Page 32 of Claimed By Him

Growing impatient with him, I pulled off the road, right in front of Gianna’s Diner, then looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Spit it out then.”

“Alessandro Marchesi.”

We sat in silence, Ace watching my face, and me wracking my brain to try and remember who the fuck that was.

“Who?” I asked.

“Come on man! He was a big-time launderer for Lorenzo Moretti.”

“Okay?” That didn’t help me. As a kid, I didn’t pay much attention to the Moretti’s business.

“You really don’t give much of a shit about the other families, do you?”

I gave him a deadpan look because it was true. I wasn’t very much of a community guy; if it didn’t concern me, I didn’t listen. “I gave a shit about her, didn’t I?”

He chuckled, walking on dangerously thin ice if you asked me. “Fair enough. Marchesi is an old man, bro. Hair as white as your teeth and a fucking billionaire of note.”

I raised my brows, and Ace continued.

“His laundering went undetected because he was making legit cash even bigger than the Moretti’s illegitimate cash. The Marchesi estate is worth a fuck-ton of money.”

“Shit.” I looked ahead at the street, deep in thought. “Well, good for her then.”

What the fuck was she doing, marrying an old man? She had the goddamn world at her feet; she could be with fucking GQ’s sexiest man of the year if she wanted to be. How the hell was Antonio okay with this?

“Are you kidding me?” Ace asked, dropping his head to the side.

“What, man?” I shot out.

“She’s your girl, Tony. She’s been your girl since she came of age. You can’t lie to me; I’ve seen it all; I know how much you care about her.”

I sighed, grinding my teeth together. “Look, Ace, firstly, she’s not mine. She’s basically Antonio’s, and he clearly wants to marry her off to some associate of his, to keep her close. Okay? And secondly, you mind your goddamn mouth. Get off my fucking dick and watch the alleyways.”

I started the car again and pulled into the street. Ace struggled to hide his stupid smile. After a long, silent 10 seconds, he asked, “Aren’t you considered an associate of his, though?”

I immediately reached over and smacked the back of his head.

“Ooow! Okay! Fine!”

I wasn’t going to explain to him that we weren’t right for each other. It didn’t matter if Antonio suddenly told her to marry me, she still hated me. She still hated everything I stood for. Her parting words the other night confirmed precisely that.“You’re still a stone-cold asshole, no better than the rest.”Even if our sexual connection was out of this fucking world, we would never get along outside the bedroom.

It was best that she marry the old guy. It was how things were supposed to be.

“We gonna hit up The Den tonight?” Ace asked after we’d circled the block three times. “Come on, Boss. The boys can handle the streets. You need to blow off some steam, maybe even find some spicy chicks to spend the night with?”

The Den was a nightclub a few blocks over. I wasn’t in the mood to party or to find spicy chicks, but I knew that staying in this car and overthinking everything was going to drive me fucking crazy.

“Alright.”

“I’ll let the guys know.”

I drove us over there and parked close to the entrance. It was a busy night, and there was a line of taxi cabs with their hazards flashing on the road, but since this was Romano territory, I always had a guy around every corner to open up a parking space for the future don. I didn’t always use my status for perks, but some were well worth it.

I secured my gun under my seat before getting out. I always kept my knife on me but taking a gun into a packed nightclub was just an irresponsible move. I also threw my bloodied rag into the trunk and pulled out a fresh one, purely out of habit. A guy like me had to be prepared for anything, and generally, people didn’t take well to blood on my hands.

“You go on in, bud. I’m gonna make a phone call first.”

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