Chapter 2
Adriano
Walking out of my office at the club, I barely glance at the stage where women are auditioning. Even though I pay the strippers well and they make bank from tips, there’s a high turnover in the industry.
Little Ricky is sitting at one of the tables, scarfing down a platter of buffalo wings he must’ve ordered from the diner up the road, which is meant for a group of four and not just one person.
When I pull out a chair and sit down across from him, his eyes remain glued to the stage, where the women are stripping.
For a few seconds, I watch him polish a bone clean, then I give him a disgruntled look. “All the junk is going to kill you.”
“Uh-huh,” he mumbles around a mouthful of chicken.
He grabs another wing and dunks it in ranch before going to town on it.
Little Ricky came to live with us when he was eleven. Turns out, Big Ricky, one of my father’s men and a close family friend, got some woman pregnant, and when she died, her family shipped Little Ricky to us.
Big Ricky didn’t have to do a DNA test because his son was his spitting image.
I say was, because with the way the man eats, he now looks more like Tiny, who’s been best friends with Big Ricky for decades. The two men put away food like there’s no tomorrow, especially when my mother cooks for the family.
Luckily for me, Little Ricky is just as good a shot as his dad. I made him my head of security when I took over the family business, and honestly, I can’t imagine not having him in my life.
I’m closer with him than I am with my little brother, and that’s saying a lot because I’d die for Remo in a heartbeat.
I have two best friends, Augusto and Georgi, who are also capos, but shit gets busy, and lately, I haven’t seen them as much as I’d like.
I think the best way to describe my relationship with Little Ricky is that he’s my ride or die. Where I go, he goes.
“Eat faster. Devran’s shipment came in this morning,” I say while indicating to Sandra, one of the servers, to bring me a drink.
I’ve just started dealing with Devran Arslan, head of the Turkish mafia, and if this first shipment of whiskey, brandy, rum, and wine is top quality, it will open the door to a long-term partnership.
Not long after I took over from my father, I branched into smuggling alcohol, and fuck did it pay off.
It’s one hell of a lucrative business, especially if you can get your hands on bottles older than fifty years.
Collectors with too much money and expensive tastes will pay absurd amounts for rare vintage labels.
Just as I expected, Little Ricky replies, “Fifteen minutes.” His eyes remain glued to the stage. “The black-haired beauty is good.” He cleans his teeth with a swipe of his tongue, then calls out, “Yo, Jerry, I like the babe with the black hair. Give her the job.”
“You realize you don’t have a say in who I hire,” the old man replies.
Jerrie started working at the club around the time I was born, and even though he’s pushing seventy, he refuses to retire.
“Yeah, but you’re half blind,” Little Ricky taunts him. “Take my word for it. She’s going to be a hit on stage.”
“Fine,” Jerrie grumbles. “You’ve got the job, Mandy. Go change so we can fill out paperwork. The rest of you, keep dancing.”
When Sandra brings my drink, I give her a nod before taking a sip, then I mutter, “Don’t you dare fuck any of the strippers.”
“Aww…” The big motherfucker pouts at me. “But who’s going to keep them company now that Georgi has thrown in the towel?”
“No one.”
I’m still shocked Georgi settled down with Nina and her kid. The man went from single to husband and father in the blink of an eye. With both my best friends in committed relationships, it’s making me feel… itchy.
I just turned thirty-six, and I won’t be getting any younger. At some point I have to pick a wife so I can carry on the family name.
“What’s got you thinking so deep?” Little Ricky asks between bites.
“I’m getting old.”
He lets out a bark of laughter. “Old my left nut sack. We’re not even forty.” He points at Jerrie. “That’s fucking old.”
“Fuck you,” Jerrie calls out, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“I have to get married and have kids,” I say, the beat of the bass starting to give me a headache. “That shit takes time.”
Little Ricky grins at me as if I said the funniest thing. “You…get married? Who’s the unlucky woman gonna be?”
“Fuck you.”
“You and Jerrie should be so lucky,” he smartmouths me.
Suddenly the tempo of the beat climbs, and it makes me instantly irritated. When I stand up, Little Ricky’s eyes widen. “Whoa, I was joking.”
Turning to the DJ, I shout, “Turn off that shit before I kill you.”
The guy, who’s in his early twenties, startles, and the next instant the music stops and all I can hear is the sharp clack of high heels on the stage.
“Everyone out,” I shout angrily.
“Move!” Jerrie ushers the women off stage while shooting me a worried look.
When I sit down again and swallow the rest of the whiskey in one go, Little Ricky lifts a questioning eyebrow at me.
“Eat so we can leave,” I grumble, the irritation still crawling beneath my skin.
“You should let me handle the club,” he says, his tone soft because he knows the slightest thing will set me off right now. “You’ve gotten worse with the noise shit over the years. Too much going on around you, and you go from irritated to homicidal in seconds.”
“Don’t start.” I level him with a scowl before I get up and walk to the main doors. “Either you come now, or I’m leaving without you.”
I hear his chair scrape over the floor, and the next moment, the box of buffalo wings is shoved into my hands.
“Seriously?” I mutter.
“Yep. I’ll eat the rest at the shipping yard.”
If it were any of my lower-level guys, he’d be dead, but because it’s Little Ricky, I carry his food so his hands are free in case of an ambush.
Just as we step onto the curb, someone comes barreling toward us from the right. Just as the person is about to collide with me, Little Ricky draws his gun, and the next second there’s a panicked squeak as he slams a woman up against the wall.
It all happens in a matter of seconds, and by the time Little Ricky and I realize we might have overreacted, the woman looks terrified while she tries to wiggle free from Little Ricky’s huge hand wrapped around her slender neck.
“Christ!” He lets go and bounces back, then his face turns beet red. “Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Her hands fly up to her throat, and while she gasps for air, her huge eyes flit between Little Ricky and me.
That’s when I recognize her. The breathtaking work of art from the other night.
The first time our eyes met, she looked at me like I was just another guy she couldn’t be bothered with. The second time, her cheeks flushed pink and she flitted away. I couldn’t stop thinking about her the whole fucking night.
I take in her blonde hair that looks like spun gold and the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.
Fuck, she’s exquisite.
Dumbstruck by being so close to her, I remain glued to the spot when she darts away, flitting into the road without checking to make sure it’s safe.
A horn blares and my heart stutters in my chest as a car slams on its brakes. Luckily, the driver stops in time, but then he leans out the window and shouts, “Watch where you’re going, crazy fucking bitch!”
Anger shoots through me, and while I glare at the asshole, the woman glances over her shoulder. Her terror-filled eyes lock on my face, then she runs even faster down the sidewalk before darting into an office.
Mitchell’s Construction.
“Fuck.” Little Ricky’s tone sounds as stunned as I feel. “The car almost hit her.”
Before I realize what I’m doing, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Rosie’s number. The Cosa Nostra’s hacker will be able to find out who the butterfly is that flitted into my life.
“Master of the universe speaking,” Rosie answers.
“There was a blonde woman outside my club a minute ago. I want to know who she is.”
“Give me a sec. Let me pull up the footage.” A heartbeat later, Rosie says, “Jesus, Little Ricky wasn’t playing around. Oooh, look at you being all stunned. She’s so pretty! Was it love at first sight? Has the great Adriano Rizzo bitten the bullet? Are…”
“Rosie,” I growl.
“Pfft…you’re no fun. Give me two minutes. I’m running facial recognition.”
“Text me everything you find on her,” I say, then add, “Thanks, Rosie.”
“You’re welcome, grumpy,” she chirps.
As I end the call, Little Ricky opens the back door, and I get in. I set his food down beside me, then glance at the construction company again.
She probably works there.
The SUV dips when Little Ricky climbs in behind the steering wheel. “I think it was a simple accident that she ran into us. Why are you doing a check on the woman?”
When I don’t answer for several seconds, Little Ricky starts the engine and pulls away from the curb. “Adriano? You okay?”
“Yeah.” I keep staring at the company, and when we drive past, I suck in a deep breath. “I just want to know who she is.”
He gives me a curious look in the rearview mirror. “But why?”
I finally regain my bearings and admit, “Because she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
A wide smile instantly splits across his face.
“Stop fucking grinning like that,” I grumble, then my phone beeps, and I reach for the device so fast, it has Little Ricky chuckling.
I open the app with my thumbprint before devouring the information.
Rosie: She’s Laurie Barnes. Aged 25. She’s from Findlay, Ohio. She’s worked at Mitchell’s Construction for the past six years. But bad news for you because she lives with a man who I’d guess is her boyfriend. Austin Doyle.
I don’t give a fuck about the man as my eyes zero in on the black and white photo of Laurie Barnes.
Adriano: I want her address, what car she drives, which gym she belongs to. Everything.
Rosie: Say pretty please with a cherry on top.
Adriano: Please, Rosie.
Rosie: That will have to do. Give me a few hours to get all the info.
As I stare at the photo, a dark hunger spreads through me like a lethal force and something in me clicks into place with terrifying certainty.
She will be mine.
I’ve spent years taking what I want, crushing anyone stupid enough to stand in my way, and right now, all I can think about is getting closer to Laurie Barnes.
Is she the kind of woman who submits easily and obeys every command, or does she like to be in control?
What does a day in her life look like?
The boyfriend is a minor problem I can easily make disappear.
I’m well aware my reaction to her isn’t normal.
Maybe it’s because of the way she looked standing outside my club, too beautiful for the ugliness of the world around her.
I don’t know, but there’s just something about her that hooked itself into the darkest part of me and refuses to let go.
La mia farfalla.
“Adriano?” Little Ricky grabs my attention. “What’s going on with you today?”
“I want her,” I admit to him. “I don’t care what it takes, but I’m going to make Laurie Barnes mine.”
“Okay then.” He lets out a sigh. “Want me to tell one of the men to bring her to you?”
I shake my head. “No, I want to watch her for a while so I can learn as much as possible about her.”
Little Ricky is quiet for a minute or so before he asks, “I get she’s beautiful, but a pretty face has never been enough to make your head turn. What’s it about this woman?”
“I can’t explain it.” I glance out the window, not taking in the passing scenery.
“I saw her twice, and now I can’t get her out of my fucking head.
” I suck in a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
“It’s like the second I looked at her, she connected with the possessive side of me, and it decided she belongs to me.
” A smirk pulls at my mouth as I meet Little Ricky’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
“And as you know, once I want something, I take it.”
Turning his attention to the road ahead of us, he nods. “I get it. Kinda like me and buffalo wings. I can’t get enough of that shit.”
A chuckle rumbles from me while I shake my head. “Yeah, nothing can come between you and your wings.”