Page 36 of Sweetest Sin

“Sorry,” Ericka says, reaching over and taking her phone from my hand. “I tried.”

The entire way back to my car, I replay Peyton’s words.

She’s moved on.

She met someone else.

She needs me to leave her alone.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out, answering it without checking who it is.

“It’s done,” Matteo says, getting straight to the point.

“Thanks.”

“But there was a little problem. Apparently, there was some miscommunication with the building security, and a woman made it up the elevator and onto the floor where your office is located. I don’t know who she was looking for, but after a few minutes, when Janet didn’t appear, she left.”

“Is it possible she heard anything?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Find out who she was and make sure she doesn’t know anything.”

“And if she does?”

“Then, we’ll take it from there. Let’s hope she doesn’t. I’m on my way home from the airport now, so if you need anything, let me know.”

“That was a quick trip.”

“She’s moved on.”

Matteo is silent for several seconds before he says, “Maybe it’s for the best.”

“Yeah,” I agree, even though it feels like it really fucking isn’t.

“I was thinking about hitting up Kings Point tonight. You down?”

Kings Point is a club downtown. Because cell phones aren’t allowed inside—a rule that doesn’t apply to us since we own the club—it’s where the elite go to drink, party, and oftentimes fuck, knowing anything that goes on there stays within those walls.

“Yeah,” I tell him. “It’s time to move on.”

The same way she did.

12

Dominick

Four and a Half Years Later

“Anthony’s been approvedto bid at the city auction.” Lorenzo walks into my office and has a seat. “The little fucking snake is going to be a problem.”

“I should’ve taken him out when I had the chance,” Matteo says, sitting in the visitor seat next to his best friend and glaring at me.

“There’s no way he has the funds.” I lean back and steeple my fingers. “Nobody in this city would give him a loan or back him. We made sure of it.”

It took about a year to cut ties with Rothschild International, but the CEO who bought out the company was agreeable, not wanting to spend time or money caught up in court.

When Anthony and his mom, Maria, found out Joseph had sold the company instead of passing it down to either of them, Maria used his life insurance to buy a new house just outside the city, wanting to start fresh, while Anthony lost his shit and tookoff. We haven’t heard from him in years, but apparently, he’s back, and he wants to play games.