Page 18 of Keeping Kasey (Love and Blood #3)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Logan
"That’s not an excuse. By the end of the day, I’d better have the revised deal or your head to put a bullet in," I say, slamming my phone against my desk.
James, who’s standing in the doorway, blinks incredulously. “Bad day?”
“Unless you’re bringing the amendments to the Terrell deal that are somehow not ready after a month, then I suggest you get out.”
“That should’ve been in on Monday.”
“I’m aware,” I grate out and pinch the bridge of my nose. “What do you want?”
“What put you in such a bad mood?”
The answer is both simple and complicated.
Kasey—or rather, the lack of Kasey.
She and Damon flew to Texas on Tuesday morning to upgrade security at our Houston and Dallas bases.
It’s been forty-eight hours since I’ve seen her—which is the longest I’ve gone in an otherwise satisfying week.
All I can think about is the fact that her hickeys are fading, and she’s not here for me to paint new ones all over her.
I’m pissed she’s not here, and I’m pissed that I’m pissed she’s not here.
Being celibate for a few days has never been an issue before, but all of a sudden, it’s stealing my sanity and patience.
Explaining that to my brother seems like a waste, so I repeat myself instead. “What do you want?”
James studies me for a long moment before taking the chair across from my desk. “Mr. Romano called.”
“I settled their business with the Amatos weeks ago,” I say, clicking through emails on my computer.
“It wasn’t about that.”
“Get to the point.”
James leans back in his chair. “He wants to meet about a proposal.”
“He can submit any policy proposals to Matteo. I’ll review it when I have time.”
“Not that kind of proposal.”
When I look at my brother, his face is expressionless.
I fold my hands on the desk. “I thought we decided that I would approach him .”
“That was before your show the other night at the club.”
I curse under my breath.
I knew I didn’t have long before this happened, but I’d hoped for a few more days.
“He’s getting impatient.”
“Then he can marry her off to someone else.”
“He wants to,” James says. “She’s twenty-three, and he’s been waiting since the day she turned eighteen.”
“Then why doesn’t he just do it already? I don’t like being pushed.”
“You know exactly why he hasn’t done it yet.”
I do.
Giovanni Romano is the boss of the Romano family, which is one of the larger factions residing within my territory.
The trade of arms, substances, and protection has been mutually beneficial over the years.
With their family located in the heart of Chicago, they’ve allowed us to reside on the outskirts and still remain in control of the city.
Giovanni’s wife passed away twenty years ago, and since he refused to remarry, his daughter is his only child.
Isabella Romano is the definition of a mafia princess, having been bred and raised for the sole purpose of being married off to strengthen family ties.
There are plenty of suitors within our territory who would jump at the opportunity to marry the Romano princess, but Giovanni hasn’t accepted any of the offers for one reason, and one reason alone.
Me.
Giovanni approached my father with the proposition of an arranged marriage, and on Isabella’s eighteenth birthday, she and I officially met and agreed to it. My father was adamant about the arrangement being on my timeline, and Giovanni agreed to the condition.
This allowance could be seen as a mercy from the great Gabriel Consoli—as giving his twenty-five-year-old son the freedom to enjoy his youth and settle down when the time was right—but I knew better.
The only reason he included the condition was so I could ensure that the timing of the wedding wouldn’t interfere with my work.
As time passed, it was also evident that my father wanted me to take over communication with families like the Romanos, and the expectation of a proposal kept Romano from getting on my father’s bad side while keeping the pressure on me .
“Now is hardly the time to be worrying about things like marriage. This family has enough to deal with.”
“That’s exactly why we should worry about things like marriage,” James says. “You don’t have kids, which means you don’t have an heir, and our men know it. It would strengthen our family to unite with the Romanos.”
I narrow my eyes at my brother. “Why now? And don’t say it’s because of the rumors about Kasey. Romano isn’t stupid. He knows I haven’t been chaste all these years.”
“The problem is that they aren’t just rumors. Kasey is the first girl to work and live with us, and you go and throw her over your shoulder in a public declaration for all our soldiers to see,” James says with a pointed look. “Besides, we’ve been in mourning, and the timing hasn’t been right.”
“And what makes you think the timing is right now?”
His smile is thinly veiled. “Because you’re interested in companionship.”
I almost laugh. “ Companionship ? I’m sleeping with Kasey, and that in no way indicates that I’m looking for a wife.”
“And yet you need one, so unless you’re planning to make Kasey a bride, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t move forward with Isabella.”
“You’re right,” I say with a tight nod. “Screwing one girl is the perfect time to get engaged to another.”
“Kasey doesn’t strike me as the type to see an engagement as a hard line.”
His assumption grates on my nerves, and heat spreads over my chest.
We’re exclusive , I almost tell him, but I don’t.
He’s already wary of whatever Kasey and I are, and I don’t need to give him more fuel for that fire.
One breath. Two. Three.
“You like her, don’t you?” James says with a growing smile.
A string of curses runs through my head.
Most of the time, the fact that my brother knows me so well makes him the perfect underboss, but in times like this, his ability to read me is obnoxious. The smirk on his face says he knows it, too.
I refuse to give him any satisfaction.
“Like her? No. Like sleeping with her, yes—and I intend to continue doing so until she’s gone,” I say with a sardonic smile. “We can talk about moving forward with Romano then.”
His expression is calculating, but he doesn’t seem annoyed by my rejection, and I briefly wonder if there’s another motive behind his questioning before deciding I don’t care either way.
I glance at my watch. Kasey and Damon should be landing in less than an hour, and I plan to be home by the time she gets there.
I shoot to my feet, ready to give some excuse that I know he won’t believe for why I’m leaving early today, but Matteo bursts into the room.
The look on his face can only mean one thing, which he confirms when he opens his mouth.
“There was another attack.”
Fifteen minutes later, James, Matteo, and I are staring at a map of Chicago with thirteen pins marking sabotaged locations over the last four months. Some have been more substantial than others, but each sabotage is another crack in the armor protecting this family.
The method varies—cargo going missing during transport, inventory numbers being tampered with, or anonymous tips that lead to some of my associates getting busted—but the ending is always the same.
The responsible person makes themselves known when they completely fall off the map.
These men—soldiers who aligned themselves with Mason—either make a deal for immunity with law enforcement and opt for the witness protection program or use their insider information for a payout that funds their escape.
Matteo puts a new pin on the map—our accounting firm.
“This morning, we sent four soldiers to deliver a quarter million to the firm. Two hours ago, I received word that they never arrived.”
Matteo slides a photo onto the desk. It shows one of our inconspicuous black vans with blood splattered across the inside of the windshield.
Three bodies are sagging lifelessly in their seats, and based on the angle of the splatter and the direction in which the bodies are slumped, I estimate gunshots to the back of the head for all of them.
“The fourth soldier—Billy Ridge—took off with the money,” Matteo explains.
“Witnesses?” James asks.
Matteo shakes his head. “I still have men investigating, but so far, no one has seen or heard anything.”
“He’s traveling with a ridiculous amount of cash,” James notes. “He’s not about to risk hanging out at bus or train stations—not in this city.”
“If he’s smart, he bought a crappy car and is well out of city limits by now,” Matteo agrees.
“Lucky for us, these guys are rarely smart,” I note. “Is this the same Billy who used his advancement on a Rolex when he was three months behind on rent?”
James nods.
“Then a quarter million won’t last him long. I’m willing to bet he’s got another sabotage planned and never left the city. Send out the normal team to apprehend him.”
“Already done,” Matteo confirms. “But I think we need to take extra precautionary measures, considering the implications of the timing.”
“What implications?” James asks.
“After Mason died, there were five sabotages in two weeks. After Moreno fixed the leak, there were three in ten days. This is the second in eight days.”
“You think there will be another?” James asks.
“We would be ignorant to assume otherwise,” Matteo answers. “We need to be ready when it happens.”
“The question isn’t when. It’s why ,” I say. “What would’ve spooked the traitors this time?”
Three seconds of silence follow.
Three seconds during which each of us considers what possible change could’ve led to the sabotage.
Three seconds during which we all come to the same conclusion.
“If Kasey’s work is what’s spooking them, they’re either more paranoid than we thought, or they somehow know what she’s really doing here,” James surmises.
“Not necessarily,” Matteo answers, sitting beside him. “Hiring a woman is already out of the norm. That alone could’ve been enough to spook them.”