Page 174 of Only Fools Rush

“Yes.”

“Why me?” I searched his face. “Why did you choose me for all your grand plans?”

He took a deep breath and leaned back on the bed. “Both your father and Volpe had submitted contracts against each other. I intended to select the option that benefitted me most, so I came to your birthday party that night to decide. Then Volpe took matters into his own hands before I had the chance.”

“You were going to use one of them?” I asked. “Take the contract to earn a favor?”

He nodded. “I wanted the Italian mafia in my pocket, for me to use when the time was right.”

“For what? What’s your end goal?”

His fingertips brushed against my cheek. I knew I was pushing him to tell me the truth, but after yesterday, I needed to understand. I needed to know if he’d tell me.

“The Italian mafia here in New York can one day rival the Camorra,” he finally said. “If nurtured appropriately.”

My eyes widened as pieces started to slot into place. “You want to take down the Camorra.”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “One day. If I controlled your father’s resources, and eventually those of the other Five Families, it would be a formidable force against them.”

“Why?” The Camorra was the most powerful criminal organization in the world. And Obi wanted to take them on? With our new syndicate?

“I have shared some of the details of how my parents were killed,” he said. I nodded. My heart still broke for him. “In my time living in Italy, I came to find out that the group that killed them were funded, in part, by the Camorra.”

My mouth fell open. “Shit. Are you serious?”

He nodded. “My family will not be safe so long as the Camorra is in operation. Their reach is far, their interests vast,extending even to the cartels in South America. They must be ended.”

Even the cartels? My mind raced as I tried to keep up. I grabbed his hand. “And me? Once Max killed my dad, the contract was moot. So why me? Why take a chance on me, when you had no guarantee that I’d be able to take the Family back under my control?”

“I needed what power I thought the Family, and our new syndicate, could give me.” He propped himself up on one arm and leaned over my body. “But I wantedyou.”

My heart raced with the truth lingering between us. I grabbed his cheeks and pulled his face back to mine. His hand brushed down my chest.

“I wonder…” He breathed against my cleavage. His voice went husky as he leaned over my body, caging me against the mattress. His dark eyes stared into me. “When we first agreed to our partnership, I told you that I’d teach you everything I know. There’s still so much left to learn.”

My mouth went dry. “Like what?”

His hand gripped my thigh through the sheet as he leaned in to kiss me. Wetness pooled between my legs. I pressed against the hard plane of his chest.Yes. Teach me.

A knock pounded on the door. The kiss broke.

“Obi!” Ryuji’s frantic voice came from the other side. “Open the door! She’s fucking gone!”

My eyes widened as Obi’s crinkled with mirth. He stood, and I bit my lip as I took in the sight of him. Broad chest, dark skin, defined muscles, and sleep pants that hung low on his hips. He was a work of art.

“I’m coming.” He sighed when Ryuji knocked again.

I pulled the bedsheet over my chest just as he opened the door. Ryu stood there, eyes wide. A commotion echoed down thehallway. “She’s not here. She’s not with Fallon. I don’t—” Then his gaze slid to the side and locked on me. “The fuck.”

I raised a hand in a little wave. “Hello.”

Ryu blinked, looking back and forth between me and Obi. “Are you for fucking real?”

I cringed. He didn’t sound mad, but he was clearly surprised.

“Would you like to come in?” Obi asked, opening the door further, and stepping aside.

“Um. Surprising to even me, no,” Ryu said. He shouted over his shoulder. “She’s in Obi’s room!”