Page 32 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

I hold my breath, wondering if it’s Ny. Lizzy is the one person who can get my stubborn-ass baby back to me. If only I could ask her to do this for me.

“Of course,” Lizzy replies to something else, but I still can’t be sure it’s Nyla. Not until she covers the phone and leans in toward Gio. “Ny says hi.”

My heart starts again, along with my breathing. Gio sits almost frozen.Don’t fuck this up, man. Lizzy glances at me, but I’m too invested to look away. Gio quickly recovers and clears his throat.

“Hello, Nyla. Will you be home for the holidays?” Gio says.

Thank God.

He’s finally going to stop being a dick. He’s giving her what she wants. I start to get hard thinking of a repeat of Miami. I’d take a day with my face between her legs if that’s all I can get.

Lizzy places the phone on speaker. Then peeks over at me once more. I’m on the edge of my seat, with my phone in his hand, trying my best to look like I’m not paying attention and failing.

“Ny, Gio asked if you’re coming home for the holidays? I have you on speaker.”

“It depends. Am I wanted home for the holidays?”

Say yes, Gio. You better say yes, asshole.

“Absolutely, I miss you. I was hoping you would come home,” Lizzy replies instead.

Fuck, it has to be Gio. That’s who Ny is waiting for. I’m going to choke the shit out of him.Come on, bro. Grow the fuck up. Be the gangster you are for this thing and get us our woman.

“I would like to get to know my friend’s sister more. Come home. I’ll send a jet to…”

Gio pauses to wait for Nyla to answer the implied question. She laughs. She knows he already knows. He’s testing her to see if she’ll lie. More of their games.

“I’ll come home. I have to go.”

Gio bares his teeth for a second before he quickly schools his features. I sit back in my seat with a tiny smile. That was enough. She’s coming. Thank God.

Chapter 14

Back to Business

Jace

“She’ll be on the jet by Monday,” Gio murmurs from behind his desk as he tosses his phone down, bringing a smile to my face. “You happy now?”

“Don’t act as if you’re not.”

“I’m not delusional. I know what happens when she arrives. This is far from over. It’s only the beginning.”

“A beginning that needs to happen. Things have to be different this time, G.”

“Here you go telling me things I already know. They will be. This time I mean it. I’m not hiding anymore. There’s nothing keeping me from showing her how I really feel. Things will be different.”

I narrow my eyes at him. He glares back at me. The stare off is broken when his phone rings. He picks it up to check it but pulls a face and reaches into his desk to pull out a burner to return the call.

“Yeah, what you got for me, PJ?” He places the phone on speaker for me to hear.

I tune in. PJ is one of our guys working on that list Gio got from Toni. He’s a cop who’s been in Gio’s pocket for years.

“El Capitán Vega isn’t doing you or Fish Face any favors. He’s one of your first problems.”

Vega is one of Gustloff, the fish-supplying drug dealer’s captains. Hence, the Fish Face reference. I never liked his shifty-looking ass.

“Looks like he’s been skimming packs to traffic on his own, but the asshole got busted trying to cross the border by car. Like, do these guys not get why things are done the way they’re done?”

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