Page 21 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Pharrell

Things calmed down since we found the final rat a several nights back. Ricardo had taken it upon himself to get me home that night.

A lot of what happened was a blur on my end. I remembered leaning on him until we got into the elevator. My body was exhausted. I had pushed myself further than I needed to.

My strength hadn't returned since the times I had overextended myself before Ricardo's arrival. And my body was paying the price.

He got me cleaned up and into bed. Since then, he’d been making sure that I don't overexert myself. He'd constantly check in and sometimes it felt like he was the Daddy in the relationship.

I knew it was temporary. I needed time to recover. At the same time, I felt like I should do something for him in return.

Like maybe I should find a way to show him how special he was to me.

I pondered over the idea constantly. So much so that Henri had to call my name multiple times while we were in a security meeting.

"Pharrell," he said, voice exasperated. "Should we meet again later? If something's going on, should we be worried?"

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and replied, "No, nothing like that. There's no reason to worry. I’m just daydreaming.”

"Daydreaming? That's different for you.” The way he said it could have been perceived as accusatory. He saw far too much and yet he missed the things right in front of him.

Such was the curse of Henri.

"What did you want to go over with me?" I asked him.

“I just wanted to let you know that this month's security checks are going well. We have updated all the systems, and everything appears to be working as normal. I have doubled the security at your place and the warehouse in case the Bratva comes back and tries to attack.”

My smile turned cruel at his words.

The rat that we found faced a rough death at Pip’s hands. By the time he was done with him, the body was barely recognizable.

Rather than send it back to the Bratva the way I should have done, I had him cremated. It was easier, and I didn't want to rile up Stasia's family. I knew they would find out eventually anyway.

Nothing in this city was secret for long, especially not something on this level.

If the rat didn't answer their calls or get back with them, then they would go looking for him. It wouldn’t take much time since he probably answered every time they called. It was going to be clear that he was not alive anymore the second he ghosted them.

Ghosted. Oh, that’s kinda funny.

I chuckled to myself at the silly thought.

It was only a matter of time before the Bratva came knocking on our door expecting answers. They had already given me shit about my late wife and how I handled things there. This would just be another mark against me.

“Is there anything that I need to handle, Henri?” I asked him, throwing us back into the conversation.

He tapped away at his tablet and shook his head. “Not as of this moment. I'm sure something will come up though. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

“Any word from Jean?”

“Nothing. I’ve kept an eye on your line as well.”

I didn’t know if and when the other man would give us updates on his progress, but for his sake, I hoped everything was going well. Infiltrating to the level he needed to wasn’t easy.

He left me with a wave of his hand once he realized I was done questioning him.

Then I was alone for a minute, at least as alone as I could be. I always had a shadow close by in the form of Pip, my reliable bodyguard. Ever since the rat was handled, he'd been making sure no one else could get close to me.

No one outside of Ricardo, of course.

Whereas people had limited access to me, Ricardo was with me nearly 24/7. Sure, there were times like today where he had to go work on one project while I worked on another. But usually, it was only for a short spur of time.

I left the security area of the casino and headed down to the main floor. I needed a drink and some company. Granted, I didn't want company in that sense. I had no desire for a bedmate.

No one outside of Ricardo, that was.

What I needed was to feel less alone. I needed to be surrounded by the fruits of my labor to be reminded that this was all worth it. And that I shouldn't just burn it to the ground and accept the insurance payments.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have all this responsibility. I had been working at it for so long that there was nothing else.

The only true thing I had done for myself was the relationship I was building with Ricardo. He was my guilty pleasure, my secret joy, and I would hold on to him for as long as I possibly could.

It's what kept me sane, what kept me from losing my shit on people at every turn.

On the main floor, I stepped up to one of the bartenders. I probably knew their name, but I was distracted enough to forget. I rapped my knuckles on the counter and asked for two fingers of bourbon.

The young girl smiled at me and said, "Right away, Mr. Lyon."

I turned my back to the bar and focused on the people moving about the casino floor.

There were all types here. The younger crowd who had just become legal enough to play.

The older ones who were hoping to hit it big before they croaked.

The kind that had money to blow. And those who were spending their last dime in hopes that it would multiply for them.

People always believed that the advantage was to the house. And yes, that was true, but there was also a touch of magic in casinos.

The level of organization it took to get everything to run smoothly. I enjoyed the process. I enjoyed the control that it gave me.

I missed how much time I didn’t get to spend here now that I had to control everything. While I could never function without the Cosa Nostra part of my life, it took up far more time than I remembered.

Sure, I needed the release for my dark side. At the same time, I wished I didn't need it at all.

Or at least that there was someone who could take over the majority of the control and leave me with just the larger decisions. I wanted to supervise rather than run the ship.

Maybe even just consult if someone was qualified enough. My drink was set behind me, so I turned to grab it. When I went to move back, a figure was standing in front of me.

Had I been anyone else, I would have jolted and spilled my glass. But I was used to Pip’s amusement. The man loved to pop out of nowhere and scare people. He was really damn good at it too.

Most of his kills were done in an instant because of his methods of surprise.

But I knew he wasn't there to kill me. More likely he was there to check in on me. For someone who didn't experience emotion the way others did, he sure was adept at reading it.

"Bourbon, Boss? Is that really the level that we're at?"

I shrugged and sipped my drink. It burned going down, giving me the best feeling. I wanted to bask in it instead of answering whatever probing questions were headed my way.

"What do you need?" I asked him. “I thought you were more the ‘not seen and not heard’ type.”

He smirked at my description. "I am. However, you appear to need a friend tonight."

I raised a brow. "You're that friend?"

"I'm as close to the thing as you got right now, unless you want me to go hunt down Ricardo and bring him back here."

I winced. "No, leave him to work. He doesn't need to be burdened with my problems."

Pip tucked his arm in mine and led me over to an empty booth. It wasn't customary for me to let others take control like that, especially with my body. But Pip clearly needed to talk to me about something.

Whatever it was, it was best to listen to him, otherwise, I could be forced to deal with a cleanup of epic proportions.

When we sat, he looked around the space to make sure no one was listening to us. Then he leaned over to speak. "Boss, I think that you should really embrace whatever you have going on with Ricardo."

Of all the things to get my attention and shock me, that was not what I was expecting.

"This thing?" I asked him.

He nodded softly. "Yes, this thing that you two have. He gives you balance. He helps you. Since he’s been here, I've noticed you actually get sleep and look better each day. You smile more and there's a glow about you."

I barked out a laugh. "You sound like we're about to go pick my fucking wedding dress. What are you talking about?"

He picks up my glass and sips at the bourbon, winking as it hits his lips. Then he sets it down, scraping his hand over his mouth like he wants to pull the taste out.

“I don't know how you can stand that garbage.”

I rolled my eyes. “Not all of us love tequila the way you do, Pip. Besides, aren't you supposed to be sober right now? The last time you got drunk, there was a massacre.”

Pip's face transformed. Gone was the super machine killer, and in its place was a child-like expression of joy. I'd only ever seen this expression one other time, and it came in the aftermath of multiple dead bodies.

He sighed. "That was a great night. I hate that those are so few and far between."

I hummed as if to agree with him, though I didn't know all the details. I only knew what the news reported, which was that several bodies had been found, and they were unrecognizable.

According to reports, they were some really bad guys, so no one was too upset about it. No one else had a family, of course.

But that was the name of the game. When you did bad things, you experience consequences. And if they were bad enough, then other bad people would come after you too.

I still firmly believed that that was not a contract kill for Pip.

Sometimes I wonder just how personal his work was.

“What I'm trying to say, Boss, is that Ricardo is good for you. You deserve to be happy, especially after all the hell you've been through lately. No one would judge you for it.”

I tilted my head, my expression giving him a, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ look.

He waved his hand in the air.