Fragile Longing

Sofia and I entered the hotel lobby together, my hand resting on her hip. She didn’t draw back as she’d done in the mansion, instead, she stayed close to my side, probably to keep up appearances in public. Many of our guests from other cities had stayed in the hotel and were mingling in the lobby, either checking out or talking to each other. They all looked our way the moment we stepped inside. The men tilted their heads in a respectful greeting and the women sent curious glances Sofia’s way.

I accompanied her to the entrance of the Capital Grille where she’d be meeting the women. The head waiter greeted us politely, motioning toward the back of the restaurant where I spotted Mom, Emma, Valentina, Beatrice, and Anna. Their eyes were glued on us.

I turned to Sofia. “I’ll pick you up at two-thirty?” I didn’t want to let Sofia out of my sight for too long. I wouldn’t have trouble staying busy until then. Pietro, Samuel, and Dante were waiting for me in the wine bar for lunch and a quick business chat.

“All right.” She hesitated, then moved closer to me, stood on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. It was over too soon and probably for show like every touch in the last few minutes, but my body flared to attention.

Smiling, she turned and headed for the table. My eyes were drawn to her narrow waist and firm ass. Eventually, I tore my gaze away and strolled to the bar.

Dante, Pietro, and Samuel were already seated around a dark-wood table when I entered and sank down on one of the heavy red leather armchairs.

Dante gave me a terse smile. Pietro and Samuel, however, regarded me with a gleam of murder in their eyes.

“A Primitivo for me,” I told the waiter.

“Good choice,” Pietro said. “It’s my favorite red.”

“Mine, too.”

“So, how are things?” Samuel asked, interrupting his father and me.

I waited for the waiter to set down my glass and took a sip before I answered, “Very well, as expected.” If they thought I’d give them more than that, they had another think coming. I didn’t like to share private details with others, especially not when they weren’t as stellar as I’d hoped they would be.

“Sofia’s in the restaurant with the women, I presume?” Dante asked.

“Yes. I dropped her off.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t mind her lunch date,” Samuel said, watching me closely.

I raised my eyebrows. “Sofia can do as she pleases.” Within the boundaries of our world, of course.

“I’d like to discuss Grigory’s foray into illegal street racing,” Dante said with a pointed look at Samuel, who inclined his head and leaned back in his chair.

“It’s not part of our business model, so I prefer him extending his interest in that direction. Maybe they’ll lose focus on weapons and drugs,” Pietro said.

“It might lead to a conflict with the Camorra and the Famiglia, or it could make them work together. I think we need to keep a close eye on the situation. We can’t have the Bratva working with the Camorra.”

“I doubt that’ll happen,” Samuel said. “Remo’s good at holding a grudge, and we know he has a grudge against Grigory after he refused to help him.”

“Remo’s also a businessman. He isn’t the madman he likes to play so often,” Dante said.

I gritted my teeth. Remo could have been dead. The Camorra wouldn’t have been as strong without him. Instead, he paraded around in the west like a king.

Dante regarded me. He knew I still considered his decision to let Remo and Serafina leave a mistake.

“We could sabotage both the Bratva and the Camorra races to stir up a conflict between them,” I suggested, instead of my initial urge to demand an attack on Remo fucking Falcone.

Dante thought about that before he nodded. “That could work, but we have to be careful about it. Our cooperation with Senator Clark has extended our reach in the political elite, but these people don’t like to be associated with bloody incidents, so we can’t risk having any suspicion fall on us.”

“We could plant two of our men in either race circuit. They hold qualification races now and then. I’m sure we have a few ambitious young soldiers who would be eager to play racers for a while and cause the occasional accident,” Samuel said with a chuckle.

“They have to be unknown faces,” Pietro said.

I nodded. “Definitely not from well-known families. We’ll have to give them new identities to get through the background checks. I don’t doubt Grigory and Remo keeps a close eye on their racers. It’s a million-dollar game.”

I was glad that Dante hadn’t quite lost his bite and wanted to play dirty. I’d been waiting to mess with Remo’s business for a while.

We soon lost any sense of time as we discussed possible prospects for the task. When I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost two-thirty, I pushed to my feet.