Page 10 of The DeLuca Crime Family: Vol. 1

“What happened?” I asked Antonio calmly.

He scrubbed his hands up and down his face, before looking straight at me, and I suddenly noticed how tired his eyes were.

“One of our shipments was boosted from the warehouse in Queens.”

Fuck!It was where we stored our more...sensitive cargo. The items that weren’t exactly legal. “How much?”

“Everything from Saturday’s delivery,” Brandon answered darkly. There was clearly something else behind his anger, so I waited with a raised brow warning him to hurry the fuck up. “It was the O’Reillys,” he bit out. “Our driver caught sight of them emptying the truck and hid until they were gone. He called for backup, but we got there too late.”

I scratched my chin, then ran my fingers down my beard, as I stood there, thinking. Something didn’t feel right. “That shipment was abnormally large, how was it you guys didn’t reach them in time?”

Brandon nodded, agreeing with my train of thought. “He obviously didn’t put a call into us right away. And—” he broke off and glanced away, his face darkening with a ferocious scowl.

“And,” I prompted.

“Carly knew about the shipment.”

I was sure most people’s instinct would have been to immediately accept her as the guilty party, but I found it hard to believe she would lift a finger to help her family in any way after what she’d shared with me about her childhood. “It wasn’t Carly,” I stated, my tone of voice deadly. I was not to be questioned and they knew it. I pointed at the other two men in the room. “You two, get your ears to the ground and find out where the fuck our cargo is.” I stared at them with laser focus,my voice now full of warning. “Get it back and make sure they know what happens to people who try to fuck with us.”

They murmured their agreement and exited the room, leaving the three of us. I faced Brandon, my expression conveying the seriousness of what I was about to say. “You need to accept it when I tell you it wasn’t Carly, and if you can’t, keep it to yourself and do what I tell you.Capisci?”

“Yeah,” he muttered and stalked to the door, but stopping before he was in the hall and turning back. “Why didn’t you warn me what a pain in the ass she is,stronzo?” Then he spun around and was gone.

I might have laughed if our situation weren’t so dire. I knew what was coming and it was time to stop putting it off.

“We look weak, Nic. I’m not meant for this and they know it.”

I sighed and faced my uncle. “I know. I’m sorry I’ve put you in this position. You’re right, it’s time I stepped into my place as the head of this family.”

Antonio’s eyes shone with pride, and it made me feel like a son of a bitch for wishing he would continue to lead in my place for just a little while longer. Now that I’d met Gianna, it would be even more of a struggle to hide the nature of my business, who and what I really am, from her until she was tied to me forever.

“Your father would be proud of you, Nic. The man you’ve become, the wonderful father, and”—he winked at me—“the husband you are surely about to be.” He walked over and clapped me on the back as he strolled to the door. “I’ll call a meeting for tomorrow night. We don’t have any runs scheduled and most everyone will be able to attend.”

I went home with the weight of the world on my shoulders and yet, I realized a part of me was ready. It was time to do my duty and lead.

Over the next few days, I was incredibly busy with the transition. I found time to spend with Sophia and Gianna, butit wasn’t as much as I would have liked. I had hoped to have convinced Gianna to move into my room by then, but all I’d been able to accomplish were stolen moments with hot kisses and some heavy petting. I’d made her come a couple of times, but it wasn’t enough. The stress of my work had me needing her more than ever. I longed to sink inside her heat and lose myself to her entirely.

Finally, on Friday, our shipment was located and the goons who’d stripped the truck were made an example of. Their bodies were delivered to the O’Reillys as a message. I knew this meant we were likely to end up in a war, but we would be vulnerable without a show of strength and power.

As we waited for the next move, I vowed to focus on Gianna, to truly make her mine. She’d had enough time to accept what was happening. Saturday night, Sophia would be staying with a friend, and I was going to use every weapon in my arsenal to show her who she belonged to.

Chapter Seven

ANNA

“I’m taking you to dinner.”

It took all my energy to stop my lips from tilting up in a grin at the way Nic asked me to dinner. He totally skipped over the question part and just told me what we were going to do. He was so darn bossy and it had nothing to do with the fact that he really was my boss.

“It’s the first night I have free since I moved in. Maybe I already have plans.”

“Plans?” he growled, prowling towards me.

“I have a hot date with some shampoo and conditioner,” I joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, since he resembled a lion who was ready to pounce.

It had the opposite effect than I had intended. Nic’s eyes flared, heating with an animalistic lust. When he was inches from me, he reached one finger out, wrapped it around a long, dark lock and tugged. “If your hair needs washing, I’ll do it for you.”

I gulped at the thought of showering with him, his hands all over my wet body—mine all over his hard one. It was too easy to picture us together under a stream of water. I leaned into hishand, his fist unclenching, so my cheek rested against his palm. “Dinner’s probably a better plan.”

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