Page 770 of The Tempted

“What can I do for you Parrish?” he questions, tugging on the knot of his tie. I study him for a moment, take in the draining look in his eyes, the dark circles beneath them and five o’clock shadow outlining his features.

“Rough night, boss?” I taunt.

“What do you think?” he clips, glancing over his shoulder at Bianci. He’s got his eyes pinned to Rocco as he snarls.

“Better be up for the challenge, cuz,” he sneers.

“Yeah? What challenge might that be?”

“The one I’m here to deliver to you,” I say, interrupting their pissing contest. “Vic put you in charge for a reason Spinelli, more importantly he sent you to my doorstep for one purpose and now that purpose is clear. Vic knew the consequences, fuck, he expected them that’s why he made Bianci bring you to my club, it’s why he asked me to stand with you and not against you. Vic wanted me to deliver my new ally a message and so, here I am. This city,mycity, is about to become a fucking war zone now that the G-Man is off the streets. You want a place in my streets, do as I say. Your only job now is to protect Vic’s family, not his organization. Nothing else exists except for his wife, your aunt, and your cousins. Forget making scores, climbing the ranks and ordering hits. I’m telling you that shit don’t matter. Your sole purpose, your number one priority is making sure everyone in Vic’s circle keeps breathing.”

He opens his mouth to speak but I lean into him, get in his face and shake my head.

“Nuh uh, boss. You don’t get a say. You do as you're told until I tell you otherwise. You want to be the boss then you need to learn what comes first in this world. You need to learn that without heart you ain’t worth shit. Your family is your heart and you keep them safe, Spinelli, you keep them fucking breathing or I’ll rip you from the streets and send you back to Miami,” I seethe. “Welcome tomycity, Spinelli. If you’re a good boy, I’ll share it with you.”

I don’t give him a chance to argue, I don’t give him a chance to even respond. I want his actions not his words. Turning around, I grab Bianci’s elbow and shove him toward the truck.

“Your wife is going to kick my ass,” I mutter.

“Probably,” he agrees.

Not probably, Adrianna definitely will have my balls in a knot, that’s why Riggs was bringing his brother-in-law to the front door and I was staying in the truck.

Fuck that.

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