Underboss (With Me in Seattle Mafia 1)

“Denver is supposed to be neutral ground for all of the families,” Shane reminds me.

“Yeah, well, that went in the toilet when someone tried to kill Pop.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Shane says. “See you at the office.”

“See you.”

I hang up and turn to Nadia, who’s watching me closely.

“Shane’s going to meet us in Denver. He’s been at his place in the mountains for the past couple of weeks, doing some digging of his own.”

“Why does he have a place in Colorado?”

I tilt my head to the side. “Why shouldn’t he?”

“Denver is neutral ground. We all have offices there, but no one lives there.”

“Your cousin and her husband do,” I remind her. “Just because your father isn’t based there full time doesn’t mean he doesn’t have connections to the city. Besides, Shane doesn’t live in Denver. He lives in a small mountain town called Victor, several hours outside the city.”

“Shane’s been there this whole time?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “He’s a grown man and can live anywhere he likes, Nadia. Shane likes solitude. The mountains suit him. And he’s within driving distance to several airports and can get in and out easily.”

“Hmm,” is all she says as the doorbell rings. “Oh, I bet that’s our stuff.”

She hurries to the door, and sure enough, it’s the bellman with all of our purchases on a cart. He unloads them onto the dining table big enough to seat eight, then leaves. Nadia is all smiles as she starts digging into bags and boxes wrapped with ribbon.

“I’m so glad I got these shoes,” she says as she slips out of her sneakers and tries on her new Dior heels.”

“What’s your problem with my brothers?” I ask while she’s in a good mood and on a new shoe high.

“I don’t know them well,” she replies. “Oh, I forgot about this jacket. I know it’s summer, but it’ll be perfect for fall.”

“But you don’t like Shane having property in Colorado.”

She shrugs a shoulder as she checks out her new purchase in a full-length mirror. “It’s just all suspect. Shane has a place near Denver. This mess started in Denver.”

“Your cousin lives in Colorado,” I remind her once more. “All of the families have offices there. Just because Shane spends more time there than most doesn’t make him the cause of all of this.”

“I know.” She sighs and turns back to me. “And I also know that you care about him, and you’d defend him to the ground.”

“Every fucking day,” I agree, frustration a bubble in my throat. “If we’re all going to be judged by our taste in real estate, Annika and her husband could be the cause of all this, too. The first attack happened at their wedding, after all.”

“Oh, come on.” She turns to me as she lets the jacket fall off her arms and catches it with her fingers. “Rich is an ear, nose, and throat doctor. He’s no mobster. And he certainly isn’t a drug dealer.”

“Annika?”

Her eyes flash in temper and annoyance.

Good, we’re on equal footing.

“Annika has worked her ass off to stay out of the family business. She wants no part of it. None of it. She’s a damn good doctor. Hell, I’m more likely to be the one behind this than she is.”

I cock a brow.

“No. It’s not me.”

“Well, it’s not me, either. At least, we’ve established that. Let’s get to Denver in the morning. We can plan what happens next then.”

She blows out a breath and reaches for her Chanel shopping bag. “Okay. In the meantime, I’m going to play with my new goodies.”

“Play away, sweetheart.”

* * *

“Rocco.” I smile at my brother as Nadia and I walk into our Denver offices. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Shane called me last night. I want in on the fun.” He nods at Nadia. “Hi.”

“Hello. Rafe.”

My brother rolls his eyes. I don’t know why he doesn’t care for his given name, but he’s always insisted that people call him Rocco, ever since he was a kid.

Of course, Mom refuses to call him anything but Rafe. She named him after one of her favorite characters in a romance novel.

Maybe that’s why he doesn’t like it.

“I have something,” Shane says as he hurries through the door. “And let me just say, it wasn’t easy to get.”

“What is it?” I ask as he sits at the desk and opens his laptop, then starts tapping the keys.

“The waiter from the wedding.” Shane’s brow furrows as he searches the screen. “No one knew who he was. I asked the catering company. They had no record of him. I had to bust into the security camera logs at the resort. And let me just tell you, their security is buttoned down tight. Took me several days to crack the code.

“But once I did, I was able to find some footage of our man. Here.” He points to the screen. “See him? He’s floating through the crowd a bit.”