Page 7 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Ricardo

I barely got any sleep last night after leaving Pharrell’s room. All I did was toss and turn for hours until eventually I passed out. Even then, I woke up at the fucking crack of dawn.

Pharrell’s entire situation rubbed me the wrong way. Knowing he’d been forced to marry a woman to create an alliance isn’t anything outrageous given the organizations we’re part of.

The insane part is that her family was still going to give him shit for her backstabbing even though he had proof. I’d shown up at his room with drinks in an effort to check on him. Besides, there was no point in checking on Dante anymore. He had Preacher to ensure he was ok.

Who did Pharrell have now?

The answer was an easy one.

Nobody.

He was all alone and facing shit he shouldn’t have to. Talk about a fucked-up set of circumstances.

Since I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, I got out of bed and got ready for the day. A quick shower later, I was dressed and headed downstairs to see what I could find to eat. I wasn’t the best chef in the world. Still, I’d make do for us.

When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I found Pharrell already waiting there. His entire body froze as I stepped into the room. I wondered if it was me, or simply the fact that he was no longer alone that had him tensing.

“Morning,” I called out as I moved past him to get some coffee.

He hummed, sipping his own drink. It made sense he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Maybe he wasn’t a morning person. I couldn’t exactly remember a time when we were around one another so early in the day.

This was a first.

There’s been a lot of firsts where Pharrell was involved.

I ignored those thoughts to focus on grabbing what I needed to doctor my drink. The fridge had cream and milk, though it was pretty barren otherwise.

“Well, shit. There’s nothing here. I wanted to cook before everyone woke up.”

In a gruff voice, he asked, “You cook?”

I turned to see his eyes on me. There was something else in the look he sent my way. For the life of me, I had no clue how to interpret it.

“Somewhat. I can make the basics. What do you think we should do now?”

Pharrell took another sip from his mug as he watched me make my own. After I put the milk away, he spoke up again.

“We could go get breakfast. There’s no reason for you to make a big deal cooking. Besides, we would be back before either of them are awake. To my memory, they tend to take their time in the morning.”

The laugh came so quickly I didn’t have time to stop it. My eyes widened in horror.

“I’m not laughing at you!”

He smiled gently. “Oh? You’re not?”

“No! I swear it.” I rubbed my hand on the back of my neck. “I was laughing because I know exactly what those two are probably up to. They might not show up early, but they’re likely awake.”

It’s only after I made the suggestive remark that I realized how rude it might have been. He’d just lost his partner. Even though they weren’t intimate, it couldn’t be good to be reminded of other happy couples.

Rather than calling me out, he shrugged. “If I had someone to spend my time with that way, then I might also still be in bed.”

My cock twitched at the way his voice dipped low. It stroked over me, causing a confusing mix of feelings.

I was saddened for him.

But I was also curious.

And fuck, I was also a bit jealous at the thought of him with anyone else.

Why in the world did that bother me? I was never bothered by his relationship with his wife. If I had been, it would have been obvious in the years I’d known him.

“Do you want to drive, or should we call a car?”

His question tore me from the internal debate. I shook my head before answering.

“I can drive. I’d rather not draw any outside attention to the mess around here. Most of it is cleaned up, but still.”

He tilted his head. “Good choice.”

A shiver worked its way through my body at his words. They were far too close to a certain other phrase I secretly loved. It would only make the confusing turn of events regarding my libido if I went down that path.

We took off for the closest breakfast place we could find. It was a small diner about two miles from the compound.

The waitress was shocked by the amount of food we ordered, though when we explained it was to go and tipped her in advance, she rushed away to speak with the cooks.

Left alone with Pharrell, I fought with myself over what to say to push away the awkward silence. We were seated next to each other at the bar top section of the diner. My body was close enough to feel the heat rolling off his.

“How much longer do you think you’ll stay in town?”

He turned in his chair to face me. The move put his spread legs open in my direction. It took everything in me not to look him up and down.

What the fuck was happening to me? I had never had this reaction to another man. Hell, I’d lived with Dante for years. He was an openly gay man. Though, I did know he was in love with someone else even if we never talked about it.

Still, I couldn’t make sense of why Pharrell had this impact on me.

“I’m unsure. Taking this much time away is already an issue, though with Stasia gone, I will likely not have as much trouble as I have been. Her family will be another thing to sort out, unfortunately.”

There was meaning to his words. A meaning that made me sit up a little straighter.

“Wait. Was she doing other shit too? Like in your own organization?”

He nodded, his gaze turning fierce. “I suspect so. Most of what I need to investigate will need to be done in person. I have a feeling there will be a lot of my men who need to be removed from their positions.”

Thankfully, there aren’t a lot of people in this place to hear our conversation. It wouldn’t take much to put two and two together, even though our language is generic.

“That’s a big task to take on. Do you have anyone you trust to help you?”

It’s a question I had no business asking. What could I do to change his answer? It wasn’t like I had contacts in his city. And I sure as hell couldn’t leave to go help him.

Pharrell tapped his finger on the counter. My eyes flew to the movement, taking a moment to indulge on watching the inane gesture.

“An excellent question indeed. I’m not sure as of yet. There will be several big changes to implement once I return home. As of now, the men who came with me are the only ones who know Stasia’s disloyalty.”

I’ve noticed he’s refrained from calling her his wife. Not that he really needs to since she’s dead and all. Either way, it brought me a unique sensation to know he wasn’t attached to her anymore.

“Order for Ricardo.” The waitress appeared before we could go any deeper.

Pharrell grabbed most of the bags while I took the large cardboard tray holding some of the bigger containers. There was enough food here to easily feed all of us.

The men who’d come with us had all been told to take off back to their regular stations once cleanup was done. Romano’s men, who were now in Dante’s employ, all went home. Everyone else — whether Pharrell’s or Yamamoto’s — dispersed as well.

This meant we only needed to feed the four of us. And yet, we could probably feed twice as much. I laughed at the comical amount of food.

A look was thrown my way, but Pharrell didn’t say anything else. Maybe he thought I was finally losing it. That or he figured I’d tell him if I wanted him to know.

Both were true.

We drove back to the compound and unloaded the food in just enough time to catch Dante and Preacher coming down the stairs. We’d only just sat when they came into the room to take in the food.

I decided to strike while the iron was hot. They needed to know some information before the day went on.

“So, I might have been keeping a secret from you all. Nothing like Stasia — ”

“Fucking bitch,” Pharrell mumbled beside me, though he remained calm at my suggestion of not being fully open with them.

“But still equally as large.” I finished the thought despite the rising tension in the room. The two men across the table looked back at me like they were ready to take me out.

To prove my point, Preacher lifted his gun and turned it my way. “Speak!”

“There were others who didn’t want to be under your father’s thumb.

Men who either left or kept to themselves during his reign.

They weren’t here last night at my warning not to be nearby.

It will give you a good starting point for soldiers to go with the ones you’ve amassed across the country over the years. ”

Dante eased his hand up to turn Preacher’s gun away from me. As the man who’d been around me for years, he knew where my focus was. I hated his father almost as much as he did. I’d never beat him out for that spot given the time he spent away from the love of his life. It was a close second though.

“These men will remain loyal then?” he asked.

I didn’t hesitate in my reply. “Yes, they will. And until you can figure out how you’d like to move the organization forward, they’ll keep things steady for now. All shipments and projects can continue as planned if you’d like.”

“No bodies. Drugs and guns are fine, but no bodies.” Dante tilted his head in my direction. “Thank you for taking the time to ensure there would be some men here locally. I’ve yet to call the others to see if they’re willing to relocate.”

I barked an obnoxious sort of laugh. It was impossible not to. “Those men would come anytime you called. To them, you’re The Monster, the protector of their streets. They are all indebted to you.”

We went over a few more details, which later shifted to the couple sharing heated looks. It took Preacher shaking his head at Dante for the sexual charge to dissipate.

It was decided we’d divide and conquer after we finished eating to tackle the rest of the clean-up. I thought the idea was grand, even if I didn’t really like the idea of being away from Dante or Pharrell. Granted, the feelings were based on two different reasons.

Being away from Dante meant I wouldn’t get to keep an eye on my friend. Since reuniting with Preacher, I hadn’t gotten a good read on how he felt about everything happening.

Pharrell’s distance felt like… more.

I didn’t want him to be alone with his thoughts. I was far more worried about him than I had any right to be.

Even though we had very different things to work on, I found myself checking on him often throughout the day. No matter how much I tried to give him space, I’d still peek in on him to make sure he hadn’t gone catatonic.

It was during one of those checks that I caught wind of something I shouldn’t have.

There was some murmuring and the distinct sound of kissing before Dante’s voice shouted, “What’s taking so long!?”

“Trying to find some lube, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I rolled my eyes at the pair as I approached. I’d only just found a bottle in the living room, probably from one of their other escapades. It was none of my business where it came from, really.

Needing to lighten my mood, I leaned in the door and tossed the bottle in Preacher’s direction. “Think fast, Boss. And maybe close the door next time.”

I shut it behind me as I left, only catching a muffled burst of laughter as I strode away. There was no reason to worry about those two anymore. They were clearly happy.

That only left Pharrell.

I wondered if there’d come a point where I didn’t worry about him. Hopefully so. Whatever these misplaced feelings were, they had to get gone. I had to focus on my new role in the organization. Nothing else mattered.