“Thanks for letting me know Shaye was hanging out with fucking Nikita.”
“I would have loved to be a fly on the wall.”
“Fuck off. I’m going back to work.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later at the club.” I click off the phone and push open my car door. The stress knots are back in force, and my neck is stiffer than a fucking week-old corpse right now. Something tells me shit’s about to get worse. I sidestep Tony Oriani’s sleek black Jaguar and let out a groan. Why the hell did Dad need to call that douchebag? I wanted to have a private conversation with my father first, before Tony hears the story and goes off the deep end, which is his typical reaction to most situations, the one that put us all in this position in the first place.
Motherfucker.
I stab the Up button next to the elevator after checking in with security. The building looks like a normal place of business, but what visitors can’t see are the automatic weapons stored behind the polished wood reception desk or the concealed weapons on the bodies of the ex-military security guards. Nobody knows that with a simple push of a button, this whole place gets locked down like a maximum security prison and if somebody is trying to pull a job on the inside, rest assured that person won’t ever make it out.
The elevator creeps up to the fifth floor where my dad’s office is tucked away into a corner. I step out of the elevator once the doors open and walk through the expansive reception area. It’s empty, thankfully. I don’t really feel like dealing with—
“Nico…” A low, female voice purrs into my ear. “I haven’t seen you here in a long time. Something keeping you away?”
I twist around to find Janelle, one of the accountants here at the firm. Her bright red lips are twisted into a pout, her shirt unbuttoned about three too many. She flips her long wavy hair and sticks a hand on her hip. “You don’t call anymore.” She leans closer, eyes narrowed. “Did you get tired of me, Nico? Did you get tired of fucking me?” She taps a finger against her mouth and pretends to think about her own question. “I let you do anything to me that you wanted. I tried to make you so happy, and you just disappeared. Why?” Her voice has taken on a pretty damn menacing tone, and I berate myself again for ever getting involved with this crazy bitch. Christ, over the years I’d let my dick make way too many decisions for me…fucking bad decisions. Thank God those days are over.
I grasp Janelle’s shoulders to hold her in place. She’s getting too close, and I don’t need my father, or worse, Tony, to see the whole scorned lover scene playing out here. I glance around the room. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if this woman had a camera set up somewhere, capturing the whole sordid episode.
“Look, I’m sorry. It was never a good idea for us to get involved. You work for my dad. It was fun, but it’s over.”
I feel like I say the same thing to her every time I show up here, vocalizing it over and over again after she manages to corner me. I wish she’d just quit.
Her lips stretch into a straight line. “You’re a fucking womanizing asshole!”
“Look,” I hiss. “I never made you any promises. It’s done, okay? Just move the fuck on.” I really hate being such an asshole, but every time she sees me, it’s like she forgets we’ve already had this conversation a thousand times before. It gets old, but no matter how I put it, she’ll no doubt air her grievances again the next time I show up here.
I have to start meeting my dad for lunch instead. Fuck this office visit shit.
Her nostrils flare, and without another word, she spins around and stomps down a hallway. I let out the breath I’d been holding. Fucking Stage 5 clinger. I know I’m good, but still…this is a little extreme.
Christ, I have made some shitty decisions in the past.
I straighten my shirt and walk in the opposite direction as Janelle since my dad’s office is clear across the room. Thank fuck.
The door is closed, so I twist the handle and pull it open. Six pairs of eyes hit me at the exact same time, and they are full of questions. And accusations, judging from Tony’s death stare.
“Why didn’t you go after that motherfucker and stuff the barrel of a gun down his throat?” Tony jumps up from his chair and closes the space between us. I don’t back away. I stand by my decision. Besides, no one besides Shaye knows about that note. It’s in my pocket, and I guess that’s where it’ll stay since present company is already all over my ass to make a move.
“Tony, relax,” my dad says, rising from his position behind the desk.
“Don’t tell me to relax, Joe! My daughter is at risk now.” Tony turns to me and points a finger between my eyes. “You put her in the line of fire, Nico. You were the reason why she got snatched the first time, and now she’s a target again.”
“You don’t think she’s always been a target, Tony? Because of the stupid ass decisions you’ve made?” I lean toward him, refusing to back away. “You’ve put her in worse situations because of your fucked-up priorities. Or are we just brushing them under the rug right now because you think you found a new scapegoat?”
“Dad, calm down.” Max lets out a deep sigh and rolls his eyes at me. “Shaye is fine. From what Rocco told me, she’s got her own personal bodyguard tailing her right now.”
“You took unnecessary chances, Nico.” Tony growls through clenched teeth. “What’s your big plan this time? Sit on your ass and wait for someone else to be fucking mauled on your watch?” He turns to my father, eyes blazing. “Grandpa Vito would never have let this go without taking swift action. But you have Mr. CEO here, who finally found an organization he has no idea how to run. This isn’t a sex club, Nico. This is our fucking livelihood. If you don’t do something to show strength, the other families will stop doing business with us. And you think the Russians will have your back? Fuck that! Nobody wants to be part of a sinking ship, Nico. Nobody!”
Dad gets up and walks over to the large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a lush green park down below. It’s ironic how tranquil this area is, how peaceful and quiet our surroundings are, especially when there is so much toxicity within these walls. Somehow, though, it never leaks to the outside.
At least, it hasn’t just yet.
“Tony, I trust Nico’s judgment on this. He knows what he’s doing, and I respect his decision.”
“That’s fucking insane! An eye for an eye! Why the fuck aren’t we on the move to take that asshole down?”
“Because he has a whole army on his side!” I shout, the panic bubbling in my chest. I struggle to keep my voice even, but it’s damn hard. I know what this motherfucker is capable of, and if I go after him, guns blazing, I’d better be sure I have the backing to deal with the fallout. I need to make sure Viktor Ivanov has my back. That’s why I initiated the whole deal with that fucking horse farm, to solidify a partnership with him. Viktor’s got a shit ton of drug money that needs to be laundered, and the farm is a perfectly legitimate front for it. I’m giving Viktor more reasons to stick with the Salesi family. More ways to make money, to clean said money. The other families fear Luca because his father made sure he had his claws embedded into all of their drug dealings. His influence runs fucking deep. The Russians are our allies. They’ve proven it once before. I just need to make sure they’ll be there for us again before I take action.