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I had no idea what kind of operation the Bratva ran, since they were every bit—if not more so—tight-lipped as the mafia was about their dealings.
But if they were getting bigger and more powerful around here, I could only hope that they weren’t doing all the harmful shit.
“What kind of moves?” I asked. “Into other lines of work?”
“That’s the thing. I can’t get a read on it. And Renzo wants me to look into it. But if I start sticking my nose in their business…”
“They’ll be quick to cut it off for you,” I finished.
“Exactly,” he agreed, nodding to the guy behind the counter, who was bringing over some of the order he’d placed before we’d gotten there. He’d probably bought the place out of chicken, meatball, and eggplant parm hot subs.
It was the first get-together at Renzo’s since the last one I’d been to, lying to everyone I was supposed to be honest with. For a woman who wanted nothing to do with me.
The fucked up part of it was, though, the main reason I wanted to go was to see her.
“Can I get you anything else?” a woman asked, appearing out of nowhere behind the counter, flashing a megawatt smile at me.
“That’s it,” I said, taking one of the boxes as Elian passed the cash to the man, then grabbed the other. “What?” I asked, feeling Elian’s gaze on my profile as we moved out onto the street.
“That woman was eye-fucking you, and you didn’t even notice, let alone get her number,” he said, brows scrunched.
I’d barely even clocked her existence, to be honest.
“We have to get the food to Renzo’s place while it’s still hot,” I said, shrugging it off.
“I once saw you jump out of a moving cab to talk to a woman sitting in an outdoor cafe.”
She’d been a fun weekend.
I likely still had her number somewhere.
And what I should have been doing was finding it, calling her, and getting lost in another woman.
Somehow, though, the idea held absolutely no appeal.
I don’t think I’d ever in my adult life gone this long without spending a night with a woman. Maybe that explained how restless and unfocused I’d been.
“Just wasn’t interested,” I said. “She wasn’t my type.”
“First, she was beautiful,” Elian said, rolling his eyes. “Second, woman is your type.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. All shapes, sizes, ages, I wasn’t picky. I’d always been more drawn to energy than just looks anyway.
“Are you… seeing someone?” Elian asked as I started walking, hoping he would take the hint and let it drop.
“Me?” I asked, shooting him a raised brow.
“I know. I normally wouldn’t even consider asking you that,” he said. “But something is… off. Even thought so at the last gathering.”
“I’m not seeing anyone,” I said, glad when we got to Renzo’s building, knowing there would be others inside to talk to who wouldn’t be asking me questions I didn’t want to answer.
My gaze scanned the crowd as we moved into the apartment, telling myself I was just getting a feel for who was around, but I knew I was looking for Cinna.
But she wasn’t there.
Not as the music started and most of the food was eaten. Not even when it seemed every other capo had arrived.
Panic was something that slithered up my spine, then wrapped around my throat, tightening with each passing moment.
