My phone rang, and though I didn't want to be rude, I had to check who it was. My uncle Lorenzo’s name flashed on the screen.
"Excuse me," I said as I stood. "I?—"
Andro waved a hand "It's fine. Take it."
I took a few steps away, I wasn't expecting privacy. There was no way I was going to be allowed to be alone in Andro's home. He wasn't dumb, and neither was I.
"Hello, Uncle," I said. "I don't mean to rush you, but I’m with Mr. Ferrini right now."
"Really? This won't take long. We've finalized the purchase of an abandoned strip mall about sixty miles from where you are."
"Okay." I wasn't sure how that was relevant to me. I knew we owned property all throughout the nation; it was one of the ways we laundered money and also allowed us to have multiple places we could stash bodies. Living or dead.
"There are some squatters we want removed. We'd rather not engage with the police."
"Ah. I can handle that." It wasn't my usual gig, but I was likely the only one around, and it would save them from hiring local or flying someone out.
"Great. let me know when you have it taken care of and I'll send out the cleaning crew."
"Copy that."
I didn't bother asking him to send me the details. The address would be in my email momentarily.
I hung up the phone and turned back to Andro and Dom.
"I take it your family needs some clean-up on the property they've purchased just off route 12?"
Dom held back a laugh, which he covered with a cough.
"How did you..."
Andro smiled. "There isn’t anything that happens in my territory that I don't know about."
With the way he stared at me just then, and then he slid his gaze over to Dom, I knew we weren't hiding jack shit. Did we come clean now? Would it matter? Perhaps Andro was just toying with us, and soon we'd get the ultimatum.Break up or else.
Or maybe our punishment had already been decided and this warehouse trip was a trap.
I snuck a glance at Dom. His face was a mask, but I knew he understood what was happening.
We'd been found out. Andro probably knew before we even stepped onto the property.
"Go handle that task you've been given. Take Dom with you. You won't need backup, but call it a shadow opportunity. Maybe you two can learn something from one another."
11
DOMINIC
Andro might not have realized it, or maybe he did, but he’d just given me the perfect opportunity to see my mate at work. I'd been obsessed with the idea of seeing Carmine in action ever since seeing him take down Webb. I hadn't even seen much that night, just the aftermath of his work, but I did look through the file that Cord gave me. My mate's work was impressive and extensive. I wanted to watch.
"So, how are we going to do this?" I asked. We were halfway through our drive, and we'd been quiet for most of it. Both of us were processing the fact that Andro likely knew about us. Which meant Cord also knew. Our time together before we had to face the consequences was a ticking time bomb.
It was only a matter of time before his uncle found out, and then all hell would break loose.
"Depends. If they are kids, we'll scare them a little and get rid of them. If they are drug addicts, we'll drop them off at the nearest clinic."
"And if they are gang members or other low-life types?"
Carmine leaned his head back on the headrest and turned toward me. "That's when things get fun." His smile turned wicked, and a shot of lust coursed through my veins. I resisted the urge to put a hand to my hardening dick. I thought I kept my emotions under lock and key, but Carmine must’ve seen something in them because he smiled, and his gaze slid down my body.
