Page 36 of Enforcer

He finally gets exhausted with me and pulls his phone out. “What did you say the address was?”

I lean over to look at his phone screen and rattle off the address as I pop the lid off the needle and stab it into his neck.

“What the fuck? What was that?” He backs away from me, dropping his phone as the paralytic takes hold of him.

“Just a little something to take the edge off.”

“The edge off what?” He falls to the ground in a magnificent heap in his fake guard uniform.

“Oh, that’s the fun part.” I crouch over him, grabbing his phone from beside him and pocketing it. “You and I are going to have a little chat once you come around. Don’t worry, I doubt it’ll last long.”

Once he’s in the trunk securely, lying on plastic sheets so he doesn’t ruin my favorite car, I lock the gate, set up surveillance cameras that feed back to my phone, and then head to the warehouse to get some answers from my new friend.

I’m a little thrown off by what happened with Alyssa earlier. If I’m honest, I’m thrown off by Alyssa, period. Her presence has tossed my world upside down like I’m inside a salad spinner, and she’s in control of the fucking thing. I have to keep her far from my mind, however.

Ardesia handed the reins to me, and they’re big shoes to fill.

Once I’m close to the warehouse, I phone Marco to have him meet me to help get the paralyzed man out of my trunk. All the while, however, I’m wondering how the wedding planning is going for Alyssa.

Get your shit together, man.

Once Marco and I have the guard in the warehouse, and Marco and two of his guys are strapping him up on the wall for me to question him, I step into the hall.

Pulling out my phone, I call Brynne, which is something I don’t know I’ve ever done before.

“Hello?” Brynne sounds confused. I don’t know if I’m saved on her phone or if the confusion is caused by my number not being one she knows.

“Brynne, hi,” I reply, kicking a piece of broken concrete with the tip of my boot. “It’s Dante.”

“I know who this is, Dante. What have you done to my friend now?”

I scoff. “Your faith in me is comforting.”

She laughs. “Dante, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but you two seem like a ticking time bomb. If I hadn’t wanted a night alone with my soon-to-be husband last night, I’d have insisted Alyssa stay with us.”

“Mm, well, she’s fine.”

“Alright, now that we’ve dealt with that, why are you calling?”

I lean against the wall, eyeing Marco as he comes out of the room behind his two guys and gives me a thumbs-up.

I nod, returning my stare to where lime green paint peels off the wall from years of neglect.

“Dante? You there?” Brynne asks, her tone perking into concern.

“I’m here. I don’t know how to say what I called to say.”

“Now you’re making me nervous. Spit it the fuck out.”

The command in her tone makes me think she’s right where she belongs as the head of the Bianchi Crime Family, and I grin.

“I wanted to ask you for Alyssa’s number.”

She laughs, and I can tell the laugh isatme and notwithme. My answering awkward chuckle only makes my cheeks heat.

“I don’t think she’d like me giving you that.”

“Well, it’s only I had a question for her about the wedding planning, and I didn’t want to bother you with it, and she’s with Lorenzo and Antonio, so I know they can answer it for me without me having to wait until later,” I lie.

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