the mental walls as I made myself talk. “We’re on a date.”

Giancarlo stood up straighter. “You’re right.” He glanced at the man on the floor. “Franklyn, I want that money accounted for and back into the accounts come Monday. I’m being generous here. You should really thank me.”

The man flinched away from Gin and whimpered. “Thahk youth.”

Giancarlo turned and pulled me close. “Come on, let’s go on our date.”

I nodded, not bothering to look at the guy on the floor. He’d stolen from the Vitales. He knew there would be consequences. Maybe he wouldn’t have faced them soon if it wasn’t for me, but either way, he took the chance. I couldn’t find it in me to want to help, not when I knew it would either get Gin in trouble or potentially hurt him.

Fuck that guy. He can burn in hell for all I care as long as Gin’s okay.

We stepped out of the bathroom just as a group of guys headed toward it. I plastered on a smile, a lie poised and ready without prompt. All those years of lying for my dad came forward easily.

“It’s out of order right now. One of the toilets is backed up.”

“Damn, the car meet is about to happen,” one of the guys said.

“Just piss outside, Jonna.”

The mention of the car meet had excitement pumping through me. “Come on, Gin. I want to check out all the cars.” I glanced back and stopped. “You have clothes in the car? Or does Silvy get the trunk to herself?”

Giancarlo cocked a brow at me. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were jealous of my hammer.” He grinned like the loon he was. “I mean, who wouldn’t be? She’s a fine piece of hardware. She’s not too heavy in the hand, and the way she comes down—”

“All right, I get it. The hammer gets you hard.” I massaged my temples. Who had conversations like this? Oh, right. I did with Giancarlo, who was missing more than a handful of marbles. I pulled him toward where we’d left the car. “She can’t fuck you like I can.”

“I don’t know. Silvy is pretty useful.”

I stopped in my tracks and glared at Giancarlo. A face-splitting grin was plastered on his face.

“Oh, you should see your face.”

He laughed, and I was starting to think about using Silvy myself. Gin opened the trunk, fishing out another shirt. I had to wipe my chin as I drooled, watching him get undressed.

“Keep looking at me like that, and we will end up fucking in someone’s car.”

I glanced at his car in confusion.

“Oh no, nothing is happening in Baby. She is not to be defiled.” His nose scrunched up as his brows furrowed. “Ever. She is a saint.”

“Right.” Sometimes agreeing with Giancarlo was all I could do.

Rumbling from various engines echoed around us. I turned to watch multiple cars start to pull in.

“Just in time.”

I was like a kid in a candy store. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to start. They had all kinds of cars, from the latest models to classics.

“Which way?” I asked.

“Whatever you want to do, kid. It’s our date.”

Date.I still couldn’t believe we were on one. Giancarlo was stealing all my firsts.

“I’m sorry if I ruined our day.”

The gorgeous 1970 Chevrolet was so breathtaking it stole my attention. “You didn’t ruin anything.” I glanced at Giancarlo; he didn’t look convinced. “Did you bring me here because he was here?”

“No,” Giancarlo groaned. “I’m an asshole, but that’s a douche move. This was the date place. I wanted a good spot and to make sure no one parked too close to Baby. I happened to see him once we got here.”

I shrugged. “Then it couldn’t be helped. You had… work.”

Giancarlo was silent for a second, and I admired the car more. “Ash—”

“Yes?” I turned away and stepped closer to Gin. I knew I should be freaking out or, at the very least, worried about the guy Giancarlo had been beating up. Maybe a part of me was, but overall, I was worried about Giancarlo.

“Make sure you stay close.”

I pulled him closer to the car. “Yes, sir.”

He groaned, his hand tightening around mine.

“Look how beautiful this car is.”

The owner was talking to a group of people. As much as I wanted to ask him a few questions, I was fine with looking over the vehicle with Giancarlo at my side.

“It’s not better than Baby.”

Of course not. I laughed. “No one said that.”

I headed toward the next car, a hot pink Mitsubishi Lancer with black flower petals. “Is there going to be a race?” I whispered to Gin.

He smirked at me. “Does that make your dick hard?”

“Everything leads to dick with you,” a woman said. Smooth brown skin and colorful locks stood out against her all-black attire.

“I didn’t know you’d be here.” Giancarlo had a huge smile on his face aimed at the woman.

Stop smiling at her. It was an irrational thought, but I was coming to terms with the fact that everything involving Giancarlo was irrational.

“You don’t text me nearly as much either.” Her startling eyes flickered over to me before moving back to Giancarlo.

“Chelsea, this is Ash. Ash Chelsea.”

Who is she to Gin?

She smiled brightly and knocked shoulders with me. “Don’t worry, Giancarlo isn’t my type.”

“Hey, I’m everyone’s type. I’m lovable, funny, and the life of the party.”

Chelsea tied up her locs and shook her head at him. “You’re a pain in the ass, over dramatic, and crazy.” She looked at me as if expecting me to agree.

She wasn’t wrong, but one look at Giancarlo and my agreement came crumbling down. “He’s only those things sometimes.”

“Hey!” Giancarlo playfully slapped the back of my head before he pointed at Chelsea. “And I’m hot as hell.”

Chelsea laughed. “You’re missing all the best parts, a pussy and tits.”

Giancarlo shrugged. “Ash likes what I have more anyway.”

I did, but why was I dragged into their argument? My face heated as I moved back and looked Chelsea’s car over.

“Where did you find him?” Chelsea asked.

“An auction house,” I answered honestly.

“Ash,” Giancarlo said through clenched teeth.

“Wow, that’s, um, nope, it’s totally expected of you.” Chelsea pointed to her car. “Just got the message that the race is about to start.”

I perked up even more. “Are you racing?”

“You want to ride?” she asked.

“Yes.” Excitement rushed my answer, and I winced. I glanced over at Giancarlo.

“Just don’t cum in your pants. I like my friendship with Chelsea and would hate to have to destroy her car for taking what’s mine.”

“Fucking issues,” Chelsea groaned. She tapped my shoulder. “Hop in.”

I ran around the car and slipped into the passenger seat. I buckled the seat belt, my foot bouncing up and down as I waited. I couldn’t focus on anything other than being able to race. Giancarlo’s face popped in front of the car on my side, scaring me half to death.

“The hell!” I yelped.

Chelsea laughed next to me. “You aren’t used to him by now?”

“I am, but Gin has a way of being so unpredictable.”

“It”s what you like about him, huh?”

“Yeah.” I froze as I realized I’d said aloud that I liked Giancarlo. “I—”

“What? Want to take it back?”

I shook my head. The car slowly crept up next to another one. “No, I like him.” Maybe even more than like.

“Good. He’s a nut job but a good guy.” She tapped the steering wheel. “Relatively speaking.” She winked at me just as we lined up to join the race.

He wasn’t a good person by society’s standards, but I was never meant for someone like that. My life was fucked up. Who was I to judge? Giancarlo made me feel normal and not like the trauma ridden fucked up mess I knew I was.