Giancarlo had an answer for every transaction, and we could not figure out how the money had disappeared. Not even our forensic accountant could trace the paper trail.
“Call me when you find something,” Dante growled, sounding exactly like our father when he was angry. “Keep a close watch on the girl.”
I slid off the couch, pocketed my keys and wallet, and locked the door behind me. Ava didn’t know, but I had moved into the apartment next to hers. After her graduation, we would transition to the next phase of our plan.
Dante hung up the phone without saying a word.
“Stronzo,” I muttered on my way to Ava’s door.
My older brother was an asshole.
But, one day, he would make a good boss, the perfect replacement for our father. He wasn’t just the heir apparent because of his age. A ruthless savage, people feared the Luciano name because of him.
I balled my hand into a fist and knocked on Ava’s door. Inside, I heard shuffling. Then a few curses and a thump as if she’d walked into something. This building was an old piece of shit with thin walls.
I hated this place.
It disgusted me that her cheap ass father would only allow her to rent a studio apartment that smelled like Chinese food and mold.
I heard several locks click before Ava opened the door. You could never be too careful in this city. There was so much crime and violence, especially against women. But she had me on the other side of the wall, watching over her.
Ava flung open the door, wearing a short black dress that stopped mid-thigh and a pair of heels.
A fucking knockout.
It was a shame she was a pawn.
Because I had so many plans for Ava and her gorgeous body, none of which had anything to do with getting revenge.
Ava stared at me, licking her lips, her chest rising and falling with each breath. She looked as if she were trying to calm herself.
You know when you see someone for the first time, and you get a feeling in the pit of your stomach? And you know there’s a reason for it? Maybe you don’t understand why it feels like someone is twisting a knife in your gut, but you know you should pay attention to it.
I got that feeling when I looked at her.
She spoke to the darkness in my soul and made me feel something I didn’t know was there. Ava was different. She knew what it was like to belong to a family like mine.
Her father caged her like a bird.
I understood her suffering because I was the bastard of the family and always felt like I had something to prove. Like I was never good enough. Not as vicious as Dante. Not as savage as Angelo, or his twin, Stefan.
It was time to free our little bird from her gilded cage. Our meeting wasn’t a chance encounter. I knew every detail of Ava’s schedule, down to the second.
Ava Vianello was ours.
Property of the Boardwalk Kings.
ChapterFour
AVA
Heart clambering out of my chest, I opened the door and slapped on a smile. I tried to hide my nerves and gulped down my fear of being alone with Nico Luciano.
With his hand on the wall, he leaned forward into the entryway. He dressed in dark jeans and a black button-down shirt that looked expensive and smelled like spicy cologne.
“Bellissima,” he said as his eyes traveled up and down the length of my body, clad in a short back dress and heels. “Vieni, passerotta.”
Beautiful.