Page 71 of Because I Need You
“I haven’t seen you around with any other women,” Loren said.
“You haven’t seen me around at all, dickhead.”
He chuckled. “I’m just saying, it seems like you haven’t gotten bored of her.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” My jaw twitched. They were goading and I knew it and still I couldn’t stop them from getting to me. “Can we please stop talking about Isabel?”
“Whoa.” Tony, the fucking quiet one, looked at me through the rearview. “The motherfucker said please. Hell is freezing the fuck over.”
I raised a middle finger at all of them.
“He’s not wrong,” Dean said.
My head whipped around. “I thought you were above this petty shit.”
“I never said I was above anything.” He looked amused. “This chick has gotten to you.”
This chick. “Fuck you, Russo.” I turned back around, closing my eyes as he chuckled behind me. “For the record, I never said I wasn’t fucking anyone else.”
Thankfully, that response seemed to work. Dean changed the subject and went back to the matter at hand. We needed to find the warehouse with the weapons since those needed to be shipped out ASAP. I needed to find the one with alcohol, since I needed to stock up my clubs. Dean needed whatever the fuck Dean needed for his gambling facilities. Loren needed whatever he was selling on the black market. Dominic, well, Dominic was basically coming along for the ride since he was Loren’s right hand and lowkey enforcer, though Loren would never refer to Dom as an enforcer. No one really would unless you saw him in action. The kid looked like a fucking runway model. A runway model full of tats, but a model, nevertheless. He was a stealthy motherfucker, too. By the time you saw him, you were practically dead. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe anyone who told me.
Originally, I’d suggested we split up to search the warehouses, but Dean shot that down quickly. He’d said if the Russians, or the Irish, were sniffing around and only saw one of us, we’d go down, but they didn’t have the balls to kill all of us at the same time. Unless Silvio hired the hit. Then, they’d gladly do it. Snake ass Silvio. He probably wouldn’t have a problem taking us all down at the same time. It hadn’t yet been confirmed, but I was almost positive he was the one sniffing around for the keys, sending men to tie up Isabel. Sending men to her bar. Maybe my father was right, after all. Maybe I should’ve fucked his daughter so I could slap that in his face. I could’ve lied, of course, but the poor girl didn’t deserve that. Nor did her mother. Silvio should be thanking whatever higher power he chose to believe in for the women in his life every night before he went to bed, because it was out of respect for them that he was still breathing.
“You going to the club tonight?” Dom asked.
“I should. I have a shit ton of work to catch up on.”
“You’re not going to stay open long if the liquor isn’t in one of these warehouses,” Loren said.
Fuck. He wasn’t wrong. Charles had been importing liquor from the Caribbean and Russia for me. It was another thing to worry about. The operation was a big one. Whoever took over that seat would have it made, though. None of us had discussed it. We should’ve, but we were kind of walking on eggshells about it. No one wanted to be the asshole to say “vote for me. I’d be better than the rest of you.”
“Fuck,” I said, eyes still closed. “The liquor isn’t here.”
“How do you know?” Dom asked.
“He has a warehouse in Brooklyn. He has a rum bar in Queens.” It really didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.
“Is it near the docks?” Loren asked.
“Looks that way.” I opened my eyes and clicked my phone, turning it for him to see.
“God damn it. I guess we’re going to Brooklyn tonight. If the alcohol is there, the weapons will most likely be there. We still have to check out this warehouse though.” He lifted his phone to his ear, probably to call Flynn and check if he had a plane here. “Fuck Charles for this. Cat’s going to fucking murder me for having to cancel our anniversary dinner.”
I scoffed, closing my eyes again. I guess I wouldn’t be seeing Isabel tonight, after all. It was probably for the best anyway. It would give us both time to process whatever the fuck this was. She’d said she didn’t want to give me everything because she was afraid I’d leave her with nothing. She’d said she was alone as it was, which meant that unless I was willing to give her everything, I had to try to respect that. Still, I couldn’t not have her. My entire life I’d gotten easy pussy, which wasn’t to say anything bad about the women who gave it to me, but I’d never really had to chase anyone down. I’d grown up my father’s son, my last name alone, preceded me. That wasn’t a good thing in a police precinct or a court, but from a woman’s standpoint, it meant money, trips, and good dick. Of course, the only one I was trying to chase was making it harder than it needed to be, but that was okay. I’d have her secrets and I’d have her body. My phone buzzed on my lap, and I looked down to see Mike’s name on the screen. Mike usually sent texts. He hated phones. I answered quickly.
