Underboss (With Me in Seattle Mafia 1)

“Lead the way.”

* * *

Annika and Rich’s home in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver is beautiful. It’s an upscale area that professional sports players, celebrities, and the wealthy in general call home.

And I can see why. In addition to a nice golf course with a country club, there is excellent shopping, restaurants, and bars. If I lived in Denver, this is where I’d buy a house.

“Hi, you guys,” Annika says with a wide smile as she opens the front door and gestures for us to come inside. “I’m so excited to see you all.”

“You’re gorgeous,” I say as I lean in to kiss my cousin’s cheek. But when I pull back, I can see the tension around her gorgeous blue eyes. I narrow mine, but she shakes her head quickly, sending me a silent message that now isn’t the time for that conversation.

She greets Carmine and Shane, and when she reaches Rafe, she pauses. “Hi, Rafe.”

“Annika.” He kisses her cheek, as well, but the look he gives her is anything but friendly.

It’s intimate.

How did I miss that?

“Come on in, everyone. Dinner’s almost ready. Ivie’s checking on it right now.”

“Ivie’s here?” Shane asks, his interests piqued.

“I thought it would be fun if she joined,” Annika replies as we all take seats around the large living room. The house is traditional, all of the rooms separate—no open-concept here.

But it’s beautifully decorated, and I know that Annika invested a lot of time making this house a home for Richard and her.

“Where’s your husband?” I ask, but before she can answer, the man does.

“Sorry, everyone,” Rich says as he hurries into the room from the back patio. “I had to take a call.”

Rich is tall, slender, and utterly boring.

I don’t know what Annika sees in him. Sure, he’s smart and comes from a good family, but he’s as dry as a corpse that’s been left out in the sun for a year.

I bet he only likes to fuck in the dark, under the covers, after a shower.

I wrinkle my nose at the thought and then smile when Rich turns his attention on me.

“Hello, Nadia.”

“Hi, Rich. Thanks for having us over for dinner.”

“Oh, it’s our pleasure. Annika should get to see her family from time to time.”

What the hell does that mean?

Before I can ask him, Ivie comes bustling out of the kitchen and almost falls on her face.

Poor Ivie. She’s such a klutz.

“Whoa,” she says with a laugh.

“Easy there.” Shane immediately jumps up to help her. He takes her hand, kisses it, and leads her over to the sofa.

“Oh, thanks. I’m good. Just clumsy. Annika and I decided to make lasagna with garlic bread and salad. It’s just about done.”

I notice Carmine and Rafe share a look.

There is so much happening here, all unspoken, and all I can do is watch in fascination. There’s trouble in paradise with my cousin and her husband. Shane wants to get into Ivie’s pants. And Rafe and Carmine clearly find it all comical.

This is the best entertainment I’ve had in years.

“I’m starved,” Annika says with a grin. “Let’s eat.”

“Not too much pasta for you, darling,” Rich says as he pats her shoulder. “Why don’t you stick with the salad?”

“Why don’t you let your wife eat whatever the fuck she wants since she’s a grown woman and everything?” I turn to Rich with a toothy, humorless smile.

It’s not returned.

And I give zero fucks.

He simply sits at the table, and we start passing around dishes, filling our plates as Annika pours the wine.

When she reaches Rafe’s glass, he shakes his head, and she moves on to the next.

But the glare Rafe aims at Rich would make most men piss their pants.

“How are things at the clinic?” I ask Ivie.

“Great,” she says with a nod. “We’re busier than ever right now.”

“What kind of clinic do you run?” Carmine asks.

“We have a medi-spa,” she replies easily. “We offer services from simple facials to botox to reconstructive surgery.”

“Plastic surgery?” Shane says.

“Sort of, yes,” Ivie says.

“There’s a lot of botox happening in this city,” Annika says with a wink. “And thank goodness.”

“I was thinking of coming in to see you,” I say, pointing to the crows’ feet around my eyes. “I have a few lines I’d like to take care of.”

“You don’t have wrinkles,” Carmine says, staring down at me in surprise.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I can fix you right up,” Annika assures me. “And I’d love to spend some time with you.”

“Can you fit her into your already busy schedule?” Rich asks, his voice hard.

What the fuck is up with him?

“I always have time for Nadia,” she replies. Her voice is just as hard as her husband’s. Rich’s jaw clenches.

Yeah, I’d say the honeymoon is over there.

And I definitely need to talk to her. Soon. Find out what in the hell is going on. Annika has always been my best friend. My confidante. Sure, I’ve been busy since the wedding, but that’s no excuse.