Page 2 of The Gangster King

Plus, she knew my father, although it would be a push to say she liked him. All of us were raised to respect—and fear —the heads of the families, and my father was no different.

Now, I’m one of them.

A Don.

Head of the Baldassare crime family.

“Oh god. How?”

Adelina has a tough exterior, but we grew up together and I’ve been in love with her since the day she was born. No one knows her the way I do. In saying that, I’ve never worked out why she went from being my little shadow to a pretty young girl who suddenly hated me.

She doesn’t hate me.

She craves me. Desire pours from her, even if she covers it up with her smart mouth.

Whether she loves me or not is another thing.

But that’s a topic for tomorrow. Right now, the FBI is looking for me after a bust at one of our warehouses, and I need a place to hide.

I glance around at the flower garden under Adelina’s window and feel the chill of the night air creeping inside my body now the adrenaline is wearing off.

“How about I tell you the bedtime story when I’m inside? Open the damn door,” I say.

Adalina turns to look behind her suddenly.

Fuck.

Carlos Baldoni wouldn’t react well to me being here if he knew about my father’s death. There’s no way they could yet, but neither he nor his son Leo would welcome me into their home if they did.

A leadership change like the one that’s just taken place alters things, and I’m no longer the kid who fancies his daughter or shadowed my father learning the business.

Going home is not an option. That’s the first place the feds will look for me.

The Baldoni estate is the last place.

They know no sound-minded, newly minted don is going to flee to another don’s house.

Unless they are me.

What I should be doing is rounding up my soldiers, demanding their loyalty—as they had been to my father— and assuring them they have a place in my business.

But tonight was a shit show and I’m lucky to be alive.

I don’t have long. My family is in a state of chaos, and my position is extremely vulnerable until I step visibly into the leadership role. In both the legal and illegal companies I now own.

Jesus, the ink probably isn’t even dry on my father’s death certificate, and I’m already thinking like this.

In this fucked-up world, you have to.

I will grieve him when I’m safe.

I’m no good to anyone dead or in prison, including my mother or sister.

“Fine, but you’re not going anywhere near my bed, so you can get that idea out of your head, Dante Baldassare.”

We’ll see about that.

I’ve told her I’m going to marry her one day, and she’s told me I’m crazy. Actually, what she said waswhen hell freezes over,but no one actually knows the temperature of hell, so for all we know, it could be chilly.

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