Underboss (With Me in Seattle Mafia 1)

“Do you think he hurts her?”

Carmine’s eyes darken. I know this is a sore spot for him.

And it’s something I respect.

“I don’t know.” It’s an honest answer. “But you can bet that I’m going to ask her. I didn’t like that he told her what she could and couldn’t eat.”

“I caught that,” Carmine says. “And he didn’t like your response.”

“How many fucks do you think I give about that?”

“Less than none.”

“You’d be right. Oh, and there was something else.”

He opens his mouth for a bite of my ice cream.

“I listened in on a conversation between Annika and Rafe in the kitchen.”

“Busy little thing, weren’t you?”

I ignore that and keep talking. “Did you know that your brother and Annika had a thing going? That they wanted to marry, but our fathers wouldn’t allow it?”

Carmine’s face blanks in surprise, and then he blinks rapidly.

“No fucking way.”

“I heard it with my own two ears.”

“He would have told me.”

“And I would have said that she would have told me. But here we are, neither of us in the loop, and I know what I heard in that kitchen. He said that it should have been him. And she reminded him that your father said no.”

Carmine swears under his breath. “Jesus. Why didn’t he say something?”

“I think it’s time I catch up with Annika for lunch. Just us girls. We have a lot of talking to do.”

Chapter 10

~Nadia~

I’m loaded down with greasy burgers, fries, and shakes from another of my favorites here in Denver. Yes, I’m going to gain sixty-five pounds if I keep this up, but there’s a method to my calorie-filled madness.

This is Annika’s favorite meal in the whole world. And if I want to get information out of her, it won’t hurt to feed her something extra delicious.

I walk into the medi-spa and smile at Ivie behind the front desk.

“Hey,” she says with a bright smile. “You’re right on time. The last patient just left, and Annika and I are officially free.”

She clicks the mouse on the computer, then hurries over and locks the door.

“Annika is in her office, but we can have lunch in the conference room.”

“Perfect. I brought a ton of food.”

“You always were my favorite,” Ivie says as she winks and knocks on Annika’s door. “Nadia’s here with food. Come join us.”

“I’ll be right there,” Annika calls back.

“She’s been in a mood today,” Ivie says as she opens the door to the conference room. I set the bags of food on the table. “I’ve hardly seen her at all, and when I asked her what was going on, she blew me off. Very not like her. So, I’m glad you’re here. Between the two of us, we’ll get it out of her.”

“I have plenty to get out of her,” I reply and then sigh. “I hate feeling so disengaged from you guys. I miss you.”

“You’re here. We talk and hear from you. But we miss you, too. We need to be better about seeing each other more often.”

“Agreed. I wonder what’s going on with Annika.” But I know. It’s that asshole, Rich.

Ivie and I unpack the bags, and I just start to suck on the straw of my vanilla shake when Annika walks in.

I immediately know that something isn’t right.

She doesn’t look up as she sits in one of the comfortable chairs and starts unwrapping her burger.

“Thanks for lunch,” she says.

“Look at me,” I order her.

“Don’t be silly—”

“Look at me, A.”

She looks up, and I want to punch the wall. “What the hell happened?”

“What do you mean?”

Ivie leans in to examine Annika’s face. “How did I miss it? Annika, you have a black eye. You tried to cover it up, but holy shit. What’s going on?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Annika tries to laugh and pops a fry into her mouth. “I tripped while walking down the stairs, and—”

“No.” My voice is hard and low and leaves no room for argument. “What. Happened. To you?”

With her eyes still trained on her fries, she shrugs a shoulder.

“I’ve been begging you to talk to me for days,” Ivie says. Her voice shakes with emotion. “You can trust us. You know that.”

“You’re the only two I can trust,” Annika whispers.

“Tell us the truth. Let us help.” I reach over and take her hand in mine.

“I don’t know who he is anymore,” she begins. “As soon as we got married, everything changed. It was like a switch flipped, and he went from being a fun, laid-back man to the devil himself.”

She rubs her forehead in agitation.

“Suddenly, he wants to control everything. Even what I eat. When he said last night that I should stick with salad, in front of all of you, I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. I was so embarrassed.”

“He said that you should get to see your family once in a while,” I prompt her. “What was that about?”