Page 65 of The Price of Power

She must have been thinking much the same thing because when she eventually caught her breath and turned around in the shower to face me, a bright smile lit up her face.

“You’re right,” she said with a satisfied giggle. “Your surprise was a lot better than mine.”

“And there’s more to come,” I told her. “Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

But she shook her head.

“I still need to wash my hair,” she said. “I think I somehow managed to get jam in it.”

She was right. She did—not that I was going to be the one to bring it up.

“You really are a bad cook,” I teased her.

“I know. I know,” she huffed as I stepped out of the shower. “But if you want to keep enjoying my other talents, you better stop rubbing it in.”

Point taken.

I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist. “I’ll meet you on the bed once you’re done.”

But the second I stepped out of the bathroom and heard the knocking at the bedroom door, I knew Round Two would have to wait.

“Gabriel, are you in there?” Matteo’s voice came through the door…and he sounded serious.

Shit.

“Yeah. Just got out of the shower,” I called out. “Gimme a second.”

I took a robe off the hook in the closet and threw it on before opening the door a crack. My twin was on the other side, standing next to Tony Silvestri.

“Sorry to bother you, sir,” Tony said, his expression genuinely apologetic. “I would never interrupt you if it wasn’t important.”

It was true. Tony was a good capo. Maybe the best—smart, loyal, respectful.

“I know.” I threw the door wide and nodded to Matteo. “Thanks for bringing him up. What’s going on?”

Tony shifted back and forth on his feet. “There’s a problem down at the pier, sir.”

“What kind of problem?”

“The kind we probably shouldn’t discuss out in the open,” Matteo said. “I told Tony’s men to wait downstairs, but voices can carry.”

“Of course.” I stepped back to make room for the two men to enter and closed the door behind them. “But we’ll have to make this quick. Liv is still in the shower, but I don’t know for how long.”

Tony nodded in understanding. “Then I’ll get right to it. There’s been a problem with the Xanax shipment coming in from Canada. The boat is docked, but it looks like there was a shake-up at the shipping company. The captain we usually deal with has been fired, and there’s a new guy at the helm.”

“So what’s the problem?” I asked. “Bribe him with the same amount we gave the other guy and tell him to look the other way while your guys unload the shipment.”

“I tried that, sir, but this new captain says someone already got there before us and paid him more to do the same thing.”

All the good feelings that had spread through me a few minutes ago with Liv washed away in an instant. Without thinking, my shoulders tightened, and my hands balled into fists at my side.

“Who paid him?”

“Some new punk with the Giordanos,” Tony answered.

“The Giordanos?” I shook my head. “They usually stay out in Queens. What the hell are they doing sticking their necks out in Manhattan?”

“It doesn’t sound like it was a sanctioned move. Word on the street is that this is some low-level rogue trying to prove himself,” Tony said with a shrug. “And this new crop of captains down on the East River ain’t helping any. Their only loyalty is to whoever is willing to lay the most cash in their hands. They’d do just about anything for anyone if the price was right.”

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