lock the doors, then climb the steps toward the front entrance.
The door opens immediately, Paul, Gavino’s driver, is there, his eyes flicking over me. “He’s waiting,” he announces as he stands to the side.
Arching a brow, I hurry toward Gavino’s office. He’s sitting behind his desk, Arlo at his side leaning against the wall. I’m surprised to see that Salvatore Junior is sitting in one of the chairs across from the desk.
“Well, what the fuck is going on?” I ask. Not used to seeing so many men in for what I thought was a simple last minute meeting.
Gavino snorts. “Sit,” he offers with a jerk of his chin.
I walk over to the empty seat next to Salvatore and sink down, straightening my legs out in front of me.
“The Columbians are no longer an issue,” Gavino explains. Arching a brow, I wait for him to expand on his declaration. He clears his throat as we all silently wait for him to continue. “A group of our soldiers along with the Savage Beast MC took them out, all but the oldest son. We have one of the daughters and the Beasts have the other.”
“Who has her?” I ask.
Gavino’s lips twitch. “Benicio does. He’s keeping her, I didn’t ask questions.”
I want to ask why Benicio has this woman, but I don’t. It isn’t my business. Gavino would tell me if I needed to know. That’s the thing, you never question a Boss and you don’t ever attempt to question, the Boss. Not when it comes to his decisions, especially when they do not involve you.
“What happens now?” Arlo asks.
Gavino’s lips turn up into a full-on smile. “That problem is now eliminated. We breathe easy until the next shit show arrives.”
“The oldest kid is still free, so it’s not completely eradicated, right? What happens with our supply?” I ask, knowing that the men are still selling and their monthly totals are only increasing, not decreasing.
With a chuckle, Gavino shrugs a shoulder. “We can do nothing but wait for him to make his presence known. We have men searching for him, but he’s gone underground, it could be years before he rears his ugly head again. As for the supply, Dragon assures me that he has it all taken care of. Deliveries should only be delayed by a week or two. Nothing major.”
I let out a long exhale. “Thank fuck,” I grunt.
“Massimo,” Gavino calls.
Lifting my eyes to him, I wait for what else he has to say. “You’re my Street Boss, yeah?”
Dipping my chin in a nod, I clear my throat. “Yeah.”
“I expect you to assure the men that this is only a small hiccup. Their product will return in abundance, yeah? Also, I would like to make sure that collections are still happening without issue. Tell the Capos that we’re raising those by two percent.”
Nodding my head, I take my phone out and make a couple of notes. I’m sure a few of the Capos will be pissed about the increase, but it’s not their call. The prices haven’t been raised in years, so the businesses shouldn’t complain too much. If they do, we’ll just have to take care of shit, our way.
“Anything else?” I ask as I finish up my notes.
He chuckles, his eyes shifting from Arlo to me before they roam over my face. I feel as though he and Arlo know something about me, as if they have a secret that they’re not letting me in on.
“Not yet,” Gavino says with a smirk.
I stay in the meeting while he finishes going over shit, the entire time I think about Pippa. I need to forget she exists. I can’t. Her dark glossy hair, her big blue eyes, her curvy body.
Beyond the way she makes my cock hard, there’s also her smile. The way she laughs easily. I want to protect that, keep her laughing forever and I don’t understand why. I shouldn’t give a single fuck about her.
She’s just some fucking girl.
Pippa consumes me. She shouldn’t. It’s wrong. But it feels so fucking right.
Chapter One
ONE YEAR LATER
PIPPA
Aunt Irene narrows her eyes at me. She’s always so fucking pissed off at me. Life with her hasn’t been easy, but when I turned eighteen, something shifted. It didn’t take me long to figure it out, though.
At eighteen her funds from the government stopped coming in for her to take care of me and although the money from the famiglia is more than enough, she wants more. More. More. More.
“Did you pick a college?” she