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Tesio by Mia Fury

Dedication

In memory of the wonderful Catherine Wiltcher. Sadly we never had the chance to meet in person, but we talked many times about meeting for drinks in our neck of the woods. A missed opportunity I’ll always regret. Rest in peace, CW, we miss you xx

Chapter One

TESIO / GREASE

I’m a good mafia man, aren’t I? Isn’t that where my roots are, and where I belong? So why did I feel like I was being pulled in two fucking directions, and my place in life wasn’t where I thought it’d be?

“Yo, Grease? You got that data for the Pres?” Harley leaned around my door and cocked his head at me. He wasn’t the VP, but he was close enough. You’d have thought one of the other original Phoenix guys they’d sent over here would get that role, but I had a feeling it’d be this guy right here. If and when Reacher and Stitch fucking allowed it, of course.

“’Course I have. You think I sit here jerking off instead of working?” I grinned at him, and tossed him a flash drive, which the dickhead almost fumbled, before he caught it.

“Prick. You coulda warned me.”

I stood up and stretched my back, wincing as it made a crunching sound. A sure sign that I’d been on my ass for too long working on this shit.

“Where is the Pres anyway?”

Harley rolled his eyes at me. “Where do ya think? Up his old lady, of course.”

“So he’s not chasing this, is he? Why are you getting up my ass if he’s not asking for it yet?”

Harley winced, and reluctantly pointed back out behind him.

“You know who’s here, and I thought I’d save us all the fucking drama.” You know who…oh fuck, he meant thatshewas here. Again? What the fuck.

“Why the fuck is she here again? This ain’t the place for her.”

I headed for the door, and paused when Harley was dumb enough to put his hand on my chest. Touch a mafia guy? That gets you dead, but then I’m not a mafia guy right now, am I? And he had no idea who he was really touching. Nobody fucking knew but the original Phoenix MC crew.

“Why the fuck do you think you won’t lose your hand for doing that?” I glared at him, letting him see his impending death in my eyes, and he groaned, backing up and getting the offending appendage away from me.

“Jesus, you keep pissing off this cop bitch, and she’ll never stay away, that’s all. I’d say fuck her and get it out of your system, but I don’t think even a hatefuck is ever gonna happen.”

I shoved him out of my way and stepped out into the dim hallway. The clubhouse here was different from the other Phoenix one I’d stayed in, that being a multistorey business facility that they’d converted into living quarters. This was like a fucking army barracks, but with rooms, instead of open space and bunks. It was all on one floor, and in some ways, that felt less secure.

The club was barely back on its feet after being annihilated, and patched over as a new Phoenix chapter based in Hampshire, and the last thing we needed was a fucking nosy cop who’d made it her business to poke around.

“Where is she?” I barked, as I headed down the hall towards the Pres’ little office. He didn’t spend much time in there,preferring to hang with his club brothers, probably because he was just one of them really, rather than a real President. It still amazed me that they didn’t kill him after the things he did, but hell, I’m just paid to be here undercover, doing my thing.

Did I love club life? Fuck yeah, but did I miss the stuffiness of the mafia compound? At times, because it was fucking luxury, but I could kick back here, and actually live, and I loved it.

“There’s my favourite criminal,” her snarky tone reached my ears as I stepped outside, and I cast my eyes around, spotting her just behind a group of club brothers who were pulling the innocent act, and keeping her outside.

“The fuck is she doing here? We’ve got rights, and she’s on private property.”

Rocket turned to frown at me, lifting his large shoulders as he shrugged.

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