“Hey!” Annika says and smacks me on the ass.
“I think Annika’s about to get lucky,” I hear Ivie say.
“Dude, you’re a caveman,” Shane calls out, and I throw up my hand, flipping them all the bird as they laugh and jeer behind us.
I don’t break my stride as I choose the stairs rather than the elevator. I’m barely breathing hard when I reach our room.
Once inside, I put her on her feet and stare into mutinous blue eyes.
“That was embarrassing.”
“Why?” I trap her against the wall the way I did not long ago before we went downstairs. “Because I hauled you out of there?”
“Over your shoulder.”
“Damn right. It was that or drag you, and carrying you was easier.”
Her eyes narrow. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m so turned on, I can’t see straight.”
That stops her. Her mouth opens and closes until she settles on, “What?”
“You heard me.” I nip the side of her mouth. “I had no idea you could shoot like that. It was a lightning bolt straight through me. Jesus, seeing you hold a gun like that was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I needed you. I need you. And you said you wanted to have sex pushed up against the wall.”
“So that’s moved up on the schedule, then?”
I grin and tear her leggings at the crotch. “Hell, yes.”
There are no more words as we rip our clothes from our bodies. When I sink inside her, it’s like coming home. I’m an animal. I can’t go slow; I can’t take my time.
All I can think about is the overwhelming drive to mate with her.
And when she moans with that gritty, dirty edge to her voice and clamps around my cock, it’s my undoing. I empty myself inside her and have to lean on the wall to catch my breath.
“Well.” Annika swallows hard. “That was fun. Let’s put it back on the schedule for another time.”
I laugh and set her on her feet. “I always have time for this.”
“I want to go over everything we know,” Pop says later in the evening when we’re all together with our drinks of choice. Pop sits next to Igor, while Mom and Katya are seated by the window, drinking wine.
Curt, Shane, Carmine, and I are seated at a table with a glass of whiskey, and the girls are on couches, lounging with their wine and eating chocolate ice cream from the tub.
It’s as casual as it gets around here, and my grandmother would have loved it.
“We have three bosses and their families, all murdered, in the last few weeks,” Igor says, rubbing his chin. “Not by the same methods. No notes left behind, and no family taking credit for it.”
“There was a car accident,” Carmine adds, picking up the facts. “Killed the boss, his wife, and their daughter in Chicago. Then, we have the family in Boston, who were all sent into the water with cement shoes.”
“This last one in Kansas City is even more disturbing,” Pop says, shaking his head. “The boss and his wife had their throats slashed. The children, both under the age of twelve, were drugged and left for dead. One child, the youngest son, survived and is in the hospital under constant supervision.”
“Has anyone called Elena?” Mom asks, catching our attention.
“Shit, I’ll do that as soon as we’re done here,” Carmine says. “She and Archer are in Oregon, tucked away.”
“Why do you need to call your cousin?” Nadia asks, frowning. “She’s been on the down-low for years.”
“We’ll send some extra men to keep an eye on her,” Carmine replies. “Besides, after what happened to her parents, we’ve always been more careful where she’s concerned.”
“What happened to her parents again? I know someone killed them, but I don’t know the story.”
“My sister, Claudia, was married to Vinnie Watkins, who was the boss at the time. Vinnie was a piece of shit, but he was still the boss,” Pop says, telling the story. “When Elena was about twenty, I guess, Vinnie went to prison. He got too cocky with some money laundering and got caught. It was disgraceful. He was too prideful. While in prison, someone killed him.”
“Claudia was killed in a car accident,” Mom says, picking up the story, “on the same day.”
“It wasn’t an accident,” Pop insists, slamming his fist on the table. “She was murdered.”
“Well, we weren’t able to prove that, were we?” Mom asks. “Carlo’s mother, the woman who owned this house, spent many years trying to find those responsible for her daughter’s death. Also, within hours of Claudia and Vinnie being killed, she hid Elena away. From all of us. For over a decade, we all thought Elena was also dead, her body not likely to be found.”
“They didn’t tell you that they were hiding Elena away?” Annika asks, shocked.
“No,” Pop says. “However, I knew. I was the only one who did. Because the men my mother hired to help Elena disappear worked for me. Not her. I didn’t tell anyone else because they didn’t need to know. The fewer who knew, the safer Elena was.”
“Still not happy that you didn’t tell us,” Carmine says, but Pop just shrugs.
“I run my house the way I see fit, and you know that. I don’t apologize for it. Elena was safer because she was gone.”
“I’m calling her now,” Carmine says, tapping his phone. After three rings, Elena answers.
“Hey, favorite cousin,” she says.
“I heard that,” I call out.
“You’re all my favorite, Rocco,” she reminds me and makes me smile. “What’s up with you guys?”
“Are you and Archer still in Oregon?” Carmine asks.
“Yeah, we’re at the beach house. It’s been a nice break, but I think we’re heading back to the city in a couple of days.”
“I want you to stay where you are,” Pop says sternly. “Some things are happening here that I don’t want you around for. Stay there with your husband. I’ll have some men come to keep an eye on things, as well.”
“Something big is going down,” Elena says, her voice sober. “Don’t worry, we’ll cooperate. I’m happy to spend more time at the beach.”
“Good girl,” Pop says. “We’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll call you soon,” Carmine adds and clicks off.
“So, the people who killed Elena’s parents are killing the other bosses?” Annika says.
We all look her way and frown.
“Not necessarily,” Pop says. “What happened to Claudia and Vinnie was more than a decade ago. This isn’t related.”
“I don’t think you’re seeing the big picture,” Annika disagrees. “And I don’t mean that to sound disrespectful. Let’s outline this. Bosses and their entire immediate families are coming up dead—all murdered in different ways. Your sister and brother-in-law were murdered. And your mother feared for Elena’s life so much that she sent her away. She thought it was even a secret, so she could keep her safe. Why would she think that Elena would be killed? Most of the time, when a boss is murdered, the rest of their family isn’t executed, as well.”