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“Yes, love, factions.” He leans back in his chair, arms over his chest, not looking at me. “That’s what I’m dealing with. Eversince my father died and I took over, the family’s been slowly splintering apart. I’m keeping it together, but only barely, and now—” He looks at me before pressing his lips tightly together. “That’s why you’re here.”
Our knees brush again. I feel another soft shock on my skin. All the little hairs on my arms stand on end like the room’s filled with static. The way he’s looking at me is just like the way he looked at me yesterday when he barged into my apartment. I should be pissed about that—my head still hurts from banging it on the wall—but there’s a strange thrill underlying my anger.
He stared at me. He reallylookedat me, and I swear, I’ve never liked being seen like that before in my life. But somehow with him, it felt so good, being undressed and naked in front of a man like that, totally vulnerable. He liked it too, I could tell. He couldn’t keep his eyes off me after that, and right now I’m pretty sure he’s picturing me naked again.
“How am I supposed to help with your factions?”
“I’ve been giving it thought. The boys respond to strength and stability, right? And you are an opportunity for both.”
An ugly feeling sinks into my stomach. I don’t like where this is going. “How am I good for both?”
“Your jobs will provide the strength. We’ll hit your former network and take as much of it as we can. That’ll grow our business and bring in more power.”
“Okay, but how does that help with stability?”
“It makes the lads happy. Gives them something to do aside from lounge around and talk shit. It also fills their pockets, and that’s always good.” He leans toward me, staring into my face.“But you know families like mine. You’re an Italian and that’s no good, but you’re still smart. I suspect you had more to do with Marco’s alliance than you let on.”
I resist the urge to touch my hair. It’s a nervous tell, and we’re having a dangerous conversation. I don’t want Ronan to realize he’s getting to me. “You’re offering me a partnership?”
“Yes, love, a partnership. We can call it that. You’ll have a place in my family, you’ll bring in more work, and we’ll both prosper. How does that sound?”
It sounds like he’s not telling me everything. There are only so many former Santoro Capos hanging around Chicago and only so many jobs we can pull on them before we run out. Once that happens, what use am I to him?
He’s talking about stability and family and bringing me into all that, and I can’t forget that there are always ulterior motives.
It’s still tempting. I need the work, that’s for sure, and I desperately miss being a part of something. This isn’t my father’s organization and it never will be, and I’ll never really be a part of the Hayes Group no matter how hard I try, but still.
This is better than nothing.
“You sure you can have an Italian girl on the payroll?” I ask him, only slightly teasing.
“It’s not unprecedented. We’ve got a Turkish cousin, a German accountant, several lawyers of unknown ethnic background.”
“Some of the cousins won’t like it,” I point out.
He leans closer. I think he’s going to touch my face, but he keeps his hands to himself. I wish he wouldn’t.
“Good, I hope they do,” he says softly, grinning like a wolf. “Because once they start to complain, I’ll know exactly who the problems are, and we can take care of them together.”
I see him then, the man hidden under the layers of sarcasm and jokes, the sharp-toothed animal born and bred in a crime family like this one, the killer and the beast, and I can’t help but feel a spark of something ignite between us.
“All right then, but only if it’s a temporary thing. I’m not pledging my life to you.”
“Not yet, at least.” He gets up and heads back around the desk, putting it between us, transforming back into the boss. “All right then, Ms. Santoro, let’s start talking business before my next meeting arrives.”
Chapter 11
Valentina
My apartment feels small and way too quiet after the noise of Ronan’s family. I put on music to fill the silence but that only helps a little bit. I never noticed how isolated I’ve become, and it’s starting to grate against my nerves.
Back in the day, I was outgoing. I had friends at school, I went to parties, I even dated a few guys for a while before my dad inevitably scared them away. But as I got deeper into the family business, my social world got smaller until almost everyone I saw on a given day was in the Famiglia.
I can look back and see how isolating that was, especially now that I don’t have anyone left.
I throw myself into work instead. I don’t go crawling through the dirt like I did last time, but I poke around online for as much information on the Capos on my list as I can. Marco taught me a lot of this computer stuff—he’s a bastard, but he’s also one of the most talented tech guys I’ve ever met, and I guess some of that filtered into my brain despite my best efforts.
It takes all day, but in the end, I settle on two men worth checking out: Rocco Ferrero and Matteo Ricci.
