Becoming the Street Boss - Hayley Faiman Page 0,112

of the information that we need from her.

Erin is too lost to her own obsession with Roman. One that I have no doubt at all whatsoever is completely unhealthy and has been for far longer than any one of us could even imagine.

She can’t see what’s really happening, that Roman is using her, though I’m not sure what exactly for yet. Before both of them die, I will find out what his main goal is in all of this and where the fuck he’s been hiding for five years.

PIPPA

I stand to the side, quietly, as I think about everything that’s been going on the past hour or so. Erin and Massimo fucked, something he paid her for many times. Erin and Roman were neighbors, they fucked and she fell in love with him, even if that love is completely manipulated and fake.

Roman used to hang out with the older group of Made Men, maybe as an errand boy? He raped Mia and she felt as though he ruined her chances of finding a man and becoming a wife, but she’s a freaking badass woman now, so I hate that it happened to her, but look at her now.

Massimo was taking protection money from Roman’s bakery, something Roman decided he didn’t want to pay anymore once his father died.

His bakery was forced to close after Massimo had it burned to the ground for what he did, for ratting him out to the feds. Massimo went to prison and Roman had me stalked by Erin and possibly shot me himself.

“I’m confused,” I mumble to myself.

A cool hand wraps around my forearm and I turn my head, tilting it back to see that Mia is looking down at me. She has a small smile playing on her lips and it’s clear that she wants to hear my question.

“Why?” I ask.

“Why?”

Nodding, I lick my lips. “Why didn’t Roman stalk me himself? Why did Erin pretend to be in love with Massimo, why was she the one running around and emailing him all these years? If Roman is stupid enough to try and kill a Street Boss’ wife in daylight, in the middle of the street, why did he hide for five years? Why?”

“It’s a good question,” Gavino mumbles.

“And why is Erin so freely giving us all of this information?” Mia asks. “If it was me, and I’d been hiding and being sneaky for five years, I would not freely give up anything, especially my lover.”

“Is Roman even alive anymore? Have you found his wife, his children?” I ask.

Gavino jerks his chin as his eyes flick from Mia to me, then over to Massimo. “This is why we don’t let women in the famiglia,” he grunts.

“And why is that?” Mia snaps.

Gavino’s lips twitch into a smile, it reaches his eyes and I have to admit, he looks downright gorgeous when his entire face smiles that way.

“Because you’re too smart.” He chuckles, taking me away from my thoughts of his looks.

“Where is Roman?” Gavino asks.

Erin’s eyes widen, she crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head a couple of times. Clearly over this back and forth game, Gavino closes the distance between them. I catch the glint of something in his right hand and I watch as he reaches for the back of Erin’s head and wrenches it back.

I gasp when Gavino lifts his opposite hand up and there is a knife in it, a knife that he now has pressed against Erin’s neck. One wrong move and her skin will be opened, it will slice along her taut throat and she’ll bleed out in seconds.

“I’ll only ask one more time. Without any real valuable information, your life is just as invaluable to me.”

Erin growls but doesn’t pull away from him. She doesn’t even flinch. “Roman is dead. He killed himself when Massimo was released. Said he knew that he would be caught. It was inevitable, because while your men may slack, Massimo would not relent.”

“What the fuck is the point of all of this?” I snap.

Erin laughs, her body shaking slightly, her neck beginning to bleed from Gavino’s hold of the blade against her throat.

“Maybe the point is that she’s fucking insane?” Mia asks. “Or maybe, it was never about Roman and all of that is just to throw us off.”

Erin’s gaze flicks to a couple different faces around the room, then stops on Brando who has been extremely quiet for a long while. Arlo, Mia, and Massimo all three turn around to