Power (The Santini Assassins #1)

Santini

Unlike Willie Boy’s shithole, he was proud to be associated with this new, upscale eatery. Luciano walked inside, removed his shades. The place looked fantastic. Teddy had gutted the building and created a first-class restaurant that served Italian cuisine. A mix of classic dishes and modern creations. Teddy had thrown himself into this project, and Luciano was damn proud of what his baby brother had accomplished.

Teddy bounded over with the biggest grin on his face. “Whad’ya think?”

“You did good,” Luciano replied.

Teddy puffed out his chest. “I got it done!” Then, he chuffed out a laugh. “I’m in serious sleep deficit, but otherwise, all good.”

Luciano chuckled. “Who says the words ‘sleep deficit’?”

“Me. I do,” Teddy said. “The grand reopening is in two weeks. Are you coming?”

“Of course.”

Movement had Luciano glancing over Teddy’s shoulder, then he did a double take. “No fucking way.”

A tall, muscular man in a paint-smeared tank and tattered jeans sauntered into view. His long hair had been pulled into a ponytail, but most had fallen out. A shock of wild hair framed his familiar face.

His brother, Greystone Santini, was back.

“Yo, Lulu.” Greystone pulled to a stop.

“The renegade returns,” Luciano bit out.

Greystone didn’t extend his hand, didn’t try to hug him either. He just slipped his hand into his jeans pocket and shot him a cool stare.

“I told you I was hiring Grey to run the restaurant,” Teddy said.

“Cool joint, don’tcha think?” Greystone shoved his hair out of his eyes.

“This joint cost me several million to renovate,” Luciano said.

“Yeah, whatever.” Greystone slid his relaxed gaze from him to Teddy. “It’s got the vibe goin’ on, huh, Teddy?”

Teddy just stood there grinning. “Gotta say, Grey really came through for me. He helped with the build-out, kept the contractors on time, and made sure we stayed on budget. With everything I got going on, he saved my ass.”

“Sounds too good to be true,” Luciano said. “Are you gonna show me around?”

“I’ve got a meeting,” Teddy said before taking off toward the front door, leaving Luciano alone with a brother he hadn’t seen in over a decade.

“I got you, Lulu,” Greystone said. “It’s your basic food stop for people with dinero to burn.” Grey gestured to the plush leather booths lining the walls and the tables throughout the main dining room. Luciano spotted a skull and crossbones tat on his brother’s shoulder and a sword running the length of his forearm.

As kids, he and Grey had been the closest. Not anymore. Luciano was staring at a stranger.

Greystone moseyed toward the back, turned, and continued walking backwards. “You comin’?”

Luciano wanted to tell his brother to get lost, to go back to wherever the hell he’d come from, but he said nothing as he made his way toward the kitchen.

Grey pointed out all the upgrades. “Your money, so there you go. Teddy did a good job.”

“Where’ve you been Grey?” Luciano asked.

“Around. You?”

“For fuck’s sake,” Luciano bit out. “You take off without a goodbye. We thought you went missing.”

Greystone shrugged. “I did. Now, I’m found.”

“Why are you back?” Luciano asked.

“Why the hell not. I was passin’ through, thought I’d stop for a few. Teddy offered me a job, so I stayed. Ain’t no thing.”

Of all his brothers, he and Grey had fought the most, but they had been the closest. Neither liked the other telling him what to do. They were always trying to out-boss each other. But, at the end of the day, they were brothers, and they had each other’s backs.

“Where are you staying?” Luciano asked.

Greystone opened the professional-grade refrigerator. Luciano was nonplussed. Next, his brother showed him the pristine cabinets and high-end meat locker. The place was brand new. He expected it to be first class.

“Been stayin’ at diff’rent places,” Greystone replied. “Crashed at Teddy’s for a while.”

Back in the main room, Luciano said, “Were you planning on contacting me?”

“Look, I get it. You’re pissed. I couldn’t take it no more. That life wasn’t for me, so I bolted.”

“Dad’s dead,” Luciano said.

“Yup.”

“Mom moved to Las Vegas.”

“Gotcha.”

“Have you seen her?”

“Nope. You?”

“I call her, send her money,” Luciano said.

“She’s probably pissin’ it away at the tables.”

“Not my problem,” Luciano replied.

“Teddy said you got outta the family biz.” Greyson’s phone buzzed. He lifted it from his back pocket, read the text, and chuckled. “You cuttin’ the ribbon for the big reopening?”

“Teddy can do that.” Luciano slid on his sunglasses. “It’s good to have you home, Grey.”

“Yup.”

As Luciano pushed out the front door of the restaurant that bore their name, he glanced over his shoulder. Grey was sauntering toward the kitchen, head down on his phone.

Frustration slithered down his spine. Luciano hoped that whatever skeletons his brother was carrying around didn’t follow him back here.

“You probably should have stayed gone, brother,” Luciano said before he slid into the waiting Rolls Royce.

Back home, Luciano went on an Internet search of his brother, but Greystone Santini didn’t exist. It’s not like he hadn’t looked for him before. There’d been plenty of times that he’d tried to find him to make sure he was okay. But Greystone Santini had dropped off the planet.

Simone breezed into his office.

“And now he’s back.” Luciano said.

“Who’s back?” she asked.

Simone was wearing workout sweats, her hair clipped on top of her head.

Her beautiful smile melted his frustration away.

“Hey, baby.” He rolled the desk chair back, patted his leg. She eased onto his lap, draped her arm around his shoulder, and kissed him. “Hello, handsome. How was the restaurant?”

“Looks great. How was work?”

“Busy, busy. I’ve got my first actual mission next week.”

“Local or out of town?”

“DC, so local.”

“Arrest or elimination,” she replied.

“Arrest.”

“When should I start worrying?”

She laughed. “This home is a no-worry zone, so never. I’ve got this and I’m part of a great team.”

He kissed her. “Are you working out?”

“Yeah, can I tear you away to join me?”

“I’ll change and meet you downstairs.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “I’ll help you.”

He smiled. She knew exactly what to say to redirect his frustration.

She pressed her lips to the small space between his eyebrows, then ran her finger over the spot. “What’s got you?”

“My brother, Greystone, is back.”

“Teddy mentioned a black sheep?—”

“That’s the one.”

“Where’s he been?”

“Didn’t say.”

“Why is he back?”

“Wouldn’t tell me.”

“What’s he doing?”

“Working for Teddy.”

“At the new restaurant?”

“Looks like Teddy made Greystone the GM.”

“Nice.” She kissed him. “What’s the problem?”

“I don’t trust him.”

Simone smiled. “Baby, you don’t trust anyone at first. Maybe, if you get to know him again, he’ll actually answer your questions.”

“Maybe you’re right. You’ll meet him at the grand reopening.”

“Fine, whatever. We’ve got so much going on with trying to track down the Haqazzii terrorists, with our work, with planning our wedding, your brother should be the last person you spend any time thinking about.”

He put his arms around her, kissed her, letting his lips linger on his. “What would I do without my Simone?”

“Be a lot more angry,” she replied. “I’ve got a fun evening planned for us. It starts with a workout and ends with one too.” She winked.

“Does it involve your talented toes?”

She stood, offered her hand. He placed his hand in hers and rose. “It involves all of me, Mr. Santini. Body, mind, and soul.”

“Forever,” he murmured before pulling her into his arms.

“Forever,” she replied with a beautiful, loving smile.

Storytelling is my passion, so I’m always very appreciative and humbled when someone takes that journey with me into my twisted, wild, and borderline-obsessive imagination.

Oftentimes, my characters wake me in the middle of the night because my muse is in a completely different time zone. I’ve learned—the hard way—that I have to get those words down… and fast. Then, when I put my story out there, it’s akin to putting my beloved kindergartener on the school bus and watching him carried away… along with my heart.

Writing Luciano and Simone’s story filled me with great joy. I had more than usual going on in my life, so stepping into their world kept me grounded and gave my imagination the freedom to play. Building the fictitious family of ALPHA Operatives and my cadre of powerful, wealthy alpha men has been my sanctuary. That world has also brought happiness to my loyal readers. If you’re among them, thank you so much for loving my stories.

I especially love bringing back characters from other stories and giving them their happily ever after! Finding Simone was fun. Early on, in the plotting process, I’d chosen the name Simone and had been working on her character arc.

One night, Johnny said, “You already have a Simone. She was Colton’s business manager in MITUS.” I remembered her as Red because that’s who she was to me… and I was extremely impressed with my husband’s memory!

I revisited Red’s storyline in THE MITUS TOUCH and everything fell into place. In POWER, when Simone returned to Mitus mansion and felt like she’d come home, so did I.

Now, it’s time to turn my attention to my next adventure… and I’ve got many yummy options. There’s bigger-than-life and shy-around-women Teddy Santini, our lady-eater Gabriel Santini, and our resident bad boy Greystone Santini. So much fabulous testosterone to choose from!