Page 42 of Mob Queen

“My restaurant?” I ask in case my ears deceive me. G nods. “Who the fuck robs restaurants?” G slowly lifts his shoulders. “How bad?”

“Cleo just called me, she said she went to open for the chefs and it’s a mess.” G shakes his head. “She sounded scared.”

“Why?”

“She was scared to tell me. I think because of you.”

“Fucking ridiculous,” I grumble as I shut my laptop. “Rome, finish up, let’s go.”

“I’ll stay here.”

“You have to come and see shit that happens. Let’s go.” I stand and head over to the safe to place my laptop in it then look to my brother. He rolls his eyes, but he too powers down his laptop and brings it over to the safe. “The way you’re dragging your feet it’s like I’m taking you to your execution. Hurry the fuck up, Rome.”

G snickers which makes Rome straighten. “Got a problem, old man?”

“Call me old man again, and I’ll put you in an early grave.” G squares up to Rome and points his finger into Rome’s shoulder.

“Shut up, the both of you,” I say at their banter. G’s smirk grows and Rome huffs. I didn’t realize I’m dealing with children. G heads out of the office first, leaving Rome and me. “Stop antagonizing G. He might be old, but he’ll kick your ass.”

“Pffft.” He dismissively flicks his hand. “I can take him.”

I hold my hands up in surrender. “It’s your funeral,” I warn. I mean if it came down to it, I’d be conflicted if I had to kill G to save my brother, but I’d probably do it. Maybe.

“The car’s ready,” G announces as Rome and I walk toward the front of the house.

Dario is waiting by the open backdoor, and once Rome and I are in, he closes the door and rounds the front of the car to the driver’s seat. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check a few emails as we drive toward Moonlight.

“Did you see her?” Rome asks.

“Who?” I look up from my phone and quickly recognize the main street. “Who am I looking at?”

“The blonde.”

“Seriously? You want me to check out a booty-call?”

“No, it’s not like that. She looked like she was homeless, but also familiar. I think I’ve seen her somewhere.”

I turn in the seat and in the distance, I can see a blonde heading down the sidewalk. She’s huddled over, her arms wrapped around her torso and her head lowered. “She doesn’t look familiar.”

“Not from here, you can only see her back.”

“I’ve got more important shit to do then chase down a homeless chick.”

“You don’t have to be a dick, Frankie. I’m just saying she looks familiar,” Rome snaps with irritation.

“What’s your problem?” I lift my brows as I await his answer. He slowly blinks and angles his body away, giving me the silent treatment.

The rest of the drive to the restaurant is spent in silence. Once we arrive at Moonlight, Rome is out of the car and heading toward the door. G sidles up beside me. He opens the door and waits for me to enter before he follows. The restaurant has been trashed. Not one surface is untouched. I look to G and lift my brows. Cleo is standing toward the back speaking with two of the chefs. She sees me, says something to the chefs and advances toward me. “What happened?” I look around the restaurant, already assessing the damage.

“I came in this morning and the moment I was in the kitchen I knew something was wrong. The kitchen took the brunt of it.” Cleo steps aside and gestures for me to head out to the back.

Rome is walking out of the kitchen while I’m heading toward it. “Fuck,” he grumbles. “Someone’s pissed off, that’s for sure.”

“How bad is it?”

“See for yourself.”

The moment I’m in the kitchen a toxic odor overtakes me. I cover my nose and mouth with my hand. “What the fuck is that?”

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