Page 85 of The Beast Who Begged Me

“And these four have agreed?” I ask. “To what, exactly?”

“To work for you. Start over with the Cees.” He stops jiggling his leg and sits up straighter. “They know what that means. I made sure.”

I look down at the names. Gallo has written a phone number next to each of them. It’s a surprisingly tidy list for something that could get every man on it killed.

“You know them all personally?” I ask.

“I know them. Worked with every one of them at some point. Orsini probably knows a few of them, too.”

We both look at Dami, who nods. “All four. Worked with them under Seb.”

“Look, I wouldn’t bring you a bunch of assholes I just met yesterday, Don Clemenza,” Gallo sighs. “I know what’s riding on this.”

I smooth out the fold in the paper with my thumb and read the list again. “Tell me about the ones who aren’t on here.”

His gaze slides toward Dami again. “Go on,” Dami says. “You’ve been trying to spit something out since you got in here.”

Gallo wets his lips. “They…don’t want to be Cees. No disrespect, Don Clemenza. But they swore to the Giulianos, and some of them have been Gees longer than Big Gee’s been Boss. They don’t see why they should be the ones to leave.”

I can understand that, but it doesn’t make them any less useless to me. “They want Big Gee removed,” I say. “And someone else in his place.”

“Someone who’ll get the Russians out. Someone who backed Seb, who didn’t just fall in line when Big Gee started to down his own fucking men.” Gallo takes a breath. “Orsini’s name keeps coming up. They reckon if he’d take over⁠—”

“I’m a Clemenza now.” Dami says it before Gallo has finished, flat and final. “You tell them that.”

Gallo opens his mouth, then closes it again. I stay still, looking at the little sheet of paper between us while something warm spreads through my chest.

Men are talking about making Damiano Orsini their Don, giving him all the respect he deserves, and he dismissed it without even thinking about it.

He wants to stay here. With me. Taking my orders, calling me his Boss. I was so worried about the push and pull between us that I failed to account for one very important fact: Dami wants this.

Just as much as I want to be his in every other way.

“You’re not quite a Clemenza yet,” I say, turning to look up at him. “You haven’t taken your vows.”

I was just teasing. Kind of. But his brows draw together. “I’ll take them here and now.” He moves around to face me, as though all that’s been keeping him from getting this settled is the furniture in the way.

He means it. I could point to the rug at my feet and he’d kneel there, in front of Gallo, and swear himself to me. And God, part of me wants to see it, the dark and twisted part of me.

But I promised him I would never make him kneel for me again—and certainly not in front of anyone else. And I won’t turn his vows into a punishment.

“No,” I tell him. “There will be a ceremony. You’ll take your vows properly. As for you, Gallo, you heard the man. You can tell your friends he’s not interested.”

I rise, keeping my eyes on Dami’s for a moment before turning back to Gallo.

“As for these men,” I say, pointing at the notepaper, “I’ll consider them as potential associates. But I’ll promise nothing until we’ve checked their backgrounds and seen how they work. You’ll give Strike Ferraro everything he needs. Who they’ve worked for, who can vouch for them, who they owe money to. I want to know what baggage they’re bringing with them before I give them a place in my Family.”

Gallo stands as well. “Sure. That’s fair.”

“That goes for you, too. You’re still proving yourself as an associate. I’ll tell you when I’m ready to accept your vows.”

He nods, his expression sobering.

I tap the list. “And make certain they understand whose Family it is. They won’t be joining Orsini’s crew and waiting for him to become their Don.”

“Understood.” Gallo nods, more firmly this time. “Anything else, Don Clemenza?”

“Yes.” I rest my knuckles on the list, the ring pressing into the paper. “If any of these men are planning to report back to Big Gee, now would be a good time to tell me. Because you’re vouching for them, Gallo. So you’ll be the first one I come looking for.”