Page 8 of Taming Nikki

“Sure boss, whatcha got?” Gio is my cousin, my underboss, and the best in the family at finding out what I needed to know.

“I need information on Nicole Morelli. She’s dealing and I want to know what and where.” If Morelli was selling in my establishments before this deal went through…

I was standing by the back door so I could keep an eye on Frankie. I didn’t trust some of the other Cosa Nostra. They wouldn’t care that he was just a kid if they wanted revenge for something. I stood in the shadows, waiting for Gio to update me, when I saw Nicole disappear straight out the front door with a few guys. I glanced back at the yard before following her, and watched out one of the front windows as she got into a beat up sedan, laughing as they pulled away.

“Not much here, boss. Nothing on dealing. I can keep looking, though.”

“Do it. And send Mass and Alonzo to tail her. She just left the party.” I rattled off the car make and model as well as the license plate.

“Consider it done.”

I hung up, watching the tail lights disappear down the street. I could’ve probably followed her myself, but I wasn’t willing to leave Frankie and Aunt Carlotta here on their own.

The rest of the party was relatively quiet. I was approached by a few dons about deals they had been hoping to meet with me about, though none of them seemed worth my while.

I noticed the man from before, the one Nicole threatened, edging his way closer to the head table, so I stepped up behind Frankie and gave the man a hard stare. He froze and immediately moved away, slinking back into the crowd.

A light touch to my elbow forced my attention off the kids. Morelli’s oldest daughter stood beside me, batting her eyelashes. She was exactly what I was expecting from Morelli’s daughters, the typical mafia princess. She wore a tight dress just shy of immodest, her heels so high I couldn't imagine she could walk in them, and way too much makeup.

“You’re Leo Vitale, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She was shamelessly flirting, but I knew what women like her wanted. She was more interested in my money than anything else because if she really heard a lot about me, she’d be scared shitless, not trying to draw my eyes to her cleavage as she leaned closer. She was hot, but she had nothing on her sister.

My phone rang, and I excused myself without acknowledging her efforts.

“Hey boss, Gio said you wanted us to follow the girl. We found her.”

“Where?”

“Club Sapphire.”

That wasn’t one of mine. It belonged to the Ricci’s, who were tentative allies with her father. If she stuck to that side of town, it really didn’t affect the deal, but for some reason, I was still on edge about it.

“What’s she selling?”

“Don’t know yet. Every time we get close to her, she moves on.” It was hard to hear him over the noise of the club, but I knew Alonzo was probably following her while Mass updated me. “She’s got pull, though. Pretty sure half the people she’s met so far have had their hands all over her, men and women. Think she’s selling herself?”

I didn’t get that kind of vibe off her, but I wasn’t going to discount it completely until they gave me more information.

“No idea. Don’t let Alonzo get too close. She’s got a knife on her and she already threatened to use it on a guy at the party.”

I heard Mass snort. “She’s got more than just a knife on her, boss. Pretty sure she’s armed to the teeth. She’s not hiding it. That skirt is too short to hide much of anything.”

I glanced over at Morelli in the middle of a conversation with Don Ricci himself. There was no way he’d be sending his daughter out like that if he was looking to sell her for a deal.

“Fuck. Pretty sure we’ve been made.”

I stilled, waiting for Mass to tell me more. I only relaxed when he chuckled. “She just told Al to go fuck himself. We’re going to pull back a bit, see if she’ll let it go.”

“Do it.”

He hung up, and I watched over the yard once more. Nicole was a major distraction. I had no idea how it was going with Frankie and Amara, and it was pissing me off. I’d probably need to pull Frankie out early and come back tomorrow to sign the deal because I had a bad feeling.

* * *

I should always trust my gut. Not ten minutes later, I got a call from Mass again.

“What happened?”

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