Page 30 of The One Night Match (Mafia Matchmaker #1)

THIRTY

CRUZ

I ’m in the middle of a meeting with Dennis and one of his cronies, lies falling from their lips like they think I’m stupid, but I can’t stop checking my phone like a lovesick teenager.

It makes me more uneasy than I want to admit having Riley and Lexi out in the city today, but my wife’s independence means a lot to her, and I don’t want to be the one who stifles that, even if every second she’s out of the safety of our home makes me murderous.

“Are you listening to me?” Dennis snaps, his elbows resting on the edge of my desk while Vernon stands behind him, his arms crossed over his chest.

I stare at him across the desk, not a hint of amusement in my features. “Yes, Dennis. You’re telling me that the shipment was short for the second month in a row, even though I had an independent contractor check the stock as soon as the boat docked, and his report tells a very different story.”

His eyes widen slightly, the only sign that he knows that I’ve figured out his current plan to overthrow me.

To make me look incompetent, like I can’t deal with our suppliers, losing us money, and making our organization look weak.

Too bad for him, I’m not the same kind of idiot my father was, and I don’t believe in waiting for problems to become too big for me to deal with.

“So tell me, where did the extra cocaine go between the initial count and a few hours later when you and your guys did their checks?” I raise a brow at him.

“What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying a damn thing, Dennis. I’m asking you a question and expecting you to answer me.

And before you try to tell me that someone must have snuck in and stolen it, I’m going to save you from that mistake because I had a team of security on all entrances and Colten watching the cameras like a hawk. ”

I lean back in my seat, folding my arms over my chest.

We’re getting closer to being able to take them down. So close I can almost taste it. But we’re not there quite yet.

All the pieces are in play. Now we just watch the fallout from the mistake they’ve made. Anyone involved will try to flee, which should weed out those involved with their plan to take me down.

“I don’t know how it could have happened,” he lies, his ears turning red as he desperately tries to clutch onto an excuse that doesn’t exist.

“Maybe we miscounted?” Vernon says, his eyes flicking to the door in the ultimate tell. He’s looking for an escape. Too bad for him, there isn’t one.

“You think you may have miscounted fifty grand worth of product?” I ask carefully.

He nods. “Yeah, it’s possible. Human error and all that.”

“I see.” I look back to Dennis, who is starting to look a little green around the gills. “Do you agree with that possibility?”

“Yeah. Of course. It makes sense.”

I sigh. “You know, if you’re going to lie to your boss, you should at least get your stories straight, you know?

” I shake my head as I slowly stand, fixing my suit jacket casually.

“After your count came back so wildly different from that of the independent contractor, Colten and I did our own count, and you know what we found?”

Their eyes both widen, and genuine panic etches into their features.

“We found it was short, in line with your numbers. Which means not only did you fuck with the stock count, but you also stole my product.” I lean forward, slowly placing each palm on the edge of the desk, leveling my stare on Dennis.

“Did you think it was a good idea stealing from a man who pulled the trigger on his father without blinking an eye?” I tilt my head.

“Did you think you’d be able to outsmart me? ”

The door behind them swings open, and Colten stands on the other side, his eyes wide and panicked, putting me on high alert immediately.

My best friend is the best of the best. The kind of smart that makes him question emotions and their validity, but seeing that look on his face tells me something is wrong. Very fucking wrong.

“Colten?” I say evenly.

“We need to go right now. The girls have been ambushed.”

My eyes flick down to Dennis, unable to stop his lips from tipping up in a smirk.

“What the fuck did you do?” I growl.

He shrugs. “Tick tock, De Luca. You gonna let your wife and sister die just to take us down? I knew your loyalty to family was questionable, but not even I thought you could sink so low.”

I shove my phone into my pocket and round the desk.

“You’re acting like you’re walking out of here just because we are.

Which you’re not.” I smirk as Davis steps into the room.

The private security firm I hired recently employs the best that comes out of the military, and the two guys posted outside the door are no exception to that. “Don’t let them leave.”

He gives me a quick nod as I pass him, not bothering to say goodbye to the two assholes whose days are numbered.

I fall in step with Colten as we make our way to the garage. “Tell me what the fuck happened.”

“Ben radioed it in. The girls left the dress shop. There was nothing out of the ordinary while they were there or as they left. But two cars rammed into them as they were going through an intersection in a coordinated attack.”

“Are they hurt?” I growl, slipping into the driver’s seat of my Maserati and peeling down the driveway.

He hesitates, something he rarely does, and I turn to look at him as I shoot down the road, uncaring about the speed limit.

I’ve hated coming into the city the last week because it means I’m further away from Riley if she needs me, but right now I’m grateful as hell that this is where our home base is for the darker sides of the business.

“Colten?” I snap.

“I don’t know. We lost connection with Ben as I came into the office to get you.”

Panic grips my chest in a way it never has before, seizing every breath before it can fill my lungs.

No. Fuck no. I can’t lose Riley. I can’t lose Lexi.

Fuck.

“You gotta breathe, man,” Colten says, his voice thick with tension, but he’s holding his shit together better than I am.

I’m not sure how, seeing as he’s been obsessed with Lexi since we were kids, to the point I’ve never seen him so much as look at another woman. But I’m grateful for it, nonetheless. One of us needs a cool head, and it’s not going to be me.

I drag in a shaky breath as I run straight through a red light, ignoring the horns and angry motorists as I follow the GPS to their last known location.

Colten dials a number on his phone, but it goes straight to voicemail, only making the tension in the car skyrocket.

I tap the steering wheel a few times until it dials Riley, and I hold my breath with each ring of the dial tone.

“Cruz?” Riley’s shaky voice comes through the car speakers, and my entire body relaxes at the sound. Tension still coils through every muscle and will until she’s safely back in my arms, where she belongs.

“Riley, are you okay? Is Lexi okay?” I rush out.

“We’re okay. We got hit. Twice a think. I don’t know. It happened so fast.” She’s rattled, that much is clear even through the phone line, but all that matters is that she’s alive and unharmed.

“Where are you, Kitten? We’re coming for you right now.”

“Hold on,” she murmurs, and the line goes quiet for a handful of seconds that have a new wave of panic washing over me. “Corner of Fourth and Madison. Ben’s just driven us into a parking lot to hide out until you can get here.”

“We’ll be there soon, Riley. Just sit tight, okay?”