moves to my side of the bed and bends his head, pressing his lips to mine. His mouth lingers for a moment before he leans back and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I murmur softly.
“I hope not,” he rasps. Then he lowers his hand and turns around. I watch as he disappears through the bedroom door and when he’s completely out of sight, I lean my back against the headboard. I replay the last five minutes in my head and pray that I didn’t imagine any of that. When I lift my head, my eyes find the screen on the wall. The two men fill the frame and I inch forward to get a better look at them. One towers over the other, but I can’t make out their faces. The taller one is huge though—I mean Hulk-like huge, but it’s the shorter man who appears to be wearing a leather vest with patches that controls the punches. He’s the one banging on the door. Another man emerges from the truck parked on the circular driveway and he rushes to the Hulk’s side. The big beast of a man sways and the third man who oddly enough is wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night holds him upright.
Curious, I push the covers off my body and throw my legs over the edge of the bed. Spotting one of Rocco’s shirts, I slip my arms through the sleeves. Buttoning it up, I pad out of the bedroom and make my way down the grand staircase. I pause halfway and take a seat on one of the steps as Rocco comes into my view and I watch him forcefully open the door.
“What can I do for you, Parrish?” Rocco asks.
“Rough night, boss?” The man on the other side of the door taunts.
I don’t make out Rocco’s response or what the other guy says after that, but Rocco suddenly straightens. His shoulders square and his hold on the door tightens.
“What challenge might that be?”
“The one I’m about to deliver you,” Parrish sneers. He takes a step closer and I finally get a view of his weathered face. The other guy might be bigger in size, but this man is one scary son of a bitch. I mean if looks could kill, I’d be burying Rocco.
“Vic put you in charge for a reason, Spinelli. More importantly, he sent you to my doorstep for one purpose and that purpose is suddenly clear to me. Vic knew the consequences of his actions, that’s why he made Bianci bring you to my club. It’s why he asked me to stand with you and not against you. This city, my fucking city, is about to become a warzone. You want a place on my streets, you’re gonna have to earn it and do as I say. Your job is to protect Vic’s family, not his organization.”
I force a swallow and move down another step to listen better.
“Nothing else exists for you except Vic’s wife and his daughters. Forget making scores or climbing the ranks—”
“You want to tell me what the fuck is going,” Rocco interrupts. “Because I get the feeling you know something, I don’t.”
“You just do as your told unless I tell you otherwise,” Parrish warns. “You want to be a boss then you need to learn what comes first in this world. You need to know without heart you got nothing, and your family is your fucking heart. You keep them safe, Spinelli. You keep them breathing or so help me God, I’ll rip you from these streets and send you back to Miami with your tail between your legs. Welcome to my city, Spinelli, if you’re a good boy, I’ll share it with you.”
I hold my breath and wait for Rocco to argue with this guy. To put him in a headlock like he did with the Paulie Walnuts lookalike, but he remains silent and freakishly calm. Parrish doesn’t say anything either and soon, Rocco closes the door. He leans his head against it, and I contemplate whether or not I should make myself scarce before he discovers I was eavesdropping.
I take too long, though. He pushes off the door and turns around, his eyes instantly connect with mine.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” I lie.
Totally seeing past the bullshit, he raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms against his chest.
“No?”
“Okay, so maybe I was,” I admit, worrying my lower lip between my teeth.