Page 9 of Fight Me Daddy

Gabriele

What the hellhad I been thinking telling Calix he could work under me? The thought had popped into my head in an instant and spewed from my lips. I groaned long and low as my hands tightened around the wheel.

I'm a dumbass.

As I drove to Calix's house, all I could think about was that I would be crammed into my car with him for the rest of the night. Goddamn Ama. It was his fault that I'd put forth the proposition in the first place. But I hadn't come up with anything on the entire drive over and that was the first thing that popped into my head.

"Goddamn, this is a pain in my ass."

I should be doing something more important like looking for the assholes who tried to put Amadeo in a grave. But since we had no new leads, I was stuck babysitting. The only people I didn't mind working with were my family members and even then I still preferred to strike it out on my own. There were no distractions, no unnecessary bullshit. And then once work was done, I could find somewhere to relax and enjoy what little free time I had.

Why couldn't I have come up with another solution? There had to be a million other ways to handle this, but it was done now and Amadeo knew about it. And he liked it.

Of course, he does. That bastard.

My phone rang and I snatched it up. "What?"

"Someone's irritated," Six said with a chuckle. "Are you with Calix?"

"No," I grumbled, not in the mood to talk to Six when it was his fault I was stuck in this predicament in the first place. "Why?"

"I just wanted to tell you to be nice to my friend. He's all tough on the outside, but Calix is a good guy. Don't break him."

I scoffed. "We're working together. What do you think I'm gonna do to him?"

"Well your brother likes breaking fingers," he muttered.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop telling people that?" Amadeo growled. "And give me my phone. You're still grounded."

Six groaned. "You need to get laid," he muttered before he sighed. "Just be nice, Gabriele. Okay?"

"As long as he doesn't give me any shit."

He let out a laugh. "Calix? He's going to give you shit for days. I don't know why you think I would associate with anyone who doesn't have a solid backbone. They'd never be able to handle me."

"Six!"

"Fine!" Six snapped at Amadeo before he grumbled under his breath. "I gotta go, but I mean it. If you mess him up, I'm going to be pissed. And another thing you-"

Six's words were cut off as commotion filled their place. The call ended and I shook my head. Well, he's dead. Amadeo was going to have his ass for yelling at him.

They're both chaotic.

Amadeo had loosened up a hell of a lot around Six. It was a good thing. Before he was so rigid I was sure he would end up snapping, but now he laughed. He talked to us. He doled out assignments and didn't try to juggle it all himself. I could tell it was still difficult for him, but he was trying. All because of Six.

My heart squeezed and I rubbed at my chest. Was that jealousy? There's no way I'm envious of them. I didn't mind being alone, having men and women hanging off of me wherever I went. But...

It's not the same as actually having someone you give a damn about.

I shook my head and cleared those thoughts away. There was no time to be daydreaming about things that weren't in the cards right now. Instead, I pulled up to the curb and climbed out.

Oh well. At least I know Calix can hold his own when it comes to a fight.

If I was honest with myself, he would make great muscle. And he wouldn't kill anyone so I wouldn't have to cover tracks and spend my night getting things cleaned up like when I worked with my psycho cousin Nic. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing.

My eyes swept the area looking for Calix. Instead, I found his neighbor from the day before sitting on her porch. She looked at me with those same judgemental eyes from the day before and had the nerve to glare.

I raised a brow. "Is there a problem?"

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