by Layla Frost
“Like their family and loved ones?” At my tentative nod, Theo looked offended. “No. Fuck, Dahlia, no. First of all, I’m not in the habit of loaning money to people incapable of paying it back. Gabe and Luc do more research than a bank before we approve. If whoever starts blowing through money way faster than they can make it, they’re cut off.” It sounded almost noble until he continued. “This isn’t some misguided notion that we’ll save them from losing everything.”
“Oh.”
“If someone is a gambling addict, they’ll bet on anything. Spelling bees, little league games, a round of fucking Go-Fish. I can cut them off from loans and fights, but it won’t do much. If that’s the case, chances are I’m not the only one extending the cash. And since that usually means the poor sap ends up dead, I’m not taking a loss.” He studied me for a moment, likely gauging my reaction. “No one else deserves to be punished because of that person’s decision. Killing them guarantees they won’t repay the loan, but there are other things that happen. Things which may make them wish they were dead. It’s a lot more effective because most people are selfish assholes who only care about themselves.”
Once again, details not needed.
“Speaking of selfish,” I said, moving on, “how do you know the people under you won’t want to get into things with a bigger payoff and less work?”
“When the Irish and Amatos called a truce, we’d already begun making major changes. Most were happy about them and took the cut in income to live more under the radar. Some wanted the money, others just wanted the excitement, so they went to work for the Irish. The Irish had internal conflict about the high profile they were keeping. Those who wanted a lower risk came to work for me. It doesn’t mean we have an alliance, but it helps keep everyone honest and in their own territories.”
I hated to admit it, but it was all fascinating. There was a totally different power dynamic than I’d ever imagined, both within his business and himself. That edge that came into his eyes, the spark of excited calculation, applied to both Amaric and Amato dealings.
Biting my cheek, I gathered my thoughts as best as I could. “I want to know things, but I don’t want to know everything. I just need to trust that I’m able to ask, and you’ll give me the complete truth.”
“I can do that.”
Pushing on, I added, “Please don’t do anything… more. Things you wouldn’t be able to look me in the eyes and tell me about.”
There was no hesitation. “I can promise that, too.”
“Good.”
“You okay?” he asked, his voice soft as he cupped my face.
I nodded, a small smile pulling at my lips as I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. A feeling of peace, of belonging, settled over me. I hadn’t felt it in months. “Just missed you.”
Theo pulled me closer so our foreheads touched. “Told you before, Dahlia, I’ll give up everything for you. I meant it then, I mean it now, and I’ll mean it in a hundred years. Say the word, and I walk away. But I’ll never let you go. The last week has been fucking shit, but I’d live it over and over again if the end result was you loving me.” After brushing his lips against mine, Theo stood and picked the pillows and comforter off the floor. Quickly making the bed, he climbed back in and pulled me to him so my head rested against his chest.
Maybe I should’ve taken him up on his offer. He was willing to leave for me, and yet I’d bent to accept him. I knew that meant the blood on his hands was being transferred each time he held mine.
In that moment, though, I didn’t doubt my decision. Despite what he did, and in some ways because of it, I loved Theo. The bond between us was pulled tighter. Stronger.
When his breathing evened out in sleep, he still held me tight. Like I was his world, and he was afraid he’d lose me.
But I wasn’t going anywhere. I may have been dancing with the devil, but I’d accepted that.
Because the devil needed love, too.
And I’d be damned if anyone else was going to give it to him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
An Amato Turkey
Dahlia
“Thoughts?” Ben asked, holding back a smile as I climbed into the SUV.
Jerk.
When my only response was a glare, he added, “I’m going to go out on a limb and say cake decorating wasn’t for you.”
“What was the tip off?”
“Lucky guess.”
I was covered in frosting dye. There was fondant under my fingernails. And in my hair.
And I was pretty sure down my shirt.
My disaster of a cake had collapsed into such an unsalvageable mess, I hadn’t even bothered to try to take it home.
Once the decision was set in my mind to stay with Theo, I’d spent two weeks trying baking classes. I’d set my cake on fire the first class. The following week, my cake had exploded over the edge of the pans and created a foul-smelling mess. After that, I’d decided to skip the baking portion and go right to decorating.
I loved pretty cakes. But that love hadn’t translated into any sort of skill.
“I think Theo has a new idea,” Ben said, heading toward home. “I’m supposed to take you there, so you may want to text to let him know you’re going for a change of clothes first.”
“Good thinking.”
Me: Stopping home to change. I decorated myself more than the cake.
Theo: I wish you would come here so I can lick you clean. But I’ll settle for seeing you soon.
I flushed at his words and almost considered asking Ben to just take me to Amaric. That would’ve required walking through the lobby with frosting hair, though, so I stuck with the plan.
“What’s his new idea?” I asked.
Ben shrugged. “No clue. But I overheard him sending Rosa to the store for whatever you needed.”
I didn’t doubt it. Rosa had assembled a long list of possible ways for me to pass the time. After a lot of consideration, I’d temporarily crossed going back to school off the list. It felt like I’d just stepped outside into the world. I didn’t want to close myself back up in a classroom yet.
For every idea I took away, it seemed like her and Theo added four more.
Looking at Ben, I put my hand to my chest and gave an exaggerated sigh. “Are you saying Theo somehow knew cake decorating wouldn’t be for me? I’m shocked.”
He glanced at me and raised his brows. “Maybe they should sign you up for acting class. I think you’re a natural.”
Adding a hand to my forehead, I leaned to the side toward the window. “Ugh, I’m wounded.” Once I got the eye roll and snort I was going for, I sat back up. “Fondant is evil.”
“You just need practice.”
“What I need is something that tastes good. I thought it would be delicious. Like if frosting and marshmallow had a baby. But it’s awful, and it collapsed my cake.”
“How did that happen?”
For the rest of the drive home, and most of the trip to Amaric, I detailed my disaster of a cake. By the time I got to describing the look of horror in the instructor’s eyes, Ben and I were both laughing to the point of tears.
“So cake will never be my thing to make, but it’ll always be my thing to eat,” I said as he pulled in front of the building.
“That’s the best part anyway.”
“Are you not coming in?”
Ben shook his head. “Friday is fight night. I’ve got to go with Luc and make sure the location is set for tomorrow night.”
Remembering Julie’s tales, I made a mental note to ask Theo if we could go.
“Good luck.” I opened the door and climbed out. “Thanks, Ben,” I added before closing it. Pulling my coat tight around me, I rushed through the cold and into the lobby. With a wave to the security guards, and another to Ms. Suze at the big front desk, I made my way to the private elevator.
When I reached Theo’s lobby, Rosa wasn’t at her desk. I hung up my coat before hesitantly peeking into Theo’s office to find him m
issing, too.
I turned around, unsure what to do when I saw Rosa coming out of the restroom.
“I knew it,” she said, shaking her head as she approached. “I’ve had to go for like an hour, but I was convinced as soon as I did, you’d show. I couldn’t hold it any longer, and of course you came.” She laughed and tilted her head toward the elevator. “Theo’s in a meeting upstairs. He said you could wait down here or I could bring you up.”
I glanced down the hallway that had several conference rooms. There were more on the lower Amaric floors. I hadn’t known there were any in the floors above him.
“We can go,” I said.
Rosa looked around before lowering her voice. “So you know, the upstairs is used for Amato business, not Amaric. If you’d rather, we can go grab a coffee from the cafeteria.”
My curiosity got the better of me. “It’s okay.”
Strangely, she grinned at my answer as she pressed the button for the elevator. “Great. I’ll bring you up, but then I have to come back here.” She made the talking gesture with her hands. “Chatty Steve is calling, and Theo’s refusing to take the calls. Which means yours truly is dealing with them.”
I gave her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe the power will go out.”
“One can only hope. I did pack a sandwich to eat at my desk in case the call goes into dinner time. Again.” When the doors opened, we got in and she inserted a small key before punching in a code. “Anyway, if you feel uncomfortable, come down and hang out.”
He wouldn’t have me go if they were discussing anything too bad.
Right?
“Thanks. Though, I’ve heard a call from Steve before, and it’s not an experience I’m racing to repeat.”
“Try being the one who has to talk to him. Last time, I swear I was about to lose my voice because it went on so long.”
The elevator doors opened to what looked more like a living room than a reception area. There was a large TV mounted to the wall with a few couches aimed toward it. On one of the couches, a humongously tall and muscular man lounged.
His eyes went alert and his face was set in a stern glower until he saw who it was. Smiling, he stood quickly and offered me his hand. “Hi, I’m Grenade... I mean Greg. Nice to finally meet you, ma’am.”
If he hadn’t been looking right at me, I would’ve sworn he was talking to someone else. “Oh, no, please don’t call me ma’am. Ever.” I took his outstretched hand. “Dahlia. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Greg is head of security for the fights,” Rosa told me before looking back at him. “Why aren’t you in the meeting?”
“My part is done. I had Luc DVR my stories, so I’m getting caught up.” He gestured down the hall. “They’re in the second room on the right.”
“Thanks,” I said.
As I walked away, I heard him lower his voice to ask Rosa, “When you gonna let me take you out?”
“Don’t let Luc hear you asking that,” she said with a laugh, her voice teasing.
I was tempted to creep back and eavesdrop on the rest of the conversation, but I knocked on the door instead. It was opened a moment later by another massive man. His grin was even bigger than Greg’s had been. “Nice to finally meet you, Ma—”
“If you call me ma’am,” I interrupted, “I’m going to develop a complex. Just Dahlia.”
He chuckled. “Nice to finally meet you, Dahlia.”
Theo stood and came around the large table. With a dimpled grin, he wrapped an arm around me. “Gattina, this is Sammy. He’s in charge of all the fights.”
I shook Sammy’s hand before he sat back at the table.
Theo pulled me closer and whispered, “You smell good.”
“I showered, but I think the almond fondant smell may be permanent.”
“Fine by me.” Keeping hold of me, he walked us back to his chair. He sat and pulled me onto his lap. “We’re almost done, then we’ll go eat.”
I looked around the crowded table, not recognizing any of the other people. There were three women and five men, including Theo and Sammy.
Apparently word has travelled about Theo’s preferred seating arrangement for us, because none of them seem fazed.
“Where were we?” Theo asked.
The older woman picked up a remote and pressed something. A large map of the city projected on one of the walls. “The spots marked with the red stars are our available properties right now.” She must have clicked again, because green squares covered some of the places. “These are the best choices for the next fight.”
“We’ve got four scheduled for the Thanksgiving weekend.”
“Four?” Lowering his voice, Theo told me, “It’s usually only one or two.”
“The Wednesday before is big for bars. People come home to visit and need to get shitty before they face their family the next day. Gabe said there was a big jump in game day bets and people feeling restless. Low risk, possible high payout.”
Theo hit the tip of his pen against the table, the fingers of his other hand drumming on my hip. Slowly, he nodded. “Astaire is Thursday, right?” At Sammy’s confirmation, he continued. “If we do Wednesday, it needs to be smaller. People blow through their cash on Wednesday, they’ve got nothing left for the weekend. I’m not doubting Gabe, but Astaire will draw a crowd. Plus, I don’t want to be out the compensation for big names on Wednesday if only two people show to bet pocket change.”
Sammy fell silent for a moment, a pensive expression on his face as he looked at the map. “What if we do a newbie night? Most of our regulars will be holding off for Astaire on Thursday and then Maize’s match on Saturday. Wednesday is a good chance to see how some of the new boys do and get some new faces into the crowd.”
“That work for the space?”
“Yes. It also brings me to the next point,” the older woman said, pressing the remote. One last change added a large red ‘X’ through a building and a blue star on another. “I’d originally suggested the Cobden property for the Astaire bout. Unfortunately, due to my team being just too good at their jobs, we’ve sold it.”
Huh. She must be with the real estate company.
She wasn’t old by any stretch of the word, but she was older than everyone else in the room. Likely in her late fifties, she didn’t look like someone who’d be having a meeting on a private floor to discuss illegal fights.
The woman focused in on the building with the blue star. “Deckard is a bigger venue.”
“Secluded enough?” Theo asked.
“Very. Still, I believe Mr. Ricci is planning on checking it out tonight during the correct timeframe.”
“Good.” He leaned back, his grip on my thigh tightening as his arousal pressed against my ass. “If that’s all, we’ll meet again next month to plan the holidays.”
Everyone gathered their tablets and papers, offering polite goodbyes before leaving.
“I could get used to this,” Theo murmured against my neck, his lips grazing the sensitive skin.
“What?” My breath hitched, the question coming out softly.
“Working with you on my lap. I’m thinking it should be a daily thing.”
“Mmm. I don’t know how much work you’d actually get done.” Putting my hands on the table, I lifted to stand.
Theo’s grip on my hips tightened before he slowly released me. “Good point.”
When we stepped back into the lobby, I looked around. “I didn’t know you had offices on this floor.”
Grabbing my hand, he led us toward the elevator. “I try to keep Amaric and Amato business separate, but sometimes I need to have meetings while I’m here. It’s mostly kept empty. The other floor above us is an apartment.”
“Really?”
“I used to crash here if I was working late so it made sense.” He gestured down the hall. “Luc had set up a large office as a crash pad, but he was sleeping there more days than not. Since I hadn’t been using the apartment, I had him take it.”
Luc had a sm
all place near Theo’s, but I hadn’t thought much about it beyond that.
“If you come in the morning sometime,” he said, “I’ll take you on a long tour of the whole building.”
“That’d be fun.” After we got into the elevator, I turned my body toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Speaking of fun…”
His hand that had come to rest on my lower back slid down to cup my ass. “Yeah?”
I laughed. “Not that.”
“Damn.” He moved his hand back. “What was it?”
“Can we go to the fight tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “No.” Before my disappointment could fully sink in, though, he added, “It’s not going to be good enough. If I’m taking you to your first fight, we’ll go Thanksgiving night to see Astaire.”
“Is he good?”
“Better than good. Did you want to go to my parents’, or have Thanksgiving at our place?”
It was a simple question, but one that brought so much joy, I couldn’t hide the massive grin that’d spread across my face. “Do you normally go to your parents’?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“I think it sounds perfect. Ask your mom what I can bring. Just no cake, unless she wants store bought.”
“I will when I call to let her know we’re coming.”
My first real Thanksgiving dinner with a family…
And then an illegal fight.
Is it bad I’m not sure which I’m looking forward to more?
···
“Put the camera away, my gattina,” Theo whispered in my ear, nipping the edge with his teeth.
“Hold on. They’re being so quiet, and their dresses are still clean.”
Kat and Mar sat on one of the patio tables, their legs hanging off it. It was just chilly enough for their cheeks to be red, but not so cold they’d needed a coat. They kicked their legs, leaning in close to each other to share a whisper and a giggle.
Based on their mischievous smiles and whispered conversation, it was likely they were plotting. But it also made for a beautiful picture.
When Theo had surprised me with an insanely complicated camera he’d sent Rosa to get, I’d been intimidated and surprised. Unlike the phone and SUV controls, however, I’d caught on quickly.
