Page 111 of A Touch of Fate

I chuckled and pushed to my feet. “You keep me busy and not the way I had planned.”

Emma gave me a sheepish grin. “Sorry, it’s the hormones. But we can still continue where we left off later if you want?” I looked at Emma’s jam-covered lips and the crumbs of kale attached to it, then bent down and kissed her ear. “You never looked sexier.”

She swatted me away with an indignant look. “So that’s a no?”

“That’s a definite yes.”

I left in search of chocolate. Dad sat on the couch in the living room and looked up from his laptop when I began searching the cabinets for Christmas sweets. “Your mother bought truffles for Emma and Sofia. But they’re already wrapped.”

“Tell Mom I’m sorry, but Emma needs chocolate,” I muttered as I ripped away the gift wrapping around one of the praline boxes. I had to admit taking care of Emma like this made me feel good.

When I finally returned to the bedroom, Emma had put the tray down on the floor and was fast asleep on her side. I put the chocolates beside her on the nightstand in case a nightly craving hit her, then climbed into bed with her and pressed up to her petite body, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair.

I took another, even deeper breath when my body shivered and called for something to drink. It was an almost physical pull,but I held Emma. She was the reason I was doing this, and she was also why I wouldn’t fail.

Three weeks sober and a week as Underboss, today marked the day I’d have to gather all of my strength to resist the need for a drink.

Our newest club was swarming with police officers. On the day of its grand opening, no less. I had gotten a call from the club manager thirty minutes ago and came as quickly as I could. I found him talking to the famous—according to my manager—DJ we had hired for way too much money and a stash of cocaine. I joined them in front of the back entrance where I’d parked my car.

“I can’t have bad press,” the DJ said.

“You agreed to the job, and you will give people what they want, a fucking amazing show, or the press will be all over the photos of you snorting cocaine from the tits of our best prostitutes.”

He paled, then stalked back inside the building. I shook hands with the manager, an ambitious son of one of our Captains. “The mayor is in the front, showing his face for the cameras.”

“The police won’t find anything.”

My manager nodded.

I headed inside, then crossed the huge club past dozens of police officers turning everything over. It would take a lot of manpower to put everything back in place before the opening in six hours. I caught the eyes of two senior officers on our payroll among a few others. They had warned us an hour before the operation so we had time to hide any compromising material. I found the mayor in front of the main entrance of the club, speaking to the press. He was young, very ambitious, and had the looks that could catapult him into much higher political positions if he did it right.

“Mayor,” I said with a hard smile. “This could be considered harassment. Is this because my family supported your opponent in the last election?”

He smoothed his dark blond hair back with a fake smile. “This is me making good on my promise. I told the voters I would clean the streets, and that’s what I’m doing.”

“This is a nightclub. You won’t find anything that’ll make these streets any safer.”

“We’ll see. We both know you aren’t a mere businessman, Mr. Mione, so stop pretending.”

My smile became threatening as I stepped closer to him. “You would know all about pretending, wouldn’t you?” He was a hardliner and propagated traditional family values in a very adamant way, which wasn’t too far from the values the Outfit upheld, but I knew his interest in women was nonexistent. I personally didn’t care if someone fucked guys or women, but I cared about ambitious politicians ruining my business.Something flickered in his eyes, then he gave me a terse smile and glanced at his watch. “I have more important matters to deal with.”

“I’m sure,” I drawled and pushed my hands into my pockets, then watched him drive away. I gritted my teeth and returned to the club.

My manager was at the bar, shaking his head over a few liquor bottles that had shattered on the floor, thanks to careless police officers. I stopped beside him but regretted it immediately when the strong odor of bourbon and martini wafted into my nose.

“I need a drink, what about you?” he asked.

I stiffened and shook my head. My phone rang at that moment, and I picked up. “There’s a big fight between Made Men in my grandparents’ restaurant,” Renato said.

“I’ll head there.”

It was only a ten-minute drive from where I was. “Make sure everything is ready for tonight,” I told the manager before I left the club. I’d have to discuss with Dad how to keep the mayor in check. I didn’t want him to start investigating more.

When I pulled up in front of the Cantina, one of the front windows was broken, and I could hear screams and shooting inside. I pulled my own gun. I hadn’t thought it was this serious. Dammit, what was going on?

I ducked my head and ran toward the front door, then peered in. Two of my soldiers were caught in a shooting match, one hidden behind the bar, the other behind an overturned table. I could see Renato’s grandfather peering out of the kitchen, a gun in hand.

“Put your weapons down now!” I ordered. “It’s me, Samuel.”

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