Falling For The Mob

35 Cheap

Sam

I had no more than four hours of sleep when I found myself slowly peeling Zoë off me so as not to wake her.

If possible, I would never have left her warmth, but after her night shift, there were only a few hours left to sleep before I needed to get up and start my week.

I dragged my body out of bed with regret, something I hadn't struggled with in years. But I had no choice, I must be showered, dressed, and in my office working within the next hour before Addy showed up. I had no meetings scheduled until noon, so I gave her the morning off, telling her I would catch up on my work alone.

That should have been enough, but unfortunately, I quickly realized my plan had failed when I opened my apartment door and was hit by the scent of her perfume.

Our eyes met in an intense stare-down, her gaze making me much more uncomfortable than I was willing to admit.

"Where have you been all morning? Your phone has been off since midnight," she said.

I took my jacket off, ignoring her statement. Knowing her, she had been tracking my phone again, which is why I turned it off when I went to Zoë.

"I was under the impression that you would not be here before eleven," I said, walking over to the coffee machine and setting up a cup for myself.

"If your phone was on, you would have received my email or one of my five calls stating that it has been moved. We need to be there in half an hour," she replied.

She squinted her eyes at me briefly before releasing a sigh. "I don't have time for this. Just go shower and get dressed. I can brief you in the car."

My methods may seem extreme or impractical, but Zoë had one demand for this arrangement, and I would not let Addy get in the way of it. I have to find a way to divert her interest, if she becomes curious about something, she becomes a bloodhound, impossible to get off your trail. Her piqued curiosity and ability to find any information are valuable skills, but only if they are working in my favor. If not, Addy is just a nuisance.

As agreed upon, she spent her day working with me in the hope of helping me get everything back on track. Throughout our days, we were perfectly synchronized, reminding me of how easy things were before the birth. Much of her I had taken for granted during that time, not that I would ever admit that out loud, the woman would never let me live it down.

There is, however, a part of me that feels guilty pulling her away from this time she wishes to spend with the child, but there is very little I can do when she insists that she can do both.

Most of my day was uneventful as I dealt with my responsibilities for the Claymore group. Every spare moment I had left went into planning for the family meeting scheduled for tonight.

Though I had been keeping up appearances, I had been thinking about nothing but how to destroy these people from the moment I woke until the second I closed my eyes. I had a plan, but the real struggle would show tonight when I had to convince the rest of my family that this was the best approach to our ever-growing problem.

In the evening, Addy and I were the last to arrive in the family room.

Making a direct line for Lawrence and Mason, I was fully aware that she would be completely useless for the next fifteen minutes. After placing him in his crib down the hall, they rejoined us, making the entire gathering complete.

I wasted no time tackling the issues at hand. When leaving, I knew what our surveillance was capable of and where the blind spots were. In a mere five minutes, "Mario" had managed to impress me with a new approach to finding the people hunting us. He was now under my employment, a crucial part of my plan.