Page 39 of The Woman with the Wallet

“What’s above that?”

“The underboss, consigliere, and the boss. And at the very top, thecapo-dei-capi.”

“What’s the difference between a boss and acapo-dei-capi?”

“That title literally means ‘boss of bosses,’” Miko explained. “He is in charge of the whole organization. At least regionally. Ithink the days of thecapo-dei-capihaving control coast-to-coast are over. But Lorenzo Costa is our regionalcapo-dei-capi.”

“That’s your family.”

“Yeah. I directly work for Cosimo Costa. But he works directly for Lorenzo.”

“And your goal is to become an equal with Cosimo?”

“Yeah.”

“Why not aim higher?”

“Because you don’t get higher,” he told me. “Not unless someone dies.”

“Why?”

“The hierarchy is set once the boss takes over. He picks his most trusted friends to be right at the top with him. I don’t want to be at the top of the organization. I just want to have my own crew. I’ve worked my ass off for it.”

“Was this job your attempt to prove your worth?”

To that, he drew in a deep breath then exhaled it on a sigh. It was the closest to frustrated I’d seen him so far. “Yeah.” There was a beat before he said, “Don’t you dare apologize.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I admitted.

He turned, that charming little smile tugging at his lips, his eyes all gooey.

And damn if my sex didn’t clench so hard that I almost moaned. Right there in his damn face.

“So, uh, what now?” I asked. Then licked my lips. Damnit. What the hell was wrong with me? This guy just scrambled my mind, ripped away my usual guards. Just by being near. It made no sense.

“Good question,” he said, leaning the side of his head against the back cushion, making him angle ever so slightly closer to me.

I totally didn’t think of how easy it would be to just lean down, press my lips to his. And maybe his hand would raise,slide behind my neck to hold me against him as he deepened the kiss, as he reached to pull me to straddle him, and…

“Max?”

“What?” I asked. Coming back to the present wasn’t quite the wet blanket over my libido that I hoped it might be. If anything, I just wanted to make the fantasy a reality.

“How do you feel about a little stakeout?”

“A stakeout? Are we in a cop drama?”

“Feels like it sometimes. But from the other side. So, you down?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“The comfort of the car and the quality of the snacks.”

“Car is a luxury SUV with lots of room and heated seats, and I’m open to requests on the snacks.”

“Then I guess I can squeeze it in. Until my face is healed. Then I need to get my ass back to work.”

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