Page 36 of The Mafia's Property

“Nothing any of the previous properties wouldn’t be able to do.”

“Good thing she’s mine and not yours.”

“About that,” Rico said and went silent.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said and ended the call.

Freya

THE INSTRUCTIONS RICO gave were brief. Come to the casino. No other explanation given. I could only wonder what he wanted with me. I thought spending time together was over now that Nico was back. The good twin. At least he didn’t treat me like dirt after sleeping with him. Well, that was yet to be established, but I was sure he wouldn’t treat me the way Rico had. One would think I was the person who did the seducing and not him.

He was in his office busy signing some papers his assistant was handing to him when I entered. He gave me the barest of acknowledgement and nodded to the sitting area, a direct order for me to sit. I sank into a sofa and watched him as he went about his business. He is a handsome man, as much as I hate to admit it. Every part of him exuded strength and virility. Even now, as he was on his desk doing the simple task of signing documents, I couldn’t help be impressed by his strong biceps and the way they flexed underneath his shirt while he scribbled. Those same hands held me tight as I came last night. I pushed back the thought and turned my attention to something else. Rico didn’t care about me. He hates me and lets it known every time. I shouldn’t forget that. Not only did he despise me, he is a bad dude. Men like him were to be feared and loathed, not lusted after. Even his less horrible brother was no better.

I adjusted my position on the couch so that I was facing the other side of the room and not Rico when I noticed something interesting lying on the small, round glass table in front of me. There was a sheet of paper with tabulated information. Something that looked like it was written while taking down notes. The paper was old, but not too old. It was dusty on the edges and a little crinkled. It was maybe a few days or weeks old. The handwriting, it was all in handwriting, was not one I had seen before. The paper itself, for its old stained look, was not something that was there the last time I was here, nor did it look familiar. It felt like a discarded note until I looked closely. The information was written in code and regular words. “Item one is 44ER4 and 44ER4 items should be kept in a secure location under Rico’s protection.” I glanced at Rico. He was busy with his assistant. He wasn’t the one who wrote this and whatever ‘item 44ER4’ was, it had to be something important. Was this the jewel? My pulse sped up and my skin prickled. I glanced at Rico again. He was still busy. I placed the paper back on the table and took out my phone, sat back as if I was casually scrolling and took two snaps of the paper. The picture looked good enough.

“Freya.” My breath caught. I looked up, expecting the worst, but he was on his phone typing fast, and oblivious to my shenanigans. As he spoke, he sounded a little irritated. “Come here.” It was a command I dared not refuse. I went over to the desk and sat in the chair directly opposite him just as his assistant was leaving. He placed the phone down and clasped his hands on the desk like he was about to deliver some admonishment. “I hope you stuck to what I told you.”

He wanted to intimidate me, but I wasn’t going to let him. “It’s funny that you’re this afraid of your brother finding out. I thought you two liked to share?”

“I prefer sharing when it’s with someone who’s not a gold-digger like you.”

“And yet your cock was deep in my pussy all night long last night. Still sore, by the way.”

He frowned. “I didn’t know you were a virgin. The least you could have done was tell me.”

“I didn’t think it was necessary since you were so happy to tell me you didn’t want me!”

“Sorry,” he said in a quiet voice. That took me back. He was all intimidation and fire, now he was apologizing. Even so, like a good girl who can’t help it, I accepted his apology.

“I didn’t bring you here to rehash last night. That was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

Part of me wanted an encore. I wanted to feel though taut muscles underneath my hands while his tongue tortured my senses. Last night not happening again was a good thing, but my body thought the opposite. “Good,” I said. “I don’t think the loss of my virginity was a mistake, but I get it.”

He groaned and pinched his forehead. “You have to know I didn’t mean it like that. “

“What did you mean, then? You seem to voice your dissatisfaction every time you see me. How else am I to take it?”

“You know what, it’s not my fault, you’re the one who lied.”

“Dick.”

“Sue me,” he said.

That’s what I wanted more than anything. “I thought you wanted me to come here and talk about something else. If we’re going to do this again, I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave.”

“I wanted you here for a different reason, Nico’s birthday party.”

“Oh. You should have just said so earlier and we could have avoided the verbal sparring. What about it?”

“It might surprise you to learn that I didn’t plan a birthday party for him and I told him all that to avoid questions about us. But since I’ve brought up the topic, we need to do something.”

“We?” I folded my hands against my chest. Why the fuck would I be involved in Nico’s birthday celebrations? I knew nothing about the guy. The little I know about him told me he would expect something grand and chic.

He nodded. “I’m going to need you to work with me so we could make the impromptu event less impromptu than it was. A party maybe at the casino or somewhere similar.”

“Does it have to be a big thing? Can’t you do something small?”

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