Underboss (With Me in Seattle Mafia 1)

“I don’t get it.” I straighten my dress and return my gun to its leg holster. Carmine picks up the knife and wipes it free of prints, then opens the other crypt. I walk over to look. “His wife.”

“She doesn’t look as good as he does.”

The skin on her face is mostly gone, leaving her teeth showing. I check the date.

“She’s been dead twenty years longer. They didn’t embalm then.”

He tosses the knife in with her and closes the top.

“You know the most interesting things, sweetheart. You were saying?”

“I don’t get it,” I continue. “He didn’t know that Rich was dead. It wasn’t a secret. You and I were at the funeral. If he was following us like he said, he would have seen us there.”

“Maybe he was off work that day,” Carmine says with a shrug and walks over to the door. “I don’t really care. He’s not following us now.”

He opens the metal gate, and we step out, much to the surprise of a young couple currently walking around through the cemetery.

“Oops.” I grin and wipe my mouth, then wink up at Carmine. “Finally checked that one off the bucket list.”

Carmine laughs and pulls me away, just as the young woman gasps.

“Never a dull moment with you, is there?”

“Nope. And you’re welcome.”

Chapter 15

~Carmine~

“You really should come in with me,” Nadia says as she treads water in the crystal-blue pool. We’ve been at the resort in Cannes, on the French Riviera, for five days. We went from sightseeing and walking all over Paris to lazy days by the pool and eating all of the food in sight.

It’s all about balance.

“I’m happy to sit here and watch,” I reply. Nadia just shakes her head and starts swimming back and forth. We’re not alone here at the pool since it’s open to all resort visitors. But because it’s the middle of the week, it’s not overly crowded, either.

I’m sitting on a lounge chair, similar to the one that Nadia was sitting in that day that I found her in Miami all those months ago.

But so much has changed since then.

Finished with swimming, she moves over to the infinity wall and stares out at the water beyond.

The view here is stunning. We’ve spent quite a bit of time on the balcony of our penthouse suite, enjoying the sunsets.

It won’t be long before we’re back home, immersed in all of the responsibility that comes with our lives.

But for now, we’re simply enjoying our vacation. Together.

I take a sip of the fruity drink that Nadia ordered for me and watch as the woman turns from her view and gives me a smile as she swims through the water.

Her eyes widen in surprise, and I lean forward, wondering if she needs my help.

“Oh, crap,” she mutters, and as she walks up the steps and out of the pool, her bikini top is in her hands.

And her breasts are bare and on display.

“You’d best cover yourself.”

“The damn clasp broke,” she says. “And I liked this suit. Oh, well, I brought another one.”

“Put something on, Nadia.”

She looks up and frowns. “We’re in France. Trust me, no one cares that I’m topless.”

“I care.”

She tips her head to the side. “Seriously, it’s no big deal, Carmine.”

“Put something on, or we’ll go to the room.”

She simply sits on the chair, leans back, and tips her face up to the sun, her small breasts out for everyone to see.

“No.”

I press my lips together in frustration. “Nadia.”

“Carmine,” she says lazily and reaches for her drink. “I’m a grown woman. It’s not illegal to be topless poolside in France. So, I’m going to sit here. Topless.”

“For fuck’s sake.” I grab her black cover-up, toss it over her, and lift her into my arms. I don’t miss the man across the pool, watching us.

He’ll be dealt with later.

“What in the hell are you doing?”

I don’t answer. I simply carry her to the elevator, and when we reach the top floor, I stride into our room.

She’s glaring at me now.

I couldn’t care less.

“You’re such a fucking caveman,” she growls. “I didn’t do anything wrong, Carmine.”

“Stop talking.” I set her on the floor and then pin her against the wall. I take her hands in mine and lift them over her head with one of mine. With the other, I worry a nipple between my fingers. “If you think I’ll sit back and let you sit out there on display, for everyone to see, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Let me—”

“I said, stop talking.” I drag my nose over the shell of her ear, breathing her in. My fingers pinch the nipple, just a little harder. “This, right here, is mine. Only for me to see.”

She whimpers when I move over to the other side and pay that nipple the same attention.

“No one gets the pleasure of seeing this but me.”