Josie is a sales associate by day and a lollipop-sucking hacker by night. She likes to stay in and feel the keys underneath her fingertips. When she decides to grace her friends at a club, she stumbles across a man who seems to send every part of he...
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The atmosphere changed the moment she walked into the club. If I wasn't dealing with business right now, I would drag her out of this club and back to my house. Her presence was a disturbance, a powerful force that demanded attention and defied logic. What the fuck is she wearing? That dress is fucking short, and its lace.
My jaw clenches as I watch her confidently make her way through the crowd. Her hair, a wild mane of curls, bounces with every step, and I can't help but feel a primal pull towards her. I wanted to touch her, taste her, and claim her for my own.
But I couldn't. Not yet.
Business comes first, always. So, I force myself to focus on the meeting at hand, although her presence will now be a constant distraction. I could feel eyes on her, men's gazes lingering a little too long, and it made my blood boil.
"Stopping his shipment will cause chaos among the family," Lancaster says, chugging his drink. He is a lowly foot soldier in the Marchetti family. Lancaster has no loyalty to the Marchetti family ever since Erick assaulted his sister. Now, he is my informant. As long as he gives me reliable information, I will continue to pay for his sister's therapy sessions. Once he no longer serves a purpose for me, I'll dispose of him.
"When does the next shipment arrive?" I ask, pulling my eyes away from Josie.
Lancaster leans in, his voice barely above a whisper. "Tomorrow night, dock seventeen. It's heavily guarded, but with your guys, it should be doable."
My fingers drum on the surface of the table, an irksome rhythm born of impatience and irritation. "Define heavily guarded," I press, knowing full well that my interpretation of danger differs from others.
Lancaster wipes a bead of sweat from his brow, his eyes darting around nervously. "I'm talking armed to the teeth. Automatics, a couple of snipers maybe. It's high-value stuff."
I nod slowly, processing the information. The logistics of intercepting a shipment isn't new to me. But this isn't any shipment. This is human cargo. The Gio Marchetti is a despicable man. I think any man who resorts to human trafficking is scum and deserves to die.
"That will be all Lancaster," I say, dismissing him. As Lancaster slinks away, I turn my full attention to Luca and Shadow. A muscle twitches in my jaw, the darker part of me itching for a fight to tear down Gio's empire piece by filthy piece. But I'm not just any hotheaded thug. I'm a Don and I need to follow the code, and right now, that code needs me to be calculated, not reckless.
"We'll need a diversion," I murmur, already running through a mental list of resources and allies who might be up for an evening of chaos.
Luca's eyes narrow slightly, the gears in his mind clearly turning as he considers the options. "What about using the east warehouse as a decoy? Set up a bit of a fireworks show—nothing too fancy, but enough to pull their eyes away from dock seventeen."
