Ruthless Games

“Yes.” I stare him down. “They won’t fold. Feds will have nothing but a couple of delivery guys, and hell, who knows if they even got their warrants straight? Miles, get a copy of the documents, see if you can work your magic.”

“Yes boss,” he leaves.

“Chase, talk to our guys at the docks. See when the Feds started sniffing around. And for God’s sake, shut the rest of it down. I mean it,” I add, my voice like steel. “We’re hitting pause on everything until this shit’s figured out.”

“But—” he starts to protest.

I silence him with a look. “You heard me. If there’s a mole around here, we’re not going to hand them another bust on a platter. Shut. It. Down.”

Chase sighs, but he nods, and clears out.

“And what’s my homework, boss?” Vance asks with a smirk.

“I don’t fucking care.”

I stride past him, through the club, until I can shove open a back exit and emerge into the fresh air.

Fuck. Fuck.

I pace in the back alleyway, my head spinning. This is the last thing I need right now. I’m so close to getting us out of this, all the seedy deals and illegal shit that have made up the Barretti empire for so long.

I want a clean slate. Not just for me and Lily, but for my crew, too. No more Feds sniffing around, no more risk of prison or violence just to get through another day. I’ve been slowly making my moves in secret for years, we’ve finally broken ground on the development, and now this?

A Fed/Kovak one-two punch. But I won’t go down for the count.

My phone goes off in my pocket, and I pull it out, hoping it’s not more bad news. It’s a text from Lily.

‘Remember, the fundraiser tonight. 8pm.’

Christ, it’s the last thing I need: Putting on a tux and glad-handing a bunch of bigwigs.

But they’re the bigwigs I need. Developers. Bankers. Politicians.

Ian McKenna was only the beginning. Now we’re up and running on the project, I need it to be smooth sailing all the way.

‘Meet you there,’I text back. For a moment, I wish we could blow it off. Go lose myself in her touch and the hot grip of her sweetness, making everything go away.

But I’m Nero fucking Barretti. The buck stops with me. So I put my phone away, go back inside, and start fixing shit. And then I put on a tuxedo, and head over to the party, like this entire empire isn’t hanging in the balance.

“Hey,”Lily greets me by the doors, looking concerned. She’s gorgeous in a floor-length gown, green silk making her hair shine gold. “What happened? Is everything OK?”

“It’s fine,” I reply, nodding to the doorman as we head inside.

“But Chase seemed really stressed,” she keeps pushing. “Is it Agent Greggs, or someone else? Are your guys OK?—”

“I said, it’s fine.” I cut her off, too harsh. “I can’t deal with it here. Let’s just get through tonight.”

Frustration flashes on her face. “I’m supposed to be your partner in this,” she says. “We took vows, remember? Or have they already slipped your mind?”

“Lily.” My voice is warning.

“I just hate it when you shut me out.”

I tense. Why can’t she see that I’m doing this for her own good? The less she knows about the Barretti empire, the better.

Luckily, we’re interrupted by some society types she knows, and she has to quickly hide her mood with a smile. “Robert! Lucinda, so lovely to see you. And for such a good cause!”

I’ve never been glad of the social small talk, but right now, it’s great timing. I grab a glass of wine from a passing waiter and look around. I’m used to being met with scandalized stares and disapproval at a place like this, but I’m surprised to see more people look curious or impressed instead.