Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
I lick my lips, still tasting her as I close my laptop lid. The room plunges into darkness. I close my eyes, focusing on Renata’s breathing. Slowly in, slowly out. I could meditate to that sound all my life. I could live in this room, breathe in her smell, taste her on my tongue. The feelings in me, they’re overwhelming. They’re opening a section of myself that I’d locked away a long time ago.
In my business, I can’t get close to people. Romance, friendships, I can’t risk them. The Atlas boys are the only people I’ve remained close with, but only because they can handle themselves—and they don’t operate in my circles.
Renata’s a liability. She’s a danger. Worse, I’m a danger to her. But I keep thinking about Carmine, Evander, Gareth, and Ford, my four brothers, all of them settled, all of them happy.
They have something I don’t.
“They have their own version of you,” I whisper to sleeping Renata. I bend down to kiss the back of her neck. “Lovely girl.”
She stays sleeping when I tear myself out of the bed. I leave my laptop behind. My phone’s lying on the kitchen counter. I stand in front of the windows, still naked, overlooking Dallas. I call Carmine and he answers right away.
“It’s late, shouldn’t you be asleep?” He sounds wide awake though, the hypocrite.
“Can’t seem to do much of that these days.” I put a hand on the glass. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to fall through the air. No net, no parachute. Only a fall and a landing. Sometimes I think I’ve been falling all this time. And Renata’s my landing. “We had a little job tonight.”
“The package thing? How’d it go?”
“Went well. Turns out, the box had fingers in it.”
Carmine snorts. “Fucker had you delivering severed fingers? That’s ballsy as hell.”
“Renata didn’t enjoy it.”
“That’s reasonable.”
I tap my fingers on the glass. “I don’t know if he figured out that I’m involved yet, but he will soon.”
“From what I’ve heard about Burian, you’re absolutely right.” Carmine sounds worried. “What’s the plan?”
“I hoped he’d overextend himself this time and make a mistake. But I’m starting to think that’s not happening.”
“You’ll have to force his hand.”
I grunt in response. “I’m not using her as bait.”
“I wasn’t going to suggest it.”
“That’s the most logical move, isn’t it?” I stare at the lights, at the street below. “Find a way to dangle her. Put Burian in a tight spot.”
“Really, Lanzo, I wasn’t going to suggest it.” He pauses, the sound of him adjusting the phone and a clink of glass. “Maybe a few years back, before Brice. But now? Some things are more important.”
I grin to myself. “A few days ago, I would’ve called you soft.”
“Is this girl making you start to understand?”
“There’s something about her.” I hesitate, not able to understand it myself, let alone explain in words.
But Carmine only laughs. “I know what you mean. Brice did the same damn thing to me. She’s still doing it every day.”
“Really? Even now?”
“There’s not a single day that passes where I don’t count myself the luckiest man alive to have found a woman like her. Except then I talk to Evander, Ford, and Gareth, and they all feel the same way.”
“I’m the last to fall then.”
“It’s not like that.” The sound of Carmine taking a drink. “Brice made me a better man. She made me more well-rounded. Before her, I was a selfish prick, bullying my way through the Famiglia, not giving a shit about what anyone else thought. She helps me find a better path.”
“Right now, the only path I want to find is the one that leads between Ren’s legs.” I grin to myself, but I know the joke’s only deflecting how I really feel.
The fall. The landing. Finding something solid. Something real.
Carmine chuckles half-heartedly. “You’ll see the light eventually. Now tell me more about the drop-off.”
“It went about how you’d expect. Except I found out something about the recipient.” I pause for dramatic effect. “He’s an FBI agent.”
Carmine whistles. “No kidding? Another one?”
“Deep cover. Not good cover, but still. That’s probably why Burian’s involved with him. If I can see through the ruse, Burian can too.”
“Who do the fingers belong to?”
“Don’t know that yet, but I’m working on it. My guess would be some other fed. The way my guy reacted, he seemed upset like he’d been negotiating with Burian for a while or something. Like he knew where they came from.”
“What’s this guy’s name?”
“Cover name is Craig Hicks. Real name is Pete Little.”
“Hicks? Hold on a second. I recognize that.” The sound of Carmine typing away. I take the opportunity to get myself a whiskey. When I’m finished, he sucks in a sharp breath. “Well, no shit.”
“What’d you find?”
“We keep lists of people. Craig’s on one of them. It’s a weird name, especially involved with this crew, which is why it stands out.”