Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“What are you?”
“Soldier.”
“Which is…”
“The first rung of the Made man ladder. Below us are associates. Directly above, caporegime. Or capo.”
“What’s above that?”
“The underboss, consigliere, and the boss. And at the very top, the capo-dei-capi.”
“What’s the difference between a boss and a capo-dei-capi?”
“That title literally means ‘boss of bosses,’” Miko explained. “He is in charge of the whole organization. At least regionally. I think the days of the capo-dei-capi having control coast-to-coast are over. But Lorenzo Costa is our regional capo-dei-capi.”
“That’s your family.”
“Yeah. I directly work for Cosimo Costa. But he works directly for Lorenzo.”
“And your goal is to become an equal with Cosimo?”
“Yeah.”
“Why not aim higher?”
“Because you don’t get higher,” he told me. “Not unless someone dies.”
“Why?”
“The hierarchy is set once the boss takes over. He picks his most trusted friends to be right at the top with him. I don’t want to be at the top of the organization. I just want to have my own crew. I’ve worked my ass off for it.”
“Was this job your attempt to prove your worth?”
To that, he drew in a deep breath then exhaled it on a sigh. It was the closest to frustrated I’d seen him so far. “Yeah.” There was a beat before he said, “Don’t you dare apologize.”
“I wasn’t going to,” I admitted.
He turned, that charming little smile tugging at his lips, his eyes all gooey.
And damn if my sex didn’t clench so hard that I almost moaned. Right there in his damn face.
“So, uh, what now?” I asked. Then licked my lips. Damnit. What the hell was wrong with me? This guy just scrambled my mind, ripped away my usual guards. Just by being near. It made no sense.
“Good question,” he said, leaning the side of his head against the back cushion, making him angle ever so slightly closer to me.
I totally didn’t think of how easy it would be to just lean down, press my lips to his. And maybe his hand would raise, slide behind my neck to hold me against him as he deepened the kiss, as he reached to pull me to straddle him, and…
“Max?”
“What?” I asked. Coming back to the present wasn’t quite the wet blanket over my libido that I hoped it might be. If anything, I just wanted to make the fantasy a reality.
“How do you feel about a little stakeout?”
“A stakeout? Are we in a cop drama?”
“Feels like it sometimes. But from the other side. So, you down?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“The comfort of the car and the quality of the snacks.”
“Car is a luxury SUV with lots of room and heated seats, and I’m open to requests on the snacks.”
“Then I guess I can squeeze it in. Until my face is healed. Then I need to get my ass back to work.”
“Looks like I got a solid week or two,” he said, gaze moving over my face, his features going hard, then soft again for reasons I couldn’t begin to understand.
“I don’t think we have that long before someone moves those diamonds,” I reasoned.
“Yeah, you’re not wrong about that. Which is why I’m gonna ask if you’re willing to do the stakeout over the next day or two days.”
“Why do you make it sound like it’s not local?” I asked, suspicious.
“‘Cause it’s not.”
“How far away is it?” I asked.
“It’s upstate.”
“How far upstate?”
“Far enough that you’re gonna need to pack a bag.”
“Look, I get that I owe you half a million dollars, but not even that kind of debt is going to have me sleeping in a car with you.”
“Figure I could manage to rent a couple of rooms.”
“What the hell am I gonna tell Megs?”
“Does she know your exact work schedule?”
“No, not usually. I never want her to have to choose between lying to the cops and protecting me.”
“I get that. Same with my ma and sisters. Well, just tell her you got a job you couldn’t pass up. And since she’s gonna be busy with her partners, you figured there was no reason not to take it on.”
That could work. She would still have a million questions and more than a few concerns, but she wouldn’t be overly suspicious. I was always working. I could even be truthful to her about it being a stakeout.
“Alright. I can swing it,” I agreed. “What time do you want to head out?”
“Early. I’d like to get there before the place opens in the morning, get a good spot, watch everyone make their way in. Probably gotta be heading out of the city by five.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, checking the time on my phone. “Alright. Well, I should get going.”
“Yeah, me too,” he agreed, standing with me.
“Work?”
“DMV,” he corrected, looking pained. “Even the fucking License Express office could take hours.”
“I can’t imagine.”
“Do you drive?”
“Where the hell would I have learned to drive?” I asked, shaking my head as I slid into my boots.