“If you wish.” I smirk and kiss her pretty mouth. “Go. I need to send the elevator down.” I smack her luscious ass and send her on her way—well, I do stare at the sway of her hips for another minute before finally turning toward the elevator with a sigh.
Parks’ visit is short, but the binder he leaves behind is large and filled with tons of information. After my initial glance, I want to sit immediately and start poring over the material, but I refrain and tuck it under my arm as I head to the bedroom.
After selecting my clothing and suggesting some things for Piper, I retire to my office. The next four hours are spent studying every little detail on every single fucking person associated with the Miami Mob. Once I have a general overview of how they operate, I mark motherfuckers for death. Anyone close to the leadership will need to be iced, and then I can select a strong, suitable candidate to become the new Boss.
Late in the evening, Piper comes through the door with a sandwich and chips. “Knock, knock,” she says, approaching hesitantly. “I thought you might be hungry.” She places the plate on the corner of my desk and stands there quietly.
“Thanks,” I tell her, rocking back in my chair. “I’d rather hold you for a minute.” I flick two fingers and pat my leg.
She smiles softly as she perches on my lap and nestles her face into my neck. “You’ve been in here a long time.”
“I have,” I murmur, running my hand down her back. “I still have a while to go. This meeting is crucial, and I have to be prepared.”
“I’m not sure I understand the logistics,” she replies, lifting her head to look me in the eye. “Do you need their permission?”
“Fuck no!” I snap, but that’s bullshit. In a fucked-up way, I sort of do. I heave a heavy fucking sigh. “Well, in a way, I do. Even though our organizations all run independently, we live by certain codes and even sometimes join in mixed ventures. So, as you can imagine, there are certain guidelines we live by when one organization feels wronged by another. It’s essentially forbidden to take out the leadership of another organization.”
“Oddly enough, that makes a lot of sense,” she replies, her expression thoughtful. “By having those protections in place, it prevents one organization from infiltrating every other organization and becoming a super-mob, of sorts.”
I chuckle at her term, but she’s hit the nail on the goddamn head. “Not in those words exactly, but yes. That’s the basic principle.”
“Do you think they’re going to allow it?” Her eyes are dark and very interested in my response.
“They don’t have a fucking choice,” I say a little snider than I should. “I’m going to be respectful and insistent, but if that doesn’t work, then I have no issue switching my tactics to defiant. The Miami organization, as it is now, is fucking done.”
“Should I worry while you’re in this meeting?”
“Not in the least.”
“Okay,” she replies, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my cheek. “I’m going to double check our bags and take a shower.” She stands, brushing her fingers along my jaw. “Wake me when you come to bed.”
I smirk, giving her a heated once-over. “Definitely.”
After watching her saunter from the room, I get back to work on choosing the leading trio of the new Miami Mob. Their structure is similar to the Outfit, except they have six crews, with two of them overseeing practices heavily fucking frowned upon by most American mafia organizations. Both of those crews will be dissolved, their Capos among the dead, and the soldiers will be left with the option to choose loyalty to the new leadership or fucking death.
With five targets scheduled for execution and three others selected for leadership replacement, I’m ready to put my winning proposal together. I spend the next couple hours making copies of crucial documents and compiling a folder for each Boss. Confident in my arguing skills, all I can do now is present my fucking case.
And if that doesn’t work, there’s always Plan B—go rogue and kill the motherfuckers anyway.
I slip the folders into my briefcase and turn out the light as I head to the shower. With business behind me, I can look forward to what the rest of the night will bring. What I find when I finally slip beneath the duvet is naked skin and a groggy but warm and willing partner.
The alarm clock blares early as fuck the next morning, but instead of feeling tired, I feel fucking determined. Piper and I are up and dressed in no time with our bags sitting by the elevator.
My phone buzzes and I pull it from my inside pocket. “Any new information I need to know before I leave?” I say in lieu of hello.
Ivan chuckles, and it’s much lighter than when I last spoke with him. “Nothing on my end, though I’d love to get a look at the stuff from Parks.”
“The master file is in my office; you’re welcome to it,” I reply. “Why don’t you and Madeline come stay in the penthouse? You can go over it while you’re here.”
“Nah,” he says, and I can picture his nonchalant headshake. “I’ll come over and pick it up in a little while, if that’s okay. You’re only going to be gone overnight, and I’ll probably do some work at Grizzly.”
“You’re going to leave Madeline alone?” I say in mock horror.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” he says with a chuckle. “She’ll be guarded the same
