Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
NAOMI
My mom flits around the room, and I follow.
She and Bonte are in full wedding planning mode.
A wedding had never been a dream of mine.
Neither had having a man in my life, but now I can’t imagine not having Paxton.
The very idea makes an uncomfortable rage I’ve never experienced before bubble up inside of me. It scares even me.
I don’t know what he’s done to me, but there had been a weight I hadn’t known inside of me.
It was holding down all the things I didn’t ever want to come to the surface.
I was sure they didn’t fit into the life I wanted.
If I were to lead, I thought it would be easier if I didn’t have those types of connections.
That it would somehow have a negative effect on me.
Paxton has shifted that, and with him comes freedom and comfort.
“You’re okay with these too, sweetheart?
” Mom asks, and it’s a fight not to look at my watch that just vibrated with an alert.
I’m trying to be present in the moment. Especially when it comes to my mom.
Planning the wedding is giving her so much happiness, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to take that away from her.
“They are lovely.” Mom smiles a bit brighter when I use that word to describe anything she shows me. The dishes are lovely. Everything is black, a creamy white, or gold. There is a touch of what Bonte would call goth. I find that fitting for the plans that we have.
“Is there anything else?”
“We grant you freedom,” Bonte announces across the room, motioning with her arms.
“Thank you.” I turn, leaving the room to head back to the library. I go back and forth most days.
Mac’s head pops up when I enter. Paxton is sitting in the same chair that I’d given him a blow job in a few days ago.
We girls might have been talking about them the other day.
My curiosity about how he would respond drove me to go straight to him after we had finished working out together.
Well, Mac and I. Bonte watched and talked shit.
Paxton winks at me.
“She’s back,” Mac announces. “See, a woman really can do everything.”
“This is true,” I agree.
Mac’s mood has fully shifted. I believe the job she’d gone out to do with Paxton’s sister played out.
The plan went flawlessly. Mac got the unhappy wife a whole new identity while Sloane had drawn blood from her over the course of a week.
Enough to paint a room with and be declared dead without a body.
The wife is now free of her husband, and the husband has gone on a rampage, thinking one of his men or possibly another family is responsible. Their blood is already coating the streets. Wars between families are already in play.
The Biviano family are sure it’s the Colello or Severini family that were responsible for the wife’s disappearance. At least this week. It shifts almost every day. Except now we’ve planted seeds that it might be the cartel they have been getting close to in their trades.
The man has lost it over his wife. A wife that he cheated on and would lay hands on. The thing is, to him, she’s his property. It’s not only about her but his pride.
It only takes a little bit of doubt to have people reacting and acting out of character.
Especially when emotions are involved. And now all three dirty cops the Bivianos had in their pocket, well, let’s just say, they’ve disappeared, making the trade interstate wide open for them to catch a case.
Which is inevitable. We’ve made sure of that.
Bonte’s father is already on the way back as well. The man is a calculated menace that I’m sure I’ll use again. I might as well put his skills to use. He’d done flawless work and even took out another target on his way back. I’m still fascinated by the way that man operates.
“The Colellos?” I ask Eros.
“Their cargo bay is being raided now.” That’s what I was hoping the alert was. I walk over to stand behind Eros. He has a feed up.
This hadn’t been part of the plan. It was a favor called in from Z’s handler. He still does random projects with them, trading favors. We were more than happy to oblige since it not only gave us points with him but helped our cause as well.
The Colellos had been on a downward spiral, and money was getting tight.
That’s when things get sloppy and drugs get dirty enough to kill in the smallest of doses.
You’ll never be able to stop the drug trade.
The best you can do is regulate it. Make sure the product that’s hitting the streets isn’t killing the people taking it.
“Mac?” The cargo bay only has a handful of Colello’s men. Not any high-ups. No, all of them are at their biweekly poker game.
No one could ever find the location. Not the Feds or even us at that point, but Paxton knew. They rotated locations, not letting anyone know until an hour before. Paxton found their pattern. We tossed that over to the Feds, too. Fine by me.
“They’re going in now.” I round the table to go over to her. “Where did they get those glasses?” Mac mumbles as we watch the screen that’s cut up into four.
“His?” I point to Marco Colello.
“His cheaters?” Paxton asks, coming to his feet.
“You know?” Mac glances up at him.
“Yes, I invested in a tech company out of Boston.”
“Did you invest before or after you started hatching all your plans?” I give him a coy smile.
“After. Those glasses have made my job a whole lot easier with collecting information.”
“And they work?” Mac’s attention is focused on Paxton. My eyes are on the screen as I watch a SWAT team close in.
“It’s still new tech and only works on their cards.”
“Will you get me a pair?”
He glances down at her. “I’ll make a request.”
Mac’s been fiddling with glasses technology too. She’s always striving to learn more. I’m often amazed at how her mind works. She definitely is her mother’s daughter.
Damon comes to stand next to Paxton, his arms folded over his chest. I swear every time I see him, he’s bigger.
He might end up being the biggest in the whole Marino family.
Damon is brute force in human form. Lately, I can’t help but wonder what type of woman is going to be his undoing.
He swears he’s going to be the one that avoids the Marino curse, but we all know the love bug will bite him eventually.
“Who is most likely to get shot?” Damon asks Paxton.
“Wait, let’s bet.” Jax strolls over from the board he’d been working on.
He’s back in town. He and Kinsley have been traveling.
Everyone is headed back home because of the wedding.
It’s nice when we are all back here together.
My brothers are expected to arrive at any moment now.
When it’s all five of them together, I often want to strangle them.
Yet I know if I moved away, I’d miss this.
Paxton’s hand goes to my back, and he runs it up and down. I find myself leaning into his comfort. I swear he can sense the emotions most don’t believe I have.
“Bet?” Damon asks his brother Jax.
“Yeah. Paxton gives us two possibilities, one being who you think will get shot.”
“All right,” he agrees. “Marco?” Oh shit.
“Really?” I ask. I wouldn’t have guessed that one. Paxton cocks his head, leaning in a tad closer to stare at the screen.
“He’s extra fidgety. Too much cocaine,” he tells me.
“Oh, man, now we can’t play,” Jax mutters.
“I would have won. I already thought it was him.” Damon smirks.
“And Ben,” Paxton adds.
“You already told us it was Marco,” Jax says. Paxton only shrugs as the team bursts through one of the doors, a second coming through the tiled ceiling, the lights going out.
Mac doesn’t bother with the night feed. Flash bangs go off, followed by the sound of gunfire. It’s over quickly. It always is, but when you’re there in the middle of it, it’s not so fast.
“Motherfucker.” Damon shakes his head.
“He’s a psychic.” Jax laughs. Both Marco and Ben are shot. A rush of pride fills me, and I get turned on too. Paxton is always so laid-back and calm, but he might actually be the deadliest person in the room.
I drop my head back. “You may kiss me.” He chuckles but gives me what I want.
“I’m here!”
Paxton lifts his mouth from mine as Nix comes bouncing into the library, her blond ponytail swaying.
She’s decked out in all pink, which isn’t shocking.
She too is her mother’s daughter. It’s my Aunt Cosima’s favorite color.
“Killing anyone today?” She wiggles her brows, glancing around at all of us.
“Not personally. I had someone else do it. I can’t be everywhere.”
Nix snorts a laugh. “Is this wedding still on?” she asks.
“Yes, why would it not be?” Do they have information I do not?
“She was actually referring to having not killed me yet,” Paxton fills in for me. I marginally relax. When it comes to Paxton and me, I don’t do well with the jokes. I know they are only poking at him as they do with each other, but it irritates me.
“I love how annoyed she got from my question.” Nix laughs.
“She was needling me and not you,” I say.
Paxton’s lip pulls up on one side, and he gives a slight nod.
“It’s hard to push your buttons.” Nix pretends to poke the air with both index fingers.
Paxton’s hand slides up my back to rest at the nape of my neck, his thumb stroking me. Any annoyance I was feeling melts away, Paxton’s touch bringing me a comfort no other ever could.