Wolfe #2
“They don’t traffic women into forced prostitution—so I disagree.
” Maybe Don Mancini was a small fish in a small pond, but he still operated his business with class and ethics.
He wanted to make money, but he didn’t want to fuck over everyone in his way to do it.
He definitely needed my help if he wanted to grow and be taken seriously to potential adversaries, but he had a great foundation.
Santino grabbed his glass and took another drink before he set it down with a loud tap. “If Cosa Nostra stopped that practice, would you consider coming back?”
A slow grin moved over my face when we finally got to the point of this damn meeting. “Now I understand. Don Russo got into some serious shit, and he needs his big, bad wolf to clean up his mess.”
“He wants to know if you’d be willing to meet with him.”
“The answer to your question is no.”
“If you met with him, you might change your mind.”
“My loyalty lies with Don Mancini—and it can’t be bought, manipulated, or coerced.” And it wasn’t just him that I was loyal to, but the woman who had completely captured my soul. “You had my undying loyalty, and you decided to piss it away.”
“I really think you should talk to him anyway. He’s got information that you should know…regardless of if you come back or not.”
“Or you can just tell me right now.”
“You know I can’t, Wolfe.” He looked over his shoulder like there was a chance he was being tailed by Don Russo’s guys.
When he looked at me again, he leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“Look, between you and me, it’s in your best interest just to hear him out.
Walk away if you want, but you’re going to want to hear what he has to say. I say this to you as a friend.”
When I got home, it was shortly past nine.
The kitchen was clean like she’d already eaten and done the dishes.
Leftovers were probably in the fridge, and whatever they were was probably a hell of a lot better than what I ordered at the restaurant.
The more I ate Francesca’s cooking, the less I wanted to eat out. No one could cook as well as my baby.
“I’m home,” I called into the house when I walked inside, invading her space like it belonged to me equally.
We were just playing house at the moment, but it felt pretty damn real to me.
I only went to my house to work out and change my clothes.
I’d spent a lot of money on the place and hired staff to take care of it, but I was never there.
Francesca’s villa just felt like home to me.
“I’m upstairs.”
I headed up the stairs to the second floor and found her already in bed in just my t-shirt, her long, thick hair in a messy bun that looked so good on her. I loved the whole look, how she could be so fucking hot without even trying.
She was reading a book propped up in bed, and she put the book aside and pushed the covers back so she could get out and give me a warm greeting.
The shirt was like a loose blanket on her, stopping just above her knees.
Her eyes lit up at the sight of me, and she drew near and rose on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I immediately scooped my hands under her thighs and lifted her into me, this woman weighing nothing in my arms.
She gave a little chuckle as she hooked her arms around my neck. “Missed you.”
“Missed you.” I kissed her, turned my head, and kissed her again, kissed the corner of her mouth.
“How was your dinner?”
“Interesting.”
“Why was it interesting?”
“It was with my old friend Santino from Cosa Nostra.”
“Oh.”
“My former boss wants to talk to me. Says he has information for me.”
“Oh…” Now her playfulness faded away.
“It’s obvious they want me back. I preemptively said no.”
“Are you going to meet him?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I want to watch them grovel, because I’m a sick fuck like that.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine as a seriousness settled over her face.
“And I want to hear what else he has to say.”
She didn’t move a muscle, but she somehow turned distant…and hesitant.
“Why does that bother you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Yes, it does,” I said with force. “Tell me why.”
“Do—do you want to go back to Cosa Nostra?” Her eyes dropped as her chin moved down, breaking contact with me.
“I just said no.”
“Then why are you going to meet him?”
“Because of the reasons I already said. And look at me when I speak to you.”
Her eyes flicked up once more, and with a face free of makeup, she was stunning in the low light from the lamps on the nightstands.
“We parted on bad terms. Really fucking bad terms. And I want to see the regret in their eyes and then the rage when I refuse to give them what they want. They clearly need me for something, and I want to find out exactly what it is before I turn my back on them just the way they did to me. I’m petty, I hold grudges, and I’m spiteful, vindictive, and vengeful. ”
“What if it’s a trap?”
I shrugged. “Could be.”
“And that doesn’t worry you? Because it worries me.”
“If they wanted me dead, they would have come for me a long time ago. They know what happened with the Lombardis, so perhaps they’ve been reminded of what they lost. Probably want my help with something—but I’m not going to do it.”
“Then why go?”
“Because I want to know what it is. Information is currency in this game.”
She continued to stare at me with the same distance in her sad eyes.
I cocked my head slightly. “I would never turn my back on you or your family, Francesca.”
She was quiet for a while. “You were with them your entire life. I know they mean a lot to you.”
“They meant a lot to me,” I said. “But I turned my back on them when they turned their back on me.”
“You can’t just turn it off like that—”
“Well, I can. I don’t dwell on the past. I live in the present and walk toward the future,” I said.
“And you’re my present and my future and everything in between.
There’s nothing they could say, nothing they could do, to make me ever even think about turning my back on your family.
You’re my family now—so they’re my family too. ”