16. Dax #2
The final touch that topped the whole outfit was my pink Doc Martens, and I was ready to kick this day's ass.
Stepping out of the room to join the guys down at the lobby where the restaurant was, my stomach grumbled, unhappy I hadn't fed it yet, but I hoped my men would know well enough to get something for me.
If not, then I might have to question if they truly loved me or not.
It wasn’t hard to spot them gathered together at a table dressed in nice jeans, button-downs, or polos.
Really, I couldn’t blame the front desk ladies for gawking at them or the bartender, who might have to wipe the drool off his face.
They were absolutely pretty to look at, just don’t fucking touch, or I’d have to do something about it, and no one wanted that.
“Please tell me you love me,” I whined as I got closer, my stomach raging at the smell of food.
Eagle looked up first, and his smile widened as he looked me up and down. “Fuck, if I didn’t before, that outfit would have me on my knees for you all over again.”
I blew him a kiss but aimed right for Cam who was sitting at the end of the table with two plates in front of him. Peering down, I spotted a breakfast sandwich that hadn’t been touched and a cup of coffee to go with it. “That wouldn’t happen to be for me, now would it?”
Cam shifted his chair back and to the side so he could look at me. “That depends…”
“On what?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.
“Can you eat it in ten minutes before our ride gets here?” he challenged.
I let out a huff of laughter and plopped myself on his lap, snatching up the sandwich. This, of course, had been his plan all along, giving him the opportunity to wrap his arms around me while he kissed up my neck.
“If we have time, I want to take you on a date in New York,” he murmured in my ear. “Just the two of us.”
Pausing a moment, I looked at him over my shoulder, then shoved the last two bites of the sandwich in my mouth. Now that he’d asked for the chance, I was surprised none of the others had before now. Swallowing, I licked my fingers and answered. “The others okay with it?”
“Yes, I’ve brought it up. We all agreed that none of us should have any issues with you having one-on-one time with us. As long as it’s kept fair,” he explained. “It’s something that we should have been doing long before this.”
“I agree. A date sounds wonderful,” I said. “Problem is we have the fight Saturday night and who the fuck knows what will happen after that.”
Cam nodded mischief in his gaze. “Then sounds like we might need to get there Friday instead. Trust me when I say you’re not going to want to miss this chance. After we make our move, I’m not sure if this place will still be around.”
“Okay, now you’ve piqued my curiosity,” I admitted. “Who knows, maybe things will go so well here and we don’t make it back to California before the fight. New York is just around the corner, and no one is expecting us.”
Leaning in, Cam caught my lips, humming with delight as I opened up for him to kiss me more deeply. “I love the way you think, beautiful,” he whispered against my lips.
“Time to go, you two,” Picasso called.
Sighing, I grabbed the to-go coffee cup and quickly chugged half of it. “Alright, let's make a deal with the enemy of my enemy so we can be friends.”
The guys chuckled as we headed out, and I made sure to wave at the front desk ladies. They didn’t seem to appreciate my greeting—like I fucking cared.
“Little demon,” Void said with a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I wouldn’t worry about them. The only woman we will ever have eyes for is you.”
A black SUV pulled up with the rideshare sticker on the windshield. The driver rolled down the window and looked at us. “Enzo?”
“Yeah, that’s us,” Eagle said, waving his phone at the guy.
When he tried to get in the front seat, Cognac grabbed his shoulder and shook his head. “You know I get car sick. I’ll ride up front.”
While Eagle might have gotten his stitches out and been given the all-clear from a local doctor, we knew he wasn’t a hundred percent.
If this stranger turned out to be someone we needed to deal with, I didn’t want Eagle being right up front in the thick of it.
Bastard was lucky enough to be alive after the last ordeal.
I reached out and took his hand in mine. “Come sit with me.” Tugging him into the front row of the SUV kept him from arguing with Cognac.
We’d agreed to meet Tommaso at his office, hoping that meant we would have a higher chance of meeting with others of the mafia.
The driver pulled up in front of a tall cylinder building near the Boston Harbor, which made sense to me since the mafia controlled what went in and out of here.
It was the only part of the East Coast that Diego couldn’t steal from them, not for lack of trying.
When we entered, there was a large plaque with the names of all the companies that were located in the building. Tommaso’s law group had the whole fifteenth floor, it seemed, which made it easy to find once we exited the elevator.
A woman dressed in a bright yellow dress that showed far too much cleavage and made me wonder how she kept from spilling out greeted us.
“Hello, welcome to Civello, Dolfi, and Riggo. How can I help you?” she asked, rising from her seat.
Wes stepped forward and gave her a smile in return. “Yes, we have a meeting With Tommaso Civello at eleven thirty.”
“Oh yes, if you’ll follow me, I’ll get you settled in the conference room just down this hall. Can I get you gentlemen anything?” she inquired, clearly making a point to ignore me.
Everyone mumbled no as they took their seat at the table. While I was all for women having each other's backs, what I couldn’t stand was when we saw each other as threats. I’d done nothing to this woman in the five seconds we’d interacted, yet she was treating me like dirt.
“I would love a cup of coffee, black, please,” I requested as I passed by her.
She gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Certainly.” Spinning on her ridiculously high heels, she left the room.
Swiveling in my chair, I looked at the guys, confused as shit. “What the fuck is it that I do to make women hate me instantly?”
“It’s not what you do, little rebel,” Sprocket expressed. “What they dislike about you is the confidence you have in yourself and your place in the world. Knowing your worth isn’t something you can teach because it’s something you have to take for yourself.”
Crossing my arms, I leaned back in the chair, thinking that over. I had to fight, bleed, and claw my way to get where I am. After doing that much work, the knowledge that you fucking deserved to be treated better was just innate.
The sound of hard-sole shoes clacked on the marble floor, alerting me that someone was entering the conference room and had me sitting up.
While I might have earned respect in my life, it didn’t apply to all people everywhere, and right now, we were in someone else's territory. Tommaso and another gentleman I recognized from articles walked in with him—Sergio Civello, Tommaso’s adoptive father and number one ringer to the Italian mafia when it came to legal disputes.
“Hello all, and thank you, Weston, for traveling all the way from California to speak with me,” Tommaso said, reaching out to shake Weston’s hand, then gesturing for us to take a seat.
“It’s our pleasure. We felt like this conversation was best had in person,” Wes explained. “Allow me to introduce who I’ve brought with me. My wife, Dax, and her other husbands, Enzo, Lachlan, Connor, Teo, Juan, and Cameron.”
This information had both men looking at us with shocked expressions. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but did you say she’s married to you as well as these other men?” Sergio questioned.
Wes gave him an understanding smile. “Yes, I guess you could say we are a family unit since we all live and work together as well. We understand it’s not a normal situation, but for us, it’s what made the most sense.
Now the purpose for our visit, at one point, you’d been looking for information on your birth parents, and we know who they are. ”
“It’s true I was incredibly eager when I was younger to understand where I came from, but even private investigators came up empty. How is it you managed to find something? Pardon my skepticism. It comes with the job,” Tommaso challenged.
“No, that is smart of you not to trust right away, but I’ll be upfront with you if you offer to do the same with us,” Wes counted.
Sergio tensed at this, narrowing his eyes on Wes. “What exactly does that mean? If you’re coming to us looking for a favor or a payout of any kind, I’ll tell you right now that’s never going to happen.”
“What about the chance to overthrow Diego De León and get back what was stolen from you?” I asked, cocking my head slightly to get a better look at the older man.
“We know who you really work for, and if you want us to come clean about everything we know, it comes with the price of honesty in return.”
“Wait here. We need to make a call,” Sergio ordered as they both got up and walked to the door.
Before they could leave, I let out a quick shrill whistle getting them to look at me. “Tell Valter, Two Tricks is in your office looking to deal.” Sergio’s eyes went wide for a fraction of a second before he nodded sharply and left.