Page 48 of Sweet Deception

“Please. She had so much fun tonight—you'll need to up your game.”

Arrogant as ever.

Shaking my head, I don’t succumb to his taunt. Instead, I pick up Kylie and settle her against my chest. She snuggles her face into the crook of my neck as I carefully sit down, trying not to wake her.

For the first time tonight, the tension leaves my frame, my shoulders relax, and I don't resist the urge to tilt my head down to touch my cheek to hers.

When I lift my head to bring my gaze to Gio's, he's smirking.

"Shut up." I grumble.

Chuckling, he picks up the remote and shuts the tv off. "Well? What'd you find out?" Setting the remote on the coffee table, he shifts to face me on the couch.

I exhale and gather my thoughts. "Rome's men got their hands on a higher up. It's why he called—he couldn't hold him long. The interrogation had to happen tonight so they could stage his death before his boss became suspicious."

Gio nodded. "That makes sense. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but Little Bit turned out to be entertaining."

I narrow my eyes. "You'll have to explain that comment later."

He smirks.

Shaking my head, I continue, "The guy proved hard to break, which I’m sure is why he made it to their top tier. Rome was smart, though. He did his research on all the high level men and had them all followed, waiting for the opportune time to snatch one of them. His patience paid off—something his father never learned."

Gio narrows his eyes at the mention of Rome's father. The man was hated by all.

"We got little out of him, but what we learned was important. Rome thought this was a new syndicate who could easily be squashed and move on. The man bragged about it being much bigger than that. It seems the enemy of Rome's family backs them in Italy. The Mancuso's."

"Whoa." Gio's eyes widen at the information.

"Yeah. Not great news for Rome, but without that information, he would've made the wrong moves to take them down. With this new intel, he can plan appropriately with the addition of his family's help from Italy. The only thing we couldn't get was the identity of the plant." I run a hand down my face, exhaustion setting in. "At first, he denied there was one, but after some convincing on Rome's part, he finally got him to admit to several plants, but only the main boss knows who they are. He insists that was done in case Rome got his hands on any of the men."

We stare at the blank TV digesting the information. I’m not happy this is bigger than what we thought, but the fault doesn’t lie at Rome’s feet. He’s made the family richer with the changes he's made. That always brings people out of the woodwork, wanting to steal what you’ve built. I’ve seen it myself when a competitor started their own sugar baby business in town. They tried stealing some of our clients and were successful in the beginning, but I provide a well run service that protects all parties involved and that proved to be more valuable to my clientele.

Gio turns, brows dipped, to look down at Kylie. “We’ll have to keep a closer eye on Little Bit. She could become vulnerable if they find out about her.”

“Yeah. The timing for me to take her as my own is not good, but it’s too late to back off now. They could already know about her. That she’s my first sugar baby since starting the business proves she’s already too valuable to me. No one will believe she's temporary. If they don't get what they want, they may try to go after her.” My blood boils just thinking about it.

"Good thing you already hired Joseph to watch over her. She won't even know he's there."

"I extended his contract for the six months she'll be with me. This plant should be found by then, but it wouldn't hurt having Jospeh protecting her when she's not with me."

"Makes sense." Gio zones out while I stare down at Kylie.

“Well …” He stands, grabbing his empty beer bottle and their popcorn buckets. “Now that you’re back, I’m sure you want to be alone. Call me if you need me.”

“Thanks, Gio. Don’t expect to hear from me until Monday.”

“You got it, boss. I've got plans myself.” The right side of his mouth tilts up as he sweeps out of the room.

Laying my head on the back of the couch, I allow a moment to enjoy Kylie in my arms. When I hear the door shut downstairs, I dip my head to catalog Kylie's features again. I can't seem to get enough. I’ve asked myself many times what it is about her that pulls at me. At first, I blamed it on lust. She has the curves to draw the attention of any hot-blooded male. But it’s more than that. I just haven't figured it out yet.

After finding out about who's really behind the new syndicate, I should step away from her until everything is resolved. Only, I can't do it.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I let out a frustrated sigh. Careful not to wake her, I stand and take her to my room and lay her on the bed. I had every intention of letting her sleep, resigned to the fact that I'll have to wait another day to have her. But the moment I tried to pull the covers out from under her, her eyes snap open.

"Hi, Angel." I dip down to drop a kiss on her lips before I continue pulling the covers down and out from under her.

"Hey." Her voice groggy, she clears it and then tries to sit up.

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