I’m on the phone before I’ve left my office and have completed one call by the time I reach the shower. It’s not more than another twenty minutes before I’m dressed in a fresh suit and on my way out the door. Roger’s been waiting in the car for me the entire time.
This is what I needed today. Something to distract me. It’s a momentary problem, nothing serious, and still early enough in the day to give them the impression we’re on top of things around here, that I don’t leave my partners hanging.
It’s the principle of the thing that has me boiling over, ready to shed blood.
“I offered to swallow a percentage of the payment, but they denied it,” I tell him as he drives us down to the harbor.
“We’ll swallow it anyway,” he concludes because he knows me. I’d rather lose a small percentage now than every shipment after this. I’m not about to kill the goose laying the golden eggs, and the deal I hammered out with the Florida families makes them a big fucking goose.
Even though I know we’ll work this out, I’m seething. “These lax motherfuckers,” I mutter, cracking my knuckles as the scenery outside the Mustang changes from spacious, tree-filled suburbs to the lower middle-class area between our side of town and the harbor area. “It’s been too long since I’ve cracked heads.”
“That’s beneath you now, isn’t it? The general doesn’t do the work of the infantry.”
His choice of words makes me laugh. “You want to take a shot at them yourself?”
“Why the fuck not?” The leather squeaks when he tightens his grip on the wheel. “It’s been too long for me, too. I wouldn’t mind a bit. Motherfuckers think they can do whatever they want, whenever they feel like it. Reminders need to be issued sometimes.”
Of all times for Caterina’s face to flash in front of my mind’s eye. No matter how I want to punish these stupid, careless bastards for fucking with my revenue and reputation, I want to punish her more. She’s fucked with my entire life, invaded every thought, and turned me into someone I hardly recognize.
And I still want her. With every fucking molecule in my body, I want her.
I can’t have her.
My phone buzzes a few minutes from the warehouse. I expect to find one of the sons of bitches from the warehouse on the ID, but the number comes up as unlisted. “Yeah?” I grunt on answering. With the mood I’m in, I almost hope it’s a telemarketer to curse the fuck out.
“Mr. Rossetti. It’s Joe.”
Of course, a professional hitman would call from a burner phone. “Joe. Good to hear from you. I had planned to reach out sometime this week.” Roger looks my way from the corner of his eye.
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting.” As usual, he jumps headfirst into business, and as usual, I appreciate it. “I have little to report. Our friend has been around town with a kid young enough to be her son, but that’s the only recent development.”
“That young?” I’m gritting my teeth hard enough that my jaw aches. Amalia, with some kid, running around in public. “Who is he?”
“I wasn’t able to get a decent shot of him. It was too dark. But they were out in public, nothing sneaky, and it didn’t seem romantic. I thought you’d want to know, though.”
For lack of anything better to tell me, in other words. “You haven’t found anything else in weeks?”
She’s with a kid. A fucking kid.
Caterina is practically a kid, too.
“She’s a slippery one, Mr. Rossetti.” He pauses, then adds, “If you feel my services have been less than satisfactory, I respect your decision.”
The warehouse is in front of us now, with Roger pulling into the lot surrounding it. Between these fuckers and the fucker on the phone, I’m a hairsbreadth away from a murder charge. My chest is so tight I have to fight to draw breath.
“We’ll discuss that later. I’m on my way in to a meeting. For now, stay the course.” Even if the course is looking like a pointless waste of time and money.
My phone bounces off the dash and lands on the floor while I growl out my fury. “Either this guy’s reputation was a bunch of shit, or she’s a hell of a lot smarter than I ever gave her credit for. How can he come up without a single scrap of evidence against that bitch?”
“She’s smart, like you said,” Roger muses as he puts the car in park, then reaches into the glovebox for his Glock. “Slippery. Clever.”
Yes, she is, like so many women are. There’s always something going on beneath the surface. Something they’re trying to hide. Some angle they’re working.
Not Caterina.Damn it, what the fuck am I doing thinking about her at a time like this? And what makes her any different from the rest of them? She’s nothing unique. It’s my cock that makes me want to believe that.
Ruined my life and turned me into a weak piece of shit addicted to the smell of her pussy in days. I knew it would end up like this, but I’m the stupid bastard who walked in with both eyes open.
With a furious grunt, I throw the door open and burst from the car. Normally, I’d take things easier and come in with a level head. Let them think I’m not coming in to blow their heads off for fucking me over. I don’t have it in me to pretend today.