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I rub a hand over my face, and then glance back at the table.
"The De Luca’s have been expanding," Matt says, leaning forward on his elbows. "They’ve been running up against our people in the southside, and we can’t let them have it."
"No, we can’t," I say, agreeing. The southside is our bread and butter, the place we’ve been running business and protecting for years. The De Luca’s have been encroaching on the edges, and they’ve taken a few girls, some guns, but so far, nothing big. "What’s causing them to press in?" I frown at the spreadsheets on the table, hard-copies that are smudged and crumpled, but safer to keep it physical than digital.
"No idea," Dani says, and Matt nods in agreement.
"I’m being squeezed too. Lost three of my best guys last week," Gio adds, his voice shadowed with concern. "I think the Carusos are looking to make a power grab, and they’re willing to put my guys in the ground to do it, even if it calls attention from the local fuzz."
I stare down at the papers, and my hands tighten on the edge of the table. Carusos. De Lucas. The Grecos have always ruled strong for years, eating up their territory. They shouldn’t be strong enough to come at us.
Unless someone is giving them something to help them get stronger. That’s insane though. Who would partner with either of them?
"How’s Ricky doing?" I ask Dani, for a change of subject. Her expression lightens somewhat and she sighs.
"Better. I mean, he’s settling in well, isn’t talking back, I think he’s finally learning."
Matt barks out a laugh, Gio shortly after him, and both Dani and me look at them. They shrug, in near unison.
"I don’t think he’ll ever learn, doesn’t matter how many puddles of vomit he needs to clean up," Gio says, and I glance at Matt, closest to Ricky, the brother who knows him best.
"You’d be surprised," Matt says, leaning back in his chair. "He’s actually doing good. I thought he’d try to get out of this, or at least complain the whole time, but he’s been keeping his mouth shut, and the old guy is teaching him. But yeah, he still needs some time to come to his senses, on his own terms."
"Well, the shipping magnate’s son isn’t healing very quickly, but he’s healing at least," Dani says, sounding somewhat mollified.
"What’s his name, again?" I ask.
"Gabe," Dani says. "And he’s not just any shipping magnate’s son. He’s the heir to the whole organization in his own right, from what I hear he started out working the ships as crew, no hand-outs or a free ride of it. My whisper network tells me that the Carusos were looking to marry his daughter off to him, until Ricky set him on fire. They’re not going to be happy about it, and it might have tipped them into making their move." This is all unpleasant news to me, and I take a deep breath. At least it’s doing something for me, keeping my thoughts off of Miss Morrow and...
Ashley Morrow.
The beautiful way she moved under me, the way her lips parted as she cried out. She never whispered my name, but next time she will?—
There will be no next time.
"I’ll talk to Ricky, see what he knows about this marital arrangement. Maybe there’s something more to this." I can’t believe my words, as I say them. "In the meantime, I want you two," I point to Dani and Matt, "to get the street-level guys to pull back. If the De Lucas are encroaching, and the Carusos are going for the whole territory, the best way to avoid them getting anywhere is to make them walk into a trap. I don’t want to lose anymore of our people. Got it?"
All three of them nod, and Gio stands up.
"I’ve got a meeting with a new guy," he says, "we’ll talk later. I’ll get some of my people to see what’s going on with the Carusos, see if anyone is whispering about a marriage. Maybe that shipping magnate was planning on stabbing us in the back." That thought makes me furious, the grip of anger tight in my chest, and when the three of them leave the room, I stand at the windows of my penthouse, looking down at the city below.
"Boss?"
I turn, and one of the men is standing behind me, looking uncertain. He’s dressed in black, with an earpiece, and his suit jacket is buttoned to hide the gun in the holster at his side.
"What?" I say, not even trying to temper my voice.
"You have a guest," he says, and steps aside, letting someone through. My whole body goes tight.
It’s Ashley Morrow, and she’s standing in the living room of my apartment, wearing a dress. It’s pale blue, the skirt flaring out, and it hugs her hips and bust tightly. I’m frozen, my body betraying me as she steps closer, and smiles, nervously. What the hell is she doing here? How did she get up here?
I look at my guard.
"Heather sent her," he says, as if that answers everything. The fuck?
Why the fuck did Ashley Morrow just walk right into my home, my territory, when I’d done everything I could to drive her from my mind for days, and days, and days?
CHAPTER 8
