But why would she do that? What would she get out of it? Revenge on me?
No, she’s not going to hurt her own future. More likely, she’s angling for revenge on Lennon somehow. She’s not going to let that shit go.
I’ll have to digest this news.
I grab my water bottle, down half of it, then bring my attention back to my brother, steeling myself. “And the second thing?”
He purses his lips and then blows out a breath. “Lucca, my guy with the day shift watching Lennon, has brought something to my attention.” He shifts uncomfortably. “He thinks someone else is following her.”
I freeze. “Why does he think that?”
“There’s been a black Mercedes he’s noticed way too often in her proximity to be a coincidence. He wants to know if he should engage?”
My skin prickles beneath the layer of sweat. The Beast roars at the thought of her in harm’s way. With a frustrated growl, I chuck the water bottle across the room and begin to pace. “No. Tell him to text me a photo of the car and license plate. I’ll take care of it.”
“All right.”
At his tempered tone, I stop and stare at him. He looks like he wants to say something else I’m not going to like. I sigh and rake a hand through my hair. “Spit it out.”
He shrugs and gives me a concerned once-over. “You look like shit.”
I huff out a breath.
He moves closer, his eyes softening. “I’m serious, Sandro. You’ve got bags under your eyes bigger than Mother’s shopping sprees. Are you even fucking sleeping?”
The pressure in my chest is increasing. I rub my breastbone roughly. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
“Which will be fucking sooner than later if you don’t fix whatever’s got you fucked up in the head.” He’s ducking his head, trying to catch my eye. “I know you, brother. You’ve handled more than this in New York. What’s going on?” He pauses, the sharp edge fading from his tone as he asks, “It’s Lennon, isn’t it?”
I glance up and know that he sees my pain before I can shutter it.
With a knowing nod, he reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. “L'amore è la più grande stronza di tutte.”
Love is the biggest bitch of all.
***
It’s not really smart for me to participate in the warehouse raids tonight. As head of the outfit, it’s my duty to lead, not die. But I’ve never been able to resist the adrenalin rush of a good ambush. Besides, I need to keep an eye on Zerilli’s men, make sure they’re loyal to us. I’m not sure who to trust yet.
There are three warehouses. Gunnar, Rocco and I are each leading the raid on one. We’ve each got a dozen heavily armed soldiers with us, a mix of our men and Zerilli’s, in case the Bratva have been tipped off by Giada and beefed up their security.
Turns out they didn’t. There were only four guards at each location. Easily dispatched. We loaded a quarter million dollars of product into U-Haul trucks, transferred it all to our own warehouses, and then drove to The Eclipse to celebrate.
Champagne is flowing and the mood is high in the VIP section. I know my men will close down the club, but I decide to leave early. I can’t deal with the memories of Lennon in my office.
Who knew a dead heart could bleed?
Back at the penthouse, I change into workout shorts and hit the gym. As I pummel the bag, my thoughts clear and questions begin to form.
If Giada wasn’t tipping off Toly about the warehouse raids… then what was she doing with him?
I could confront her. Meeting with our enemy is treason. Of course, she would have an excuse ready. Probably say she’s trying to get intel from them or some shit. No, I need to know what she has up that evil little designer sleeve of hers. Because I have a really bad feeling it has to do with getting her revenge on Lennon.
The next morning, I receive updates from my crew about the fallout of the warehouse raids. The Bratva are pissed. Toly beat the shit out of one of our soldiers he caught off guard and gave him a message for me: Stop fucking with our shipments or we’ll make this personal.
I chew on that all day.What does he mean by personal?
Later in the afternoon, I’m in my home office on a conference call with New York to update them on our activities, when my phone buzzes insistently. I glance at it.
