“That’s enough. Rocco, go. Lisa, clean up and go home.”
When they’re gone, I head back to the kitchen, back to my station, where the meatballs are still unfinished. Vin leans against a counter, his hands in his pockets. He’s watching me, but I can’t look at him.
“Will I see you at the house later?” I ask.
“That’s the plan.” He pauses and clears his throat. “I’ve got some business right now, but is it okay if I come back and get lunch later. Those meatballs look good. Asking because it’syourrestaurant.”
I stay focused on the meatballs, hoping he doesn’t see the smile I can’t stop from spreading across my face. “We open at noon.”
11
Vin
Ifish a crumpled pack of cigarettes from my back pocket, the cellophane crackling as I tap one free and light it. Matti works over one of Aurelio’s men, blood spattered across the concrete, as I exhale smoke into the air between us and watch.
This should be satisfying, but it’s not. This war is taking a fucking toll. Usually, there’s nothing I love more than pummeling the shit out of some asshole stupid enough to pledge loyalty to my father instead of me and my brothers. Today? I can’t keep my fucking head in the game. I’m distracted.
Sophie is distracting.
Matti hits the guy with a vicious knee to the gut, and the asshole crumples groaning, his breath whistling through broken teeth.
Grabbing him by his sweat-soaked shirt, Matti hauls him up and gets in his face. “Where the fuck is your boss, bitch? Where’s Aurelio hiding?”
It’s the food. Has to be. Really good food is just as good as really good pussy, and Sophie’s food is in-fucking-credible. That Opalescent basil pesto, thosesfogliatellethat practically fucking melt in your mouth—yeah, it’s just the food that’s got me fucked up.
“VIN!”
I snap back to the present. Matti is staring at me, the guy hanging from his grip like a rag doll. “Bro, do you have anything you want to ask him?”
I shake my head, taking a long drag. “You’ve got it.”
Matti squints at me, that fucking look that says he wants to run his mouth. I wave him back toward our guest, and Matti slams him against the brick wall hard.
Could be the ass too. God knows I’m an ass man, and Sophie’s ass is a fucking masterpiece, huge and round and fuckable. And those shorts—Jesus Christ. Any red blooded straight male would be distracted by that woman’s ass.
But honestly, otherwise, she’s not my type at all. So maybe it’s just that I haven’t fucked my usual type in a few days that is making Sophie’s ass live in my head rent free.
The guy’s head lolls forward, his consciousness slipping. Matti’s questions are bouncing off him unanswered, so I put my cigarette out on his cheek to wake him up.
He screams as the red embers blacken his skin and I smirk, flicking the butt off his forehead.
“That woke you up, didn’t it, fucker?” Matti laughs.
I grip his face, forcing his glassy eyes to meet mine. Snot, tears, and spit dribble onto my hand and I grimace, letting go and wiping the mess on his shirt. “Now answer the mother fucking question: where the fuck is Aurelio? Where’s he hiding?”
The guy coughs, spitting blood. His words come out garbled, slurred. “I—I don’t know where he is. Nobody’s seen him forweeks. But he’s—” he coughs and spits blood. “He’s gunning for you. All of you. Especially you, Vin.”
“No shit,” I mutter, tapping another cigarette out of my pack and lighting it. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“He’s—” The guy gasps, trying to pull air into his lungs. “He’s bringing in reinforcements. Old school guys.”
Matti and I trade a glance. What the fuck does that mean? Aurelio killed all the old school guys early on when he took over. There’s no one left, so this is either a lie or he’s talking about non-Italians that Aurelio knew back in the day.
“Who? Who is he bringing in? You mean he’s working with them or they’re working for him?”
The guy hangs his head, blood and snot dripping from his nose. “I don’t know the details except they’re people he knew way back, before you were born. Back when the Bellamortes were running things.”
Matti slaps him awake as he starts to pass out. “Are they working for him or with him?”
