Chapter 4
4
I’ve murdered plenty of people.
And right now, if my brother’s call isn’t important, he’s joining that list of men. My sweet dancer was ready to give me anything I wanted from her.
Her mouth. Her pussy. Her everything.
As badly as I wanted to stay and worship every inch of her body, when duty calls, duty calls.
Duty doesn’t care if you’re on vacation.
Nursing a gunshot wound.
Or about to have the best fuck of your life.
My annoyance grows with every step I take out of Pippa’s building. Once I’m back in the Range Rover, I return my brother, Julian’s, call.
“Where the hell are you?” he shouts through the speaker.
“This’d better be important,” I bark. “I swear to God, if it’s you forgetting the Wi-Fi password again, I’m shooting you in the goddamn face.”
“We have a Popov problem. According to my source, they have a plan in motion tonight. Meet us at the warehouse.”
“On my way. ”
I hang up, start the SUV, and speed off.
I’m a capo for the Lombardi family, one of New York’s most notorious Mafia organizations. My family has been involved with the Lombardis for decades. Antonio’s father, Vincent, is don, and my father is his consigliere.
Julian nor I had other career options. When Julian was sixteen, he came home and told my father he wanted to be a doctor. My father laughed and told him he’d burn down any hospital that gave him a job if he turned his back on the family. We were born and taught to become masters of crime and manipulation and to always remain loyal to the Lombardi family.
The Lombardis opened Lucky Kings Casino decades ago to appear as law-abiding citizens. It’s how we launder money yet look like we earn an honest living. In our defense, we do run the casino mostly as a legitimate business. Though, that always takes a back burner to everything else.
The warehouse is a short drive. Fifteen minutes later, I steer into the back alley that leads into it. I’m ready to get this shit over with and return to Pippa’s. I lick my lips, almost certain her pussy is still dripping for me.
I’ll fuck my sweet dancer, settle her father’s debt to Lucky Kings, and make it clear no one loans Paul another penny.
As soon as I walked into her apartment, I knew it wouldn’t be a onetime thing with her. The moment she allowed me to touch her, I knew she’d be mine, whether she liked it or not.
My footsteps echo through the warehouse when I enter it. My father, Julian, and Emilio are gathered in a huddle, talking. They all turn to me.
“Tell me what you know,” I say, tucking my keys into my pocket.
“The Popovs started building on new ground,” Julian explains, twirling a toothpick in his mouth. “One they stupidly believed we wouldn’t find.”
“Did we find it?” I raise a brow .
Emilio, another capo, cracks his neck. “Fuck yeah, we did.”
“My source told me they’re on a mission to find Vincent’s address,” my father adds. “They want to burn down his home in retaliation for us torching their properties.”
The Popovs have become royal pains in my ass. They own a chain of casinos along the Jersey coast. We never considered them competition until they decided to expand their business into New York.
We warned them once.
Warned them twice.
We don’t do third warnings.
Last year, they obtained permits to construct a casino too close to Lucky Kings. If we’re being honest, within the same state is too close in my opinion. They started building, but all construction stopped when we burned it down. They found a second location and framed the structure, and we torched that as well.
You’d think after two sites were reduced to ashes, they’d stop construction and take their asses back to Jersey, where they belong. It seems they haven’t.
I rub my hands together. “So, what’s the plan?”
We park a block away from the third casino building site. I exit the minivan I carjacked an hour ago and throw on a black hooded sweatshirt.
Julian and Emilio join my side, each of them holding gas cans.
My father appears behind them, removing two sets of matches from his shirt pocket. When he offers me one, I shake my head, holding up my own .
I’d never show up for an arson job without a healthy supply of matches.
A full moon floats above us as we stroll toward a poorly lit site. Their only security measure is two men sitting in a beat-up pickup truck. As we grow closer, I notice one is sleeping, and the other is focused on an iPad.
Emilio and my father creep to the truck while Julian follows me toward the newly framed building. He drenches it with gas. I strike a match, smiling at the glowing brightness around the flame. Just as I’m about to toss it, I notice the truck light up in flames from the corner of my eye. A man rolls out, his clothes on fire, and screams before collapsing.
I tsk and shake my head.
It didn’t have to come down to this.
We tried to reason with the Popovs.
Even proposed a very generous amount of money for them to stay out of New York. But they played too many games—sending shoppers to Lucky Kings, trying to recruit our employees—and became a headache.
I don’t mitigate headaches.
I fucking kill them.
A rush of energy courses through my veins as I toss the match, watching the fire consume the structure.
Damn, being in power feels good .
I swat mosquitoes away as we make our way back to where we parked. Julian pours the remainder of the gasoline on the minivan, and my father lights it on fire. Luis, one of our men, is stationed three streets over, waiting for us.
“You headed back to the casino?” I ask my father.
He shakes his head, running his fingers through his short black hair. “Your mother bribed me to come home by making her plum cake.” He nudges me with his elbow. “Your grandparents and sister will be there. Stop by if you’re free.”
“If not tonight, I’ll come by tomorrow. ”
He nods and slaps me on the back. “Love you, son.”
Then, he does the same with Julian.
Luis drives us to the casino, and I beeline straight to my office. Antonio asked me to gather paperwork and then drop it off at the hospital for him. Amara, his daughter, is there, recovering from a tonsillectomy.
An hour later, I’m headed out the door.
First stop, hospital.
Second, Pippa’s.
I stop when my phone rings, and Julian’s name flashes on the screen.
He’s screaming when I answer.
I listen to him, digest every word that’s a knife to the heart.
My body loses all strength as I drop the phone and collapse to my knees.