look?”
He doesn't answer, instead opting to walk out the door.
“In the closet is an outfit Giana left for you for today.”
“How did I look?” I ask again, not letting him off the hook. Screw that. This is a terrible start for our marriage. Whatever we do right now is going to affect our dynamics for life.
He turns over his shoulder. His gaze starts at my feet and lifts until his eyes meet mine.
I feel naked, even despite the towel.
“Beneath me,” he answers, and then he turns and goes.
My stomach bottoms.
I turn to look at myself in the mirror.
Catching my wounded expression staring back.
What a dick.
In my life, I have met plenty of awful people. But never have I met a man who could be a bigger asshole than my husband.
This should be fun.
9
Matteo
* * *
The first thing I have to do is meet with my men. There is a shipment coming in tonight. It’s not a big shipment, but it’s necessary. Extra guns. Extra ammo. I might not be able to accompany them. It all depends on how tonight goes. I find my man in the surveillance room. All the screens are on on the monitor. Unlike my warehouse in the city, acres of land surround this estate.
No one is getting in unless I want them to.
“What is the ETA on the boat?”
“Cristian says the boat should be docking around one.”
“What time are you meeting the in-laws?” Lorenzo smirks. He is way too entertained by my fresh nuptials.
I give him a look, the type of look that says fuck off. He lifts his hands in surrender.
“Sorry, Boss,” he says. “But, I mean, c’mon.”
“It should be fun…” I trail off. That is the understatement of the year.
It should be fun. I can’t think of anything in the world that sounds worse. But the shit deserves it. Fuck, if only I knew where my cousin was hiding. I love to kill two birds with one stone.
However, he’ll find out soon enough. The moment the governor realizes I have him by the balls, he will call Salvatore. I’ll make sure of it. To think my cousin believes he can go around me to get port access by hitting up the governor of New Jersey.
“I need you to call Tobias,” I tell Lorenzo. “We need to reschedule the drugs.”
“That’s not going to be a problem. With the new guns, are we going to war again?”
“I prefer not to. I prefer we find my cousin's location and kill the son of a bitch before it escalates to that. But seeing as we have no leads . . .”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Lorenzo says.
“What do you mean?”
“We have her.”
“And you think my cousin genuinely likes her? My cousin doesn’t give a shit about anyone.”
“No, but your cousin cares about taking over New York. If he thinks he still has an in, it could work to flush him out.”
I cross my arms and think about what he says as I start to pace.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
He might be on to something.
It might be a good idea to use her as some sort of bait. But by the looks of her this morning in her bathroom, I’m not 100% sure she would willingly help.
I can ask her, or I can tell her. I didn’t find out exactly what her father was hanging over her head, but I can and then I can use that as a means to get her cooperation. I can even make it seem like she’s working with her father. That she is working to take me down and then by doing that she can maybe find out the location of my cousin.
“It’s a solid idea.” I nod my head.
“Will you tell her?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’m going to see what happens tonight. We need to find out about her past. Figure out what happened and why her family is paying a substantial amount of money to her ex-nanny.”
“I will get on it right away. I’ll get in touch with Jaxson Price again. If anyone can find out, it would be him.”
“Offer him double to expedite the request.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Won’t he always expect it?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what he expects. He’s the best, and I want the information now. I have no problem paying if it’s worth it.”
That is the reason I am in charge. I don’t nickel and dime anyone. I pay what something is worth, and into that equation I allocate time too. What