“I’m thinking it’s a better idea to ask: How would it last in the first place?” Rome volleyed back.
“It’ll last however long we want it to,” I answered for them both. “Because we’re all a part of each other in some twisted way and we’re going to make it work because that’s what we do.”
“I like your drive, today, Little One.” Dante’s lips curved into a smile and a dimple indented the side of his cheek.
If it weren’t for all the men sitting here with him, I’d have sworn he was a god. “I think we’d both like it more if I was kicking your ass at the gym.”
“After this meeting, I think we need to burn off some steam.” He cracked his knuckles, two black rings and a gold one drawing attention as he did. His style and his good looks had the waitress staring as she set glasses down in front of us. He held up his just as she sighed with hearts in her eyes and turned away. “To a successful first meeting today.”
Before I could grab my drink, Rome swapped his with mine and winked at me. Then he barely sipped on the alcoholic beverage in his hand, like he wanted his senses, like he needed them. At this point, I needed mine too. It was the reason for not drinking.
“And to a successful funeral, considering no one was killed in a drive-by,” Cade mumbled into his phone.
“What did you just say?” I nudged his shoulder so that he would look up from the damn device.
“We had a lot of visitors at that funeral,” he said. “The Polish, the Armenian and the Japanese drove by. Politicians were there; leaders were there. We had targets on our backs and were barely armed. I thought for sure Rome would take a bullet.”
“Your ass knows that no one is hitting me in a drive by.” Rome leaned back and slid his glass out of his hand.
“You’re not Neo from the Matrix. You can’t dodge a damn bullet.”
“I can anticipate. No one was hitting up that funeral. Too many witnesses.”
“We’ve got the cops under wraps.” Cade announced.
“Yeah, too many witnesses from other families. The Stonewoods. Another gang showed up.”
Cade narrowed his eyes and then ducked his head back down, typing away quickly to check things out. “I didn’t see that on the security footage—”
“Because the damn security footage won’t show you everything.” Rome pinched the bridge of his nose.
Dante laughed at their bickering, then clapped Cade on the shoulder. “They avoided street cameras. They’re an underground gang. We got them logged. Don’t worry about it.”
The list of enemies had my shoulders tensing, my back muscles coiling up with nerves. I’d been under scrutiny before, been held at gunpoint by a lover, been beaten and taken advantage of. It was always by one person at a time, though. It was mostly controlled too. I knew how to warp a man’s mind well enough to stay alive.
Yet I wasn’t sure I could mold and sculpt a whole unit. How would I handle a gang that I knew nothing about, a mob I’d never had to deal with directly? I was ill-equipped, green, and naïve.
Rome’s strong hand went to my neck and he massaged the muscles like he automatically knew where the knots were. I breathed out slow as his hand trailed down the sides of my spine, pushing pressure points and kneading out areas I didn’t know existed.
While everyone talked, he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Relax, Cleo. We’ve got a long way to go before you can tense up on us.”
10
Katie
Two weeks went by. I’d spent every day with Ivan going over business dealings and my inheritance. He reiterated over and over again that this was all for our family.
At his house, doctors would file in and out. He would take pill after pill and wave off my questions about his health. Sometimes, though, I’d catch a doctor’s eye and they’d share a little more information than Ivan wanted.
“Sir, your bloodwork is good,” one said. “Your last test was good too, but we should be taking memory tests daily with your medications. You can’t continue taking these the way you are.”
He’d glare them into submission. All I learned from the revolving door of doctors was that he was participating in a study and the medication was holding off the onset of his dementia for the time being.
It didn’t seem to matter to him. The man was only focused on one thing and that was continuing his bloodline. He’d say over and over, one day I’d have a son, one day his great grandchildren would have all this.
All this was billions and billions of dollars. I focused on the accounts and the amount of zeros for a long second when he first showed me. “All for the family, no?” he said and chuckled like he knew I was surprised.
I didn’t disclose that I never wanted kids. I didn’t want to bring a life into a world so dark and cruel. He didn’t need to know, though. I didn’t owe him anything.