Wren follows us to the office in the back of the casino, where we meet up with Giovanni, our right-hand-man, and Dante, our head manager of the Casinò e Resort Della Fiamma Reale (Royal Flame Casino and Resort).
"Dante, come stai?" I ask as we enter the office and close the door behind us. (Dante, how have you been)
"Sofia ha iniziato il liceo, quindi ero impegnata a tenere i ragazzo lontani da mia figlia." (Sofia started high school, so I was busy keeping the boys away from my daughter)
"Se hai bisogno di aiuto per spaventare qualcuno, faccelo sapere," I say with a laugh. (If you need help scaring someone away, please, let us know)
Dante laughs, "Penso di averlo sotto controllo, capo, ma grazie. Allora, chi è la bambina dietro di te?" (I think I've got it under control, boss, but thanks. So, who's the girl behind you?)
"Mi chiamo Wren e apprezzerei che tu non parli di me come se non fossi qui," Wren says, her arms crossed over her chest. (My name is Wren, and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about me as if I'm not here)
"You don't look Italian," Dante observes, switching to English despite his heavy Italian accent.
"And you don't look like a dick, but I guess that's why they say not to judge a book by its cover," she retorts.
"Watch yourself, sweetheart," I warn. "You disrespect my men, and it means you disrespect me. Don't make me turn your ass black and blue because you can't hold your tongue."
"Bite me," she sasses.
Dante and Giovanni laugh, "I like her," Gio says. "Why does the name Wren sound familiar?"
She shoves between us and steps forward to extend a hand to Gio, "Wren Patelli, nice to meet you."
His eyebrows raise, "as in THE Wren Patelli? Eduardo's girl?"
"The one and only," she smirks, shaking hands with both Gio and Dante.
"Don Patelli is dead; Brooks killed him and blamed it on her. We have a temporary alliance and are granting her temporary protection until we can take the weasel down," Luca explains. "And for the time being," he smirks, "she's ours." He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into his chest, resting his chin on her shoulder and placing a small kiss on her neck.
"I'm not yours," she rolls her eyes.
"Are we really going to have this argument again?" Luca laughs. She doesn't respond, so I return to the reason we're here in the first place—business.
"We've found some discrepancies in our money and profits; the cash is disappearing from cage twenty-seven. Who's been working that section?"
Dante checks the computer on the desk quickly before answering, "Bruno Silva is the only one that's worked cage twenty-seven in the past year."
"Call him back here," I order. "Can you get Diego to take Wren to the VIP area in the club downstairs? She doesn't need to be here." Giovanni and Dante both nod, leaving to get the two men.
"There's a club in this place?" Wren asks. "Why the fuck haven't I been there dancing the whole time?"
"Because we didn't trust you leaving our side."
"And you do now?"
"Diego works directly under Giovanni, he's a trusted member of The Famiglia." The office door opens again, and Diego walks in with Giovanni.
"Not a scratch on her, understood?" Luca warns Diego.
"Gio already filled me in, boss. She's in good hands," he states. I nod once and watch as he leads Wren out of the room. Dante returns with Bruno, sitting him down in a chair and closing the office door. Times like these are the reasons that the office is hidden in the back and fully soundproofed.
"I assume you already know why you're here," I say. "So let's not dance around the truth or play games. You've been stealing money. I want to know why, and I want to know how."
"Don Lombardi, I'm sorry. Matteo Brooks contacted me. He offered me money and protection if I did what he asked. He said you would never know; that it wouldn't matter."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever fucking heard," Santiago sneers, stepping forward and flipping his knife open. "You're going to give us all the information you have. How you took the money, how you got it to Brooks, how you contacted him, everything."
YOU ARE READING
Weaponizing Wren
Romance"Matteo Brooks killed my father for his power, which means we have a common enemy. You need me if you want to take him down." "Why would we need some spoiled mafia princess?" "Because you want what everyone else wants. Eduardo Patelli's secret weapo...
