Page 15 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Ricardo

By the time Pharrell came out of the tailor shop, I’d managed to calm myself down. There was no need to freak out anyway. What was happening between us was fine. Completely normal. Just two dudes enjoying each other’s company.

I wasn’t going to let it change the reason I came here. He needed my help, whether he was ready to admit it or not.

“Where to now?” I asked when he stepped up beside me.

He sighed, his gaze firm on the side of my head. I could see him assessing me from the corner of my eye though I refused to look at him. One glance his way would probably send me right back into that downward spiral.

“We’ve got to check on some of the departments for the casino. Later, we’ll check in with the other side of the business. There’s nothing urgent on that end. Pip and Henri are taking care of things for right now.”

“Pip and Henri? They sound like a Saturday morning cartoon special.”

Pharrell started walking, which meant I had to rush to follow. “They might as well be at times. The two don’t really get along. Then again, Pip doesn’t get along with most people. He’s a lone wolf type, never staying long enough to get attached.”

“Then why do you trust him enough to handle things?”

It was a genuine question. Even Dante vetted his men thoroughly before letting them rise through the ranks. Granted, he didn’t have full control of his organization until recently; however, he’d begun building the foundation long before.

“Pip is one of the best assassins in the business. He is loyal to no one, which means he gets a lot of business from nearly every corner of the world. For some reason, he’s always gravitated back to this area. I’ve kept in touch with him, and I’ve even employed him a time or two.”

Oh, my.

I whipped my head his way, forgetting my need to avoid looking directly at him as I raised my brow. “Anyone I know?”

“Probably.” He shrugged. “Not that I’ll admit anything. Pip helped me recently extinguish some of the men loyal to Stasia. He’s decided to stick around in case I need him further.”

We approached a set of doors labeled for staff only. Pharrell held up a card to the sensor, then with a loud beep, the door popped open.

The other side opened up to a short hallway that split in both directions.

He led us down and to the left. It was a maze from there, with several turns and crossover points.

There was less security in person and much more in the way of closed off sections that Pharrell’s card seemed to have full access to.

“Do I get one of those?” I asked him after the third time he’d used it.

He waved it at me with a smirk. “You think you’ve earned free reign of my world?”

I wanted to bow my head at his words. Some deep part of me felt the need to prove myself at that question. I just didn’t know why.

What was it about him that had me so off my game? I’d never bowed to another, unless it was a custom of formality. Even then, I never wanted to sit at their feet like some type of pet for them to do as they pleased with.

“Maybe not yet,” I finally admitted when the silence made me uncomfortable.

“Then we’ll reevaluate when you feel like you have.”

That’s all he said. It was like he wanted to tease me with how he left it so open ended.

After that exchange, his attention turned to the departments he meant to check on.

I watched from close by as he spoke with each of the managers, going over complaints and needs as if he would handle them all.

He didn’t write a single thing down, yet from the way he held himself, I just knew he’d remember it all.

Hours passed as I watched him and followed his every move. I found myself admiring his work ethic, as well as his good looks. No one could deny Pharrell had a magnetism to him. Even the patrons of the casino turned their heads his way when we walked past.

The later it got, the more I worried he was pushing himself too much too soon. When I arrived, he’d been worn down. Though we’d napped, I didn’t think it was enough to recharge him back to full working status.

My point was justified when he slumped into the seat of the hired car he called for our evening plans. Apparently, the after-hours business wasn’t done on the casino grounds. Smart, but very inconvenient given his state.

“You sure we have to handle this now? You’re a strong wind away from passing out.”

He turned his head my way at my question. It was leaning back on the leather headrest as if even holding it up was too much at that moment.

“I’m fine. This shouldn’t take long. Then we can get back, and I’ll sleep more. I promise.”

The words didn’t make me feel any better. I’d have much rather him go straight to bed than to be dealing with whatever mafia fiasco there was to take care of.

“We’re here,” the driver said as we pulled up to a generic warehouse.

Pharrell led us inside. His phone rang before we could get very far. “I’ve got to take this. Keep going down that hall. You’ll hear the men working. Just follow the sound.”

I gave him an ‘are you serious?’ look since I didn’t think it was best for me to just wander into his operations. But he waved me away as he answered his phone with a curt, “Yes?”

Whoever was on the other end should have handled whatever was going on themselves. The more tired Pharrell got, the shorter his temper. It still was nowhere near the level of Domenico’s.

I shivered at the memories thinking of the former Romano brought forward. He’d had far too much control over my life for far too long.

It’s partly why the idea of calling Pharrell Daddy threw me. I just got out from under one man’s hold. To freely give up my autonomy to another felt foolish.

Then again, I wasn’t sexual with Domenico. He was more of a dictator hellbent on obedience. I didn’t get that vibe from the man across the room from me.

When he waved at me to keep going for the third time, I huffed and shuffled down the hall. I felt like a brat for basically stomping away. It couldn’t be helped though. This was not how I thought things would go.

Noises echoed down the abandoned space as I moved through the building. I followed them like he’d told me to until I found a large open space with several crates spread about and a dozen or so men moving between them.

I spotted one man with a clipboard in his hand shouting orders to the others. He was dressed more like a car salesman than a mafia henchman.

This had to be Henri.

Pip would have been much less formal.

As if I summoned him, I felt a gun press against the back of my head. Laughter drew the attention of the other men, who were quick to pull their own weapons.

“How the fuck did you get in here?”

The man I suspected to be Henri cursed loudly. “Pip! Drop the gun. That’s Pharrell’s guest.”

My shoulders dropped a fraction at the recognition in his voice. Then I immediately wondered how the fuck he knew me. I’d never met him before. I always remembered a face.

“Is that so? Then where is the boss?”

“For fuck’s sake, Pip. Do as he said. That’s Ricardo. He’s mine.”

I shivered at the authority in Pharrell’s voice. He spoke like he owned me. Like I was his and no one else was allowed to so much as touch me.

My cock decided it liked that very much. I was half hard by the time he walked around to face us.

Pip took his time lowering his gun. I waited until Pharrell nodded at me, then I moved to his side and faced the man who was seconds away from killing me.

“Oh, you’re cute. I can see it now, Boss,” he said.

I shook my head. “I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you Pip, but —”

“It would be a lie. Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it before. Usually right before I put a bullet through someone’s skull or fuck them into a coma. This is anticlimactic.”

“A coma? That’s fucked up.”

He grinned at me. Had he not just nearly killed me, I might have appreciated the curve of his mouth and the glimmer in his eye. Instead, all I saw was the deranged killer behind the handsome face.

“None of them complained while stuffed with my dick. The coma was an accident. Both times.”

“Dammit, Pip. We don’t need to hear about what you do in bed.” Henri stepped closer to us, then lowered his voice. “Besides, we have an audience. The boss might want to make things clearer rather than rehash your sexual exploits.”

Pharrell stood straighter, turning to face the room of men. Their eyes bounced between him and me, with a few watching Henri and Pip too. It was clear they weren’t all too sure what to make of everyone.

“This is Ricardo. He comes from the Romano family. Dante has granted me the right to take him into our fold under temporary reign. You are to treat him as you treat me. Understood?”

“Yes, boss!” went up around the room.

I stood still, unsure what the fuck was going on. First, he claimed me as if I were his property. Then he told his men to treat me like they did him. It was giving a very mixed image of who I was.

Either way, there was nothing for me to do unless I wanted to go up against him or make him seem like he’d misspoken. They needed to trust everything he said. That was going to be a major part of ensuring he had their undying loyalty moving forward.

We had no way of knowing how deep his wife’s reach went. She could have turned more than the men he’s already found out about. My role here was to infiltrate things enough to weed out the rest.

“Do you want to say anything, Ricardo?” Pharrell asked me, his voice still loud enough to carry.

I let me eyes rake over the group of men as I shook my head. “Not much to say yet. I’m ready to get to work. No reason to stand around when it looks like there’s money to be made.”

My tone was casual, meant to sound like one of the guys. I could see a few of them relax from the image I gave. A couple didn’t look so easy about it. They were suspicious, as they had every right to be.

I wasn’t there to be their friend. I wasn’t even there to boss them around.

I was judge, jury, and possibly their executioner. Making sure Pharrell didn’t have more unrest was my sole purpose.