Page 21 of My Mafia Queen

At first, she doesn’t realize how much money it is, and then her smile dies out, and her eyes widen in disbelief.

“Car??” she murmurs. “Where did you get it?”

“I told you I’d made some money.”

She looks at the cash and then at me.

“I’ve made some money, too, yet I’ve never had that much.”

“I have my methods,” I joke.

“I like your methods.”

“Hide the money, and don’t tell anyone about it,” I say, teaching her what I’ve been taught.

“Not even Edith?”

I shake my head.

“I’ll leave some money with her too.”

“It’s a lot of cash. What do you want me to do with it?” she asks, bewildered.

“Take a break from your job. I know they won’t have a problem with you taking some time off. Stay close to Edith and Tina, and keep me posted on everything that happens.”

“What’s your plan?” she asks before sipping coffee.

I crash back in my seat.

“I need to go back, fix the door, and get my car. This time, I’ll have it swiped for bugs. And then…”

I pause and suck in a long breath.

“My initial plan was to talk to a lawyer to get Tina placed under my legal guardianship. The problem is, my life is chaos now, and it’s hard to make the case I’m a good option for her.”

“What about Edith?”

I ponder that option.

It’s not like I haven’t thought about it, but I’m torn. I don’t want Tina to be my aunt’s responsibility.

Tina and I are family.

Edith is family, too, but it would be different.

“She could do that,” she says. “If she’s interested, of course.”

“I don’t know if Tina wants that––not that she’s not happy here––but staying here is only temporary. I know what she wants and what I’ve promised her. It’s just that it’s not possible right now. I hadn’t thought this lunatic would make things so complicated. I don’t know what his problem is.”

“What his problem is…” she mumbles, picking up a cookie from the plate. “You didn’t know he was nuts?”

“He may be nuts, but he’s not crazy about me. Seriously…” I say in response to her questioning look.

“He was.”

“No, he wasn’t. He flirted with other women and fucked a few while he was with me. I only caught him with one, but there were more.”

She chews slowly.

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