Page 26 of My Sweetest Temptation

Lo pushed himself off the wall, uncrossing his arms as he spoke. “We don’t know, boss.”

“What the hell do you know?” I snarled at my brother.

Lo sighed. “The driver got away.”

Uncle Alessandro, a veteran of our underworld, shook his head. His face was lined with the wear and tear of decades spent in the game. But the aftermath of this latest incident was bound to add more.

“Whoever planned this knew our routes, our operations. We’ve never had a breach like this before.”

Matteo nodded. “They knew exactly what they were doing.”

I paused, my anger a tangible force in the room. Taking a cigar, I lit it slowly, my eyes never leaving Matteo’s. “What’s the cartel saying now?”

Luca, usually calm, looked almost as angry as I felt. “They’ve already sent out another shipment and are taking extra security measures near the border.”

“I want extra security measures at the border using my men, and I want them implemented yesterday.”

“Already on it, boss,” Matteo replied. “We’ve got more eyes and guns on the routes now. We won’t let them slip through again.”

If we started losing credibility and trust with our partners, it wouldn’t be long before the whole operation crumbled and we lost our clients. If they weren’t getting the product from us, they’d go to someone else, including our enemies.

“Track down the driver,” I growled. “Once we find him, we make him talk. He must know something about who set us up.”

Matteo shrugged. “He’s probably hiding like a rat.”

“Then I want you to tear this city apart and find him.” I took another puff of my cigar, the smoke swirling around me like a cloak.

The room fell silent for a moment.

“Let’s move,” I finally said, taking one last puff of my cigar before violently snuffing it out in the ashtray.

The men began to exit the room, but I called Luca to stay back.

“Find out everything you can about Winter.”

“Okay,” he said, looking at me quizzically.

“Start with her background—where she’s from and who she spends her days with. I want to know her movements and any affiliations she might have. I want to know what she eats, when she takes a piss. I want to know every fucking thing.”

Luca nodded in understanding. I could see the gears in his mind already turning as he planned his approach. “I’m on it.”

It felt like an eternity, but it had only been two weeks since I last saw the man who made my heart go thump, thump, and my insides turn to putty.

No matter how hard I tried to shake him from my thoughts, Nico just wouldn’t get out of my head. I’d never met anyone quite like him, so ridiculously sexy and a bit dangerous, like he just stepped out of Scarface. You would think that I would run in the opposite direction when it came to danger, but it didn’t feel like that with Nico. It made me want to do the complete opposite—to gravitate to him. It’s almost as if he could actually protect me. Lately, my dreams had turned into a nonstop reel about him, about wanting to be with him. I wanted to experience more of that feeling in real life.

To kiss him.

To hold him.

But those thoughts were just that—thoughts. I mean, I was not even in the running for someone like him. I was not Nico’s type.

Not even close.

Someone like Davina would make way more sense.

She was sexy, fearless, and oozed confidence, while I… well, did neither. How could I ever compete with that since I haven’t seen or heard from him in two weeks.

Shaking the doubts from my mind, I fished out the last few items from the dryer, the warm fabric comforting against my fingertips, and tossed them into the laundry basket. The smell of Downy lingered in the air as I emptied the lint trap. I made my way back up the dimly lit staircase to my apartment.

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