I ignored his obvious lie, because we both knew he was laughing at me, and got off his lap. He reached for me but calmed down once he realized I was just trying to get comfortable in his arms. He waited patiently as I sat on the couch and snuggled under his arm.
We sat that way for a few moments, just basking in the security of our truce before I finally asked, “What about Robbie?” Phoenix let out a deep sigh and I worried that we were going to be thrown back into another fight. I wasn’t going to cave on the topic of Robbie. She was one of my dearest friends, and I was not going to walk away from her.
“Right now, I’m not sure, Frankie,” he answered honestly. I wanted to jump up and kick off her defense, but the second he felt me jerk, he tightened his hold on me, keeping me in place. “You can call her and talk to her all you want, but you are forbidden from going to Cedar Creek.”
“Phoenix, I-”
“Frankie, we can’t have you in Cedar Creek so soon after three people have gone missing,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter that that all three were nothing but dirt. They were still humans. And, with that, the Cedar Creek police are obligated to investigate their disappearance, should anyone care enough about any of them to report them missing.”
“So, I’m supposed to just hang out in Morgan city, safe, while Robbie’s stuck in Cedar Creek handling all this alone? Is that it?”
“I honestly don’t care what she’s dealing with, Frankie,” he remarked. “I don’t know the woman. She’s nothing to me.”
This time, I jerked out of his hold and sat up to face him. “But she’s someone to me, Phoenix.”
“And that’s the only reason she’s still alive, Frankie,” he stated bluntly. “Do you honestly believe any of us as ever left a live witness around?”
“She’s a good person, Phoenix,” I promised. “I swear it.”
“We’ll see now, won’t we?” And that’s when I knew.
They were testing her.
They were testing her and waiting to see how she was going to handle the situation. I should have figured it out earlier.
But that was okay.
Robbie was going to pass their test with flying colors.
Chapter 25
Phoenix~
“Leo gave him the numbers this morning,” Luca stated. “And numbers don’t lie.”
Frankie was asleep in our bed downstairs in our apartment while Ciro and I were in an impromptu meeting with Luca. She had taken a hot bath and had needed to take her pain medication, so I knew she would be in a deep sleep for the rest of the night.
I had wanted nothing more than to take her to bed after our talk, but even if she hadn’t mentioned her injuries, I knew she wouldn’t have been able to withstand what I wanted to do to her. Besides, I had the rest of our lives to bed her.
Ciro snorted. “I bet that went over nicely.”
Luca lifted the tumbler in his hand and drank. After emptying the contents, he said, “The bastard had the audacity to tell Leo he wasn’t worried about it.”
“What did Leo say?” I asked.
Luca glanced at me and smirked. “Leo’s not stupid. He knows the direction in which the wind’s blowing” he said. “He’s not going to create any animosity or cause issues with unsolicited opinions.”
“And Sal?” Ciro asked.
“Sal might be difficult, but like Leo, he’s not stupid,” Luca replied. “He’s also not blind to his faults. He knows he’s not fit to lead, just like Leo knows he’s not. They’ll fall in line when the time comes. No way they’ll risk the money, power, or unlimited pussy.”
We were Luca’s office, Ciro behind the bar, me on the couch, and Luca leaning up against his desk. One would think we were just three guys shooting the shit, but we didn’t indulge in that kind of casualness often. It was almost always business.
“Have you decided who will be your Underboss?” Ciro asked knowing that, even if Luca didn’t know yet, he had a plan.
Luca always had a plan.
“Sal,” he announced. “Leo’s smart, but he has a conscience. It’ll always prevent him from making the touch decisions.”
“Sal’s psychopathy doesn’t worry you?” I posed that question because it was a valid concern.
Luca shrugged. “It’s a concern, but I don’t have any other brothers to consider, and that position can only go to a Benetti.”
“Get a girl and knock her up,” Ciro suggested as he made is way from around the back of the bar. “If the position has to go to a Benetti, your future son is the best bet.”
“And if I only produce girls?” he posed, a smile in his question.
Ciro barked out a laugh. “Even better. They’ll be little cutthroat mercenaries that no one will see coming.”
I smiled at the image Ciro presented. I could totally see an army of little black-hair, black-eyed Benetti daughters wreaking havoc all over Morgan City. “Female Benettis. Can you imagine?” I laughed.
“Even if my sons were an option, I still need someone to fill the position until they come of age,” Luca pointed out. “And the whole of the matter is that I’d rather have ruthlessness than compassion at the helm of this entire thing. Respect had its place, but so does fear, and that’s the only thing Leo isn’t good at. The kid is smart as a whip and can shoot a gun, but pleas do not fall on deaf ears around him.”
“So, Leo will still be in charge of the money?” Ciro sat on the couch opposite me as he asked that question.
“Frankie will be in charge of all our legitimate business; mine, yours, and Phoenix’s,” he began to explain. “Nothing dirty touches her hands. She will be protected both physically and legally.” I sometimes wondered what people would think if they knew how strong Luca’s weakness for Frankie was. “Phoenix
