Page 45 of Empire of Seduction (New York State of Mafia #2)

“What was I supposed to do? She found me in my office this afternoon and one thing led to another.”

I rubbed my eyes. “I’m so disgusted with you right now.”

“I don’t know why. She’s fucking hot, Mags. And what’s the big deal? You’re sleeping with her brother.”

“Which is why this is too weird. God, Mike. She’s awful.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

His smug, satisfied expression made the amazing meatball sub roil in my stomach. “Don’t ruin my dinner, please. Jesus, men are the worst .”

“Tell me why you hate her.”

I swallowed another bite of sub. “She accused me of being a gold digger! To my face!”

“She’s probably just protective of Vito. They seem suspicious of outsiders. A mafia side effect.”

“I don’t care. She should trust him instead of coming after me with her claws out.”

He shrugged. “Maybe she’s worried because he approved the list of improvements I asked for and transferred the money.”

I doubted it, but now I was curious. What had I missed? “How much money?”

“A lot of fucking money.”

“Like, how much?”

“Nine hundred and forty-five thousand dollars.”

I nearly dropped my sub. “You asked Vito for almost a million dollars?”

“Yep—and he paid it like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Dude’s fucking loaded.”

“No wonder she’s worried I’m a gold digger. What was on your list?”

“Everything Bruce, Celeste, and I have ever wanted. And Vito knows your list is coming when Carlo finishes his assessment.”

This was all making my head spin. “I don’t care. Paloma had no right to attack me the way she did. And if she tries it again, I don’t care if she’s sleeping with you or not. I will take her down.”

Mikey put up his palms, but he was laughing. “Fair enough. Feel like celebrating with me?”

“Celebrating, what? Your windfall or the fact that you got laid today?”

“Both?” I made a face, and Mikey continued. “Come on, Mags. Normally, I would open the betting app to reward myself. But they said to start making new routines. Let’s go do something.”

“Are the roads even clear?”

“Yes, the plows came through hours ago.”

“What are you thinking? Nothing’s open.”

“I was going to drive to a meeting. And yes, they are having it. I already called to double check.”

How could I turn down going if it meant getting him to a meeting? “Fine.” Holding my food, I pushed to my feet. “But I will be eating all of this in your car.”

My brother’s enthusiasm dimmed considerably and he tried to take the bag from my hands. “No way. Come on. You know how I feel about my leather upholstery.”

Edging away, I stepped into my boots and found my coat. “Too bad. I have my period, remember?”

“You don’t get a period. You have an IUD. Doesn’t Vito know that?”

“He knows about the IUD, but not that I don’t get a period. And don’t you dare tell him, either.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need to have some secrets left. You never know when you might need to use one.”

Vito

I was nervous. It was a rare, unsettling condition, and it caused me to second-guess myself.

But as I went to find Maggie, I decided a date didn’t hurt anything. She deserved to be pampered and spoiled, and I was in a position to do it. No one needed to make more of it than that.

I hadn’t seen her in two days. Beppe kept trailing her, though, so I knew what she was doing as the snow slowly melted.

But she wasn’t responding to my texts with anything more than one or two-word answers.

To distract myself, I kept busy. I brought Paloma up to speed on my business dealings.

I met with the security company about upgrading the security of the entire winery property, including Maggie’s home. I caught up with projects in Toronto.

And I organized everything for the date. Today was the day. It was time.

I found the door to the second floor unlocked, so I began climbing the stairs. Michael’s bedroom was there, bed unmade, clothes strewn about the floor. The bathroom hadn’t seen a good scrub in months, obviously. I held my breath as I continued past.

“Hey!” Maggie’s voice called from down the hall. “What did you want to do about dinner tonight?”

I followed the sound. She was lounging on an air mattress in a room no bigger than a closet, her attention on her phone. Something deep in my chest relaxed, like I was relieved at the very sight of her. I leaned against the door jamb and folded my arms. “Here you are.”

Jolting, she lowered her mobile and stared at me. “What are you doing up here?”

“Coming to find you. Andiamo. Let’s go.” I motioned with my hands.

“I’m relaxing, Vito.” She went back to playing with her phone. “I don’t have time for you right now.”

“I don’t care. You’re coming with me.”

A noise like a snort escaped her mouth. “Not really in the mood, bro. Period, remember? Let’s put a pin in that idea for a few more days.”

I inhaled, my nostrils flaring, and struggled for patience. This woman would cause the Pope to lose his temper. “I’m taking you on a date and we need to get moving. Allora, up and grab your coat.”

She blinked at me several times. “A date?” I nodded, but the confusion remained in her gaze. “Why?”

“Because I want to. And you will like it, te lo prometto.” I checked my watch. “But we will miss it if you keep arguing with me.”

“I don’t understand.” Slowly, she sat up, her dark hair in glorious disarray. “We have a situationship, Vito. It works for both of us just fine. There’s no need for you to wine and dine me.”

A situationship? I would have to look that up later. For now, I wanted her to follow directions. “I would like to do something nice for you. For us.”

“Okay, noted. I appreciate it. See you tomorrow.”

This was ridiculous. She was determined to fight me and question me on every little thing. “Maggie,” I said, putting a healthy deal of menace into my voice. “I don’t like to be late. Therefore, you have three minutes to get ready to leave with me or I am putting you in the car myself. Capisce?”

It should be obvious to her by now that I always meant what I said. I would absolutely throw her over my shoulder and load her into the SUV outside.

She rose and gestured to her jeans and Frank Zappa t-shirt. “Uh, hello? I’ve been working all day. I’m clearly not dressed for a night out.”

“Then you better hurry. You have two and half minutes.”

“Vito—”

“Two minutes and twenty-eight seconds.”

“At least tell me where we’re going. And I hope it’s not fancy because all of my clothes are back at my place.”

“Two minutes and twenty seconds.”

“Goddamn it.” She grabbed her tiny overnight bag and pushed past me. I heard the bathroom door slam. Water started running.

I smiled to myself as I updated Cesare, who would drive us to the jet. I also updated the pilot. Everything would be easier for Maggie if she didn’t fight me. Though I did like her claws. It made fucking her into oblivion that much sweeter.

I also texted Paloma and Maz, just in case they needed to know my whereabouts. Six guards were coming with me for protection, but it never hurt to be cautious. Plan, and then have a backup plan.

Maggie emerged five minutes later—a predictable defiance of my time limit—in a long-sleeved Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs t-shirt and a sexy pair of jeans, her hair pulled up in a slick ponytail. “This is all I have to wear,” she said. “So it’ll have to do.”

“You look beautiful. Come.” I already had her coat, which I helped her put on, then I held out my hand. She took it and I led her down the hall and toward the stairs.

Outside, I opened the car door for her. As Maggie climbed in, she said under her breath, “Okay, you’re really freaking me out.”

“Good.” I shut the door behind her and walked around to the other side. Adelmo and Cesare were with me, and a second SUV with more guards would follow behind us.

I clasped her hand as we rode to the airport, content to have her near me.

To breathe her same air and hear the rustle of her clothes as she shifted position.

Something had been missing the past two days, a sense of rightness.

But sitting here beside her, I felt calm and clear headed, like all the worries and stresses of my life had evaporated.

“Are we . . . ” Her face pressed to the glass as we neared the tiny airport. “Are we flying somewhere?”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t have my ID.”

The men in the front seat snickered—and I cleared my throat. Loudly. They instantly shut up. Calmly, I told her, “You don’t need it. We’re taking my plane.”

“Oh, right.” She grimaced. “Of course. That was a dumb thing for me to say.”

I picked up her hand, brought it to my mouth, and nipped her fingers with my teeth. “Nothing you say is ever dumb, angelo mio.”

Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth, head ducking slightly. “Where are we going?”

“That is a surprise.”

In return I received one of her rare, soft half-smiles and I suddenly felt fifty meters tall.

This woman didn’t need someone to take care of her, but her genuine gratitude whenever I did was like a drug to my system.

A rush of euphoria. And I wanted more. I squeezed her hand and rested it on my thigh as we continued.

When we arrived at the hangar, I helped her out of the car. I didn’t let go of her hand until we were climbing up the steps of my jet. The crew greeted her politely and all of my men settled in the back. I brought Maggie with me to the front, giving her the window seat.

“Wow, this is nice,” she murmured as she squirmed in the calf-leather seat. “I can’t believe you travel like this all the time.”

“There are a few perks to my job. This is one of them.”

Ten minutes later we were in the air. Maggie gripped my hand tightly during takeoff, her gaze glued at the tiny window.

Every bump and dip caused her breath to stutter, but she didn’t seem frightened.

More surprised from what I could tell. I expected a string of questions, but she didn’t start talking until we leveled off.

“This is my first flight,” she said, as if I didn’t already know.

“What do you think?”