Page 19

CHAPTER 18

LAKE

T he house was quiet as I built out the spreadsheet diagram. Names upon names were circled with descriptions and linked to other names.

Looking at the mess that made absolute sense to me, I missed my opportunity as a conspiracy theorist.

From everything I'd created, there were exactly six names that had to go immediately, either by death or leverage so strong, they could never unbury themselves from it to come at us. I needed failsafe upon failsafe.

Actually, I preferred death.

"Hey," Beasty said as she tapped on the door.

I closed the program so fast, my fingers moved at the speed of light. When I spun in my chair to face her, she raised her eyebrows.

"Watching porn?" There wasn't an ounce of judgment, just curiosity and maybe a bit of...teasing?

I grinned.

God, it felt good to be back to myself. I'd passed out for fourteen hours after they left yesterday, missing the incident with Adrian. Just the thought of that fucker's face hardened my smile.

Pushing it out, I forced my face to relax. That asshole had no place here. Not when I was finally making progress.

"If I was watching porn, I wouldn't close it down. I'd invite you in to sit on my lap. Watch it with me." My dick tingled from the fantasy of a world where we could do that without the threat of death and abduction hanging over our heads.

She walked inside, her gaze skating to my screensaver which was a cave somewhere along the coast of Portugal, just one of the generic images built into the rotation.

"What were you doing?"

I sighed, reaching for her hand. Closing my fingers around her wrist, I tugged her closer until she stood between my thighs. Glancing up at her, I soaked in every detail. Her arched brows, her wide, sexy lips, even down to the stubborn point of her chin that she used like a weapon and had no idea.

That stubborn chin betrayed her more than she knew.

When I made it to her eyes, my pulse skittered erratically.

After food and sleep, I wasn't as on edge as I had been. The driving need to protect was still there. But instead of pushing her away, I wanted to pull her close and curl my massive body around hers as I wiped the board of anyone who could hurt us.

Same thoughts, different execution.

"Organizing my plans on exactly how I need to set us up."

"Different from how you were managing the safety of the boys before?" She moved her hands toward my face, slowly, hesitating, like I'd seen her do with the others.

Fuck that. I'd been coherent enough during breakfast yesterday to remember Beasty craved attention and affection. Pressing forward, I pretty much delivered my face into her hands and pulled her closer by the back of her legs.

She released a soft breath as she ran her thumbs over my freshly shaven cheek.

"I was doing a shit job before, looking at everything all wrong. Now, I've identified actual targets and I'm working on a plan to separate ourselves." My lip curled just thinking about the ways we'd fucked up. "We never should have gone into business with Parker. But we're here now, and I need to account for it."

"Who are the targets?" The tone in her voice told me that she didn't believe I'd tell her. That I wouldn't trust her with the information. I couldn't say she was completely wrong, but if she was trying, then I could try too.

"Yes, Lake," Atlas said from the hall as he joined us, both Joaquin and Kim on his heels. "Tell us who these targets are, then you can help us prepare for the Showcase night at Snatched."

"Fuck," I cursed. "I forgot about that." I dropped my forehead to Beasty's chest. The Showcase night had been planned before the club had even opened. A dual celebration of the club being opened for a few months as well as a big fuck you to the fashion industry we left behind.

Not that they'd take it like that. Those pompous shits would eat it up, wanting to gush over who was invited, who we took inspiration from, and then pick over it for days like vultures. Our goal was to spit on everything they stood for, mocking them and taking their money without them even knowing it.

It was too subtle of a plan to be that much of a slap in the face, but it made us feel good.

It was also an event to draw in major revenue just from patrons wanting to spot top names in the fashion and movie industries.

"When is it again?"

"Next week," Kim supplied helpfully.

I groaned. "We have to cancel it. I'm not going to have everything done by then, and this is more important."

Beasty stiffened in my arms. "No."

Why did she care about Showcase night? Pulling back, I studied her. There was that stubborn tilt of her chin. "What do you mean, no?"

Atlas stretched out in one of the leather chairs, lacing his hands over his chest while gazing at Beasty with an intensity that...surprised no one. "Beasty has stepped up to manage different parts of the club while we were…" He twisted his lips to the side. "Recuperating."

"You mean when we were fucked up." Joaquin scowled as he fell into the chair next to Atlas. "That's what you meant to say because you apparently have been living your dream life, yucking it up in Beasty's bed. You could have stepped in too, you know."

Atlas ignored Joaquin's saltiness.

I did as well, except there was a lot there. Not about Atlas not stepping in. That wasn't a surprise at all. He wanted to run media relations, and it had been a feat to get him to agree to that much. "What do you mean you've stepped in?"

"It's been amazing." Kim peered at Beasty from under his lashes. "She's got a real talent for managing people."

Beasty's fingers flexed into my head and I wanted to close my eyes. Later, I'd ask her for a scalp massage.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"You should." Joaquin coughed. "I was worth fuck all for almost two weeks. You kept things running when they could have easily spiraled."

There was a different energy in the room. The guys and Beasty seemed at ease with each other. Happy, despite there being so much to lose our shit over.

I liked it. That made me more determined than ever to protect it.

"That's great, Beasty," I murmured, sliding my hands up to cup her ass. I could feel how tense she was, how she fought turning her head to look at the others. When they didn't say anything, and I didn't move to take anything further, she settled.

Fuck, she really did like the affection. We were idiots.

"Now, tell us about the targets,” she demanded softly.

"Right." I patted Beasty's ass and sat back. She leaned a hip on the desk, and Kim came around and hugged her from behind.

Telling them she wanted to be touched was going to backfire in her face. She was going to have so many hands on her at all times, she was going to scream.

At least for now, she had a soft smile on her lips.

We did that. We made her happy. A buzzing revved in my chest.

"Right," I repeated, pulling my spreadsheet back up and turning the screen so Joaquin and Atlas could see too. "I can't do anything about the unknown threats." Like Lucas went unsaid. "But I've identified our top six targets who are either gunning for us or have too much fucking control."

I tapped the red boxes littering the screen.

"Donnie Pesci, Danny Pesci, Gio, Adrian, and Storm. Lastly, Parker Adair."

Joaquin groaned as Atlas whistled.

"Those are your targets? Don't ease into anything," Joaquin gripped, pulling out the deck of cards Atlas had stolen for him when we were kids.

I lingered on the deck. He was trying to stop drinking again. Whenever he attempted to abstain, he shuffled those cards. It was good to see him with them.

"What do you mean by targets? How are we targeting them?" Kim asked, nuzzling his chin on Beasty's shoulder.

"Good question." I hit the next tab with only their six names on the screen. "The Pescis are the biggest threat. They're the ones who would kill us without a second thought. As long as they're still active on the board, then Gio and his crew are threats." I flicked my gaze to Beasty. "Especially if they're threatening us in order to take them out."

Beasty furrowed her brow. There seemed to be a pregnant pause in the air. For me, I was waiting for Beasty to shatter the dream that she was on our side.

"Gio and his friends are hell-bent on taking the Pescis out. Do you know why?" she asked.

"No–" I started but Joaquin cut me off.

"Ratio shared a little about them last year. I didn't think anything of it, but it could be connected." The cards arced in his hands as he shuffled two equal stacks together. "Gio's mom is a Pesci. But as far as I know, he was never part of their mafia."

I canted my head. "Holy shit." I flipped tabs to the one with every single member of the mafia that I knew of and how they all connected. "From the information I've gathered, none of it ever listed Gio as a part of their organization."

I scrolled through the family chart. Ronaldo was the head until a couple years ago when he passed. That was what started this whole mess between Donnie and Danny. They were fighting it out. Beasty confirmed it from what Adrian told her.

"What are the chances that Gio wants revenge against the family for never accepting him?"

"I was thinking they were trying to do a hostile takeover." Beasty disengaged from Kim and leaned down to read the screen.

The cards stopped, and Atlas leaned forward.

That could be it. They could be trying to take out the brothers to take over. "It can definitely be both," I said under my breath. "As long as the Pescis are alive, Gio and his guys are a threat. They're also employed by Parker. Parker has way too much fucking sway in our lives." I shifted and my chair creaked. "First step, remove Donnie and Danny."

"What are you going to do if Gio takes over as head of the mafia?" Beasty asked.

I closed my eyes, thinking. "A lot of things would have to fall into place for that to happen. Our best bet is to make sure someone else is set up to take over." It wasn't a perfect plan, but we'd have time to work on it before that happened.

"What about Parker?" Atlas got up and rounded the back of the desk.

I flipped back to another tab.

"I think we take out the Pescis first. Then we try to buy out Parker." Even if death was preferred, I’d have to take out the entire cartel, starting with his brothers, and that was insurmountable.

"Gio already said that that wasn't going to happen. You can't walk away from the Castillo brothers." Kim pressed in closer.

"They don't go by Castillo anymore. They're each using their surnames." It was an offhand comment, but true. If I even hoped to take Parker out of our lives without killing him, then we needed to respect him, at least on some level.

That was going to be fucking hard.

"If the Pescis are gone, and Parker's a nonissue, then that would cancel out any threat from Gio." Atlas tapped a couple fingers on the edge of my desk.

That might work. But I wouldn’t bank on it.

Shaking his head, Joaquin approached the desk too. "You're acting like this isn't going to end in major bloodshed."

Yeah, I was. I was hoping, since I realized it was my fat-headedness that got us into this situation in the first place. We were playing this smarter from now on.

"Regardless," I avoided Joaquin's observation. "The Pescis are the first that have to go."

"So we're agreed?" A smile slowly curled Atlas' face. "They're the first dominos to fall?"

"What do you think, Beasty?" I put my back to the computer to face Beasty. She pulled her gaze away from the screen to land on me.

Come on, Beasty. Are you game?

Pressing her lips together, she nodded. "The Pescis are unpredictable, and the root of our problem. If they're not around to be a threat, then Gio is no longer a threat."

"By not around, you mean..." Atlas' smile turned into a full-blown grin showing off his perfect, white teeth.

"The Pescis have to die."