Read Fearless: Mob Boss Book Two (Volume 2) for Free Online Page B

asked.
    “No. I’ll take care of it.”
    “Okay, but we should meet,” Luca said. “We need to figure out a game plan.”
    “That’s a given. I have no intention of sitting on my ass, waiting for these bastards to finish the job they started.”
    “Well, don’t come here,” Luca said. “It’s a fucking madhouse.”
    “Exactly why I’m coming back tonight. I’m not going to leave the men exposed while I play it safe.”
    “Whoever’s doing this is after you. The business, Carmine, the shipments… they were all just a means to an end. If you want to protect the family, you’ll steer clear of Headquarters until we get this figured out.”
    “I need to pay my respect to Carmine’s family,” Nico said. “I’ve known them my whole life.”
    Luca lowered his voice, like he didn’t want anyone around him to hear what he was saying. “That is not a good idea. And I’ve already talked to Mary. She understands.”
    Mary was Carmine’s wife of four decades.
    “That may be,” Nico said. “But I’m not a coward, and I won’t hide from these people, whoever they are.”
    “Nico—”
    “I have some arrangements to make,” Nico said, cutting him off. “I’ll call you later with the details.”
    He hung up before Luca could say anything else. He meant well, but whoever had targeted the Vitale family intended to drive Nico underground. He’d be damned is he gave them the satisfaction of succeeding.
    A glance at his phone told him it was only eight am. Plenty of time for a run to clear his head. He went to the entryway and pulled on his shoes, then slipped out the front door, and started down the gravel road.
    The morning air was cool and wet, with the promise of heat that was only present a few months out of the year in Maine. He made his way through the trees—slowly coming back to life after the long winter—and headed for the beach, then turned right to run parallel to the water.
    The island was his sacred space, even more so since the two days he’d spent here with Angel. No one knew about the hideaway, not even Luca. It was the place Nico came when he needed a break from the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders, a place where nature could remind him how insignificant he really was. It was comforting, and he’d found himself stealing away more often since the shootout with Angel’s father, trying to quiet the churning of his mind and the questions that seemed to have no answers.
    Questions like; did the Syndicate and its businesses add any value at all to the world at large? Was the little good he managed to do worth all the death and destruction? And most importantly of all, was he really a businessman? Or was the price of his suit the only difference between him and the criminals shoved every day into the back of police cars?
    He pushed himself to run harder and faster over the rocks that jutted out over the water. It was a test of his concentration and agility, and for a few moments he didn’t have space in his mind for anything but running without breaking his neck.
    When he returned to the sand, he circled back toward the house. Angel was there, waiting for him, maybe still in bed, her long hair spread across his pillow. He felt a stirring in his blood at the thought of her naked body sprawled across his sheets, and his feet moved faster of their own accord.
    He passed by the front door and continued onto the deck, following it to the back of the house. The glass doors were open, Angel standing with her back to him while she cut oranges on the countertop. He leaned against the door jamb, wanting to soak her in, remember the way she looked in all the moments to come when they wouldn’t be together.
    Her hair was piled on top of her head, loose tendrils tickling the collar of the shirt—his shirt—that hit the top of her bare thighs. He was immediately hard, wondering if she was naked underneath it, if he could come up behind her, snake his arms around her waist, be inside of her