Chapter 25
ATLAS
Iwas the first one in our huddle to stir. I twisted my head from the fantastic pillow of Beasty's ass while I pulled Joaquin's arms from around my chest. Beasty was snuggled up tight between Lake and Kim. It was a wonder Joaquin and I had even managed to slide up there with them.
By the time my feet hit the floor, everyone was awake.
I'd tried, but damn, we had the Twister game from hell with how our limbs had been tangled up.
"I'm going hunting for coffee." My voice was rough from sleep.
Lake, the ever-present bodyguard, rolled out of bed with his eyes wide open. "I'll go with you."
Kim grumbled about clothes as Beasty stretched.
Downstairs, I was shocked to see Parker and Grey already seated at the table, deep in discussion. Nothing that I understood given their rapid-fire Spanish.
"Morning," I mumbled, taking in the homey decor. The picture-perfect farmhouse kitchen to match the cutesy farmhouse aesthetic. It didn't match Books at all.
"Well, hello there sleepyheads. You just missed Books." Parker glanced toward the front of the house.
"No, you didn't. I forgot my keys." The man himself stomped back in. He was an absolute mess in yesterday’s wrinkled clothes and mussed up hair. If he said he hadn’t been to bed at all, I’d have believed him.
"What happened?" Lake abandoned any need for coffee, bracing his hands on the kitchen island. A muscle quivered in his arm as his jaw worked and his gaze swept over Books. He didn’t like the look of him.
Books raised his chin, revealing dark circles stamped under his eyes. "A whole load of shit." After a loaded standoff, he sighed. "I’ll go ahead and fill you in."
"What happened to waking us up?" There was so much hostility in Lake's tone. He trusted Books, otherwise we wouldn't have stayed here, but that didn't mean Lake was happy about it. Or being left out of the loop.
"I got back at four. The house was dead quiet and nothing I learned, as troubling as it is, mattered at that hour." Books pulled out a chair next to Grey and dropped into it.
I had two coffees made and another brewing when the other three walked in.
"You have all of us now. What happened?" Lake demanded, curling his fingers around the counter.
"Are you okay?" Books ignored Lake, gazing at Beasty. He took in everything about her appearance from her ponytail, all the way down to her sock-covered feet.
Beasty frowned, not out of sadness or anything like that, just in her usual grumpy morning demeanor. I wanted to bite her bottom lip and wake her up.
"I'm fine." Her sharp hazel eyes slid to Lake before landing back on Books. "He asked you a question."
Grey and Parker snickered at the table while Lake puffed up.
Since Books had come into her life, she always seemed to take up for him. Now, there was a clear line in the sand, and she was on our side. I rolled my lips together to stop a smile from breaking through.
Joaquin jabbed me in the ribs. “Watch your face,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.
I snickered. My lover couldn’t appreciate this win like I could. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted Beasty to have as many people in her corner as possible, but I wanted her to choose us every time.
"It's absolute fucking chaos," Books groaned, leaning back in the chair. "It seems Danny and a few of his top men have gone missing. Know anything about that?" He eyed each of us.
Parker barked out a laugh while Beasty’s brows hit her hairline. Joaquin could teach her a thing or two about a poker face. Instead, he caged his arms around her at the island and nuzzled her neck.
Smirking, I crossed my arms, ready for the show.
"Yeah," Lake grunted. "I have all four of them stuffed in suitcases at a secure location. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with them. My first instinct was to send their bodies back, but..." He shrugged.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Parker tapped his fingers on the table. "I appreciate that you're not going off half-cocked right now, but this is the exact time for you to send them a message."
The blood in Books’ face drained as he watched the exchange between Lake and Parker.
Poor guy. He probably hadn’t realized what he’d bitten off when he stepped in as Beasty’s protector. I had faith he could adjust. If he didn’t, I’d make Lake have a word with him for Beasty’s sake.
Nothing would upset her if I could help it.
Lake ran his tongue over his teeth as I passed out everyone's coffees. Kim busied himself opening and closing cabinets, searching for tea.
"What else happened?" Lake asked.
Shaking his head, as if pulling himself out of his thoughts, Books sat forward. "Fights broke out last night. It's no longer a secret that there's a war between Donnie and Danny—was a war."
Grey's lip curled, but he didn't say anything.
"No one knows Danny is dead. There are rumors that he's running, and some are saying he's trying to ambush Donnie."
"Where is Donnie now?" Lake asked, and I perked up. What were the chances that we could take him out today? Now. Then we'd only have two assholes left to take care of.
"I have no idea." Books' lips flattened. "The last anyone saw him, he was trashing the restaurant. But some of the men rioted against him and he fled."
Lake walked to the table, coffee in hand, and took the chair between Parker and Books. For a few minutes, no one spoke.
Beasty moved toward the last empty seat, her mouth opening like she was going to break the silence, but Lake hooked an arm around her waist and tugged her down into his lap.
Her eyes widened, but after a few seconds, she settled in. Cupping her fingers around her mug, she gave the men a hard stare.
Damn, I loved her.
I should have taken the last seat, then it’d be my lap she’d be sitting in.
"What do we know about the Pesci mafia?" she asked.
"Don't look at me." Parker shook his head. "They're new on my radar. Clearly, or we wouldn't have walked into the motel yesterday."
Books’ face darkened. "About that—"
"Don't fuck with us,” Lake warned Parker. “Since yesterday, I bet you've called in all of your contacts. What did you learn? I'll tell you what I know and we can compare notes."
"Look here—" Books tried to interject again, but Beasty shut him down with a glare.
I ducked my face to hide my grin. Maybe I’d just toss her over my shoulder and carry her upstairs. If Books wasn’t here, I might have been tempted to bend her over the island.
Beasty didn’t give one fuck about Parker, though. She was still focused on Books. "You said you didn't know who they were. You sat in the office and didn't say a damned word when we told you about Stevo. Now you have a residence here?" The tips of her ears turned red.
Oh, Beasty was mad. I didn't blame her. It seemed everyone had been doing their own research, and none of us wanted to work together.
"Does this make you miss the old days?" Parker turned to Grey.
"Fuck no," he returned.
Books slung his keys between his hands on the table, almost like he was embarrassed. "I didn't have the Pescis on my radar, but I bought a home here as soon as you settled here."
Beasty sucked in a breath.
Damn it, there went our upper hand.
"Just in case. I wanted to keep an eye on you, but you weren't here for long.
After you told me about Stevo, I started doing my own digging, and I made connections.
" He shrugged. "Doing what I do, it's easy, and I didn't know if I'd be able to help or not, no matter how much I wanted to.
" Whatever sheepishness had entered his face fled as anger replaced it.
"And I'm using them to keep you safe. It's also how I knew you were throwing yourselves into their hands at that motel. "
Beasty looked properly chastised.
I understood it, agreed with him to a certain extent, but who the fuck was he to get onto her?
Scowling at Books, I stepped behind Beasty and cupped her nape. Joaquin and Kim were also staring daggers at him.
"That was an oversight on my part. Stop making Beasty feel like she fucked up." Lake tugged her higher on his lap.
Books' expression lightened and his eyes widened. "That wasn't—"
"It was, old chap. You just didn't mean it," Parker supplied helpfully. "While you sleeping beauties have been…sleeping, my brother and I were reading up on our friend Gio." His jaw flexed as he tapped on his phone screen. "It seems he was keeping secrets. Look."
He slid his phone around and Beasty, Lake, and Books crowded around the small screen. I just watched her.
Using a finger to scroll, Beasty read for a minute, and then sat back.
"I don't understand what I'm looking at," she exhaled.
Books and Lake continued reading, though Lake had to lean around Beasty.
"It's a will. A last will and testament from Pesci Senior." Books whistled as he kept scrolling. "The business holdings were left to a Giovanni Bruno."
"What?" Joaquin snapped up straight, sloshing coffee on the counter. "The mafia was supposed to be left to him?"
"Everything we found said he wasn't part of their mafia. His mom was family, but she left them before he was born." Lake tapped Beasty's thigh with his first two fingers, still pouring over the phone.
Then he choked on a laugh.
"What?" Beasty looked down at him.
"The old man was wild. He said that both Donnie and Danny were wastes of good sperm, and while they were left a share of his wealth, he wanted his legacy to carry on."
"He said that?" Beasty bent over, locking on the phone. This time, I looked too, and sure enough, Lake had read almost verbatim.
That was funny shit.
Parker snickered. "I have to give it to the old man, he knew his mind. I had no idea that legal documents in the states could be so…colorful."
Grey raised a brow like that wasn't funny at all. But I met Joaquin's eyes. So much was starting to make sense.
“That part isn’t in the will itself, but in the letter to his family,” Books mused as he continued reading. Parker shrugged, not caring about the semantics.