*Caterina*
My head was spinning as I rushed back to class. I had to remind myself to pay attention to my driving after almost rear-ending a car at a red light that I hadn’t noticed.
It was difficult to focus when all I could think about was how elated I was that Elio was finally letting be fully involved, and it was clear that he wasn’t just doing this to make happy anymore, he was doing it because he knew I could actually help. I had finally proven to him that my ideas were worth listening to.
And now that I had proven myself, I wanted to ensure that I continued to be an asset to the family. My mind was working overti as I considered everything we needed to do in the next few weeks.
Taking down the Ghost would be huge for us, and it would put us on the map as a family not to be ssed with. I didn’t want to get too cocky, but I really believed that Elio and I would be able to co up with a solid plan that could actually work, especially with the help of Leo and the rest of Elio’s n.
We had enough young blood that we were bringing a completely new set of ideas to the ga. It wasn’t about old-school mafia power anymore. Nowadays, you had to be smart and sneaky, two things that we could excel at when we needed to.
Thanks to the fact that neither Elio nor I had really grown up in the life, we were able to use our outside experience to drive our decisions and co up with unique solutions that Alessandro would never think of himself.
I arrived back on campus with only a few minutes before my class, but I couldn’t be bothered to care. I had much more important things on my mind than an economics lecture.
The thought of just skipping the class altogether crossed my mind, but I knew I would regret it if I did that. It would just encourage Elio to continue to beg to quit school, and I had no desire to go over that conversation with him again.
As much as I loved the life that we were building together, I still wanted sothing that was just for myself. And besides, I really believed that the knowledge I gained from my classes could co in handy. I already had a few different ideas for our upcoming restaurant thanks to a business class that I had taken the year before.
If I wanted to continue to be an asset, I had to keep growing and evolving, and the best way I knew how to do that right now was to keep working toward my degree.
Despite my belief that my classes would ultimately help , I wasn’t in the mood to try and force myself to pay attention. Instead, I rushed to get there only so I could find a good seat in the back and continue to think about what Elio had told about the Ghost.
I spent the entire class running different scenarios and ideas in my head, pausing only long enough to consider more options for the restaurant. I hoped I would be able to get notes from soone because I sure as hell didn’t know what the professor had lectured about. It was always easier when I shared a class with Anna because I knew I could count on her to take ticulous notes, but the further we got into our degree programs, the fewer classes we ever had overlap.
Finally, the professor released us, and I was free to rush back to the warehouse. I forced myself to take a few calming breaths in an attempt to relax and focus, but it was no use. My adrenaline was high and I was ready for shit to go down.
I arrived at the warehouse to find that Franky was the only one there. After an awkward mont, he waved over. “Elio said you have so info for ,” he said gruffly.
“Yes!” I answered, probably a little too enthusiastically. I was still in disbelief that everyone was going to actually let be a part of all of this.
“They have a na for the Ghost. Artem Katz. He’s managed to get over a hundred people to disappear in the past twenty years. We believe this is the first ti that anyone has managed to connect his real na to his persona.”
Franky nodded in approval. “Good work on everyone’s part. He’s going to be tough to bring down, but if we play this right, I think we can do it.”
I fought to keep my jaw from dropping, this was the most outward praise that I’d ever seen Franky give anyone, and to have him direct it at made it all the more shocking. Was it possible that he was now in support of being a part of things too?
“Elio also wanted to tell you that Junior has been located in Italy. He’s still laying low, it looks like Alessandro’s n will easily be able to keep an eye on him. I think at this point his threat level has been reduced quite a bit.”
“Yeah, this Artem asshole is a far bigger concern, I would say,” Franky agreed.
I nodded. “Elio and I thought the sa thing.”
Although Franky would never be the kind of guy who would gush about how much he approved of , it was clear by the way he was listening closely to what I had to say and then taking his ti to think everything over that he really did respect my opinions.
Knowing I had his support ant more to than I could have ever thought it would. It made my involvent feel far more legitimate. I had always known that a guy like Leo would be fine with being a part of this life if Elio was fine with it, but to have Franky on my side ant so much more.
It ant that I had really managed to prove myself.
“We’ve also scouted out a solid location for the restaurant, and Leo will be doing interviews soon to find so good employees. I found a few that I think would be a perfect fit for both sides of the business. I think this is going to be a great thing for the future of the family,” I continued.
Franky nodded. “I’m glad things are going well on that front. I’ve been staying out of it so that Elio can really work toward fully taking over. I think it’s only a matter of ti before Alessandro calls back to Italy and I let you two figure it out for yourselves.”
The thought of Elio and truly taking over was just as exciting as it was nerve-wracking, but I knew we were ready for the jump. We made a great team.
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out to see that Elio was calling.
“Hold on, it’s Elio,” I told Franky before picking up.
“Hey, I’m at the warehouse,” I said, not wanting to waste any ti.
“Okay, great, I’m on my way. Can you et outside? I want to ask you sothing.”
“Um, sure.” I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t just co in and talk to , but I wasn’t about to start questioning him in front of Frankie. I had just managed to gain his respect; the last thing I wanted to do was lose it by making it seem like Elio and I weren’t on the sa page.
“I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said before hanging up.
“Elio is on his way, he wants to et him outside,” I explained to Frankie. “It was really good talking to you.”
“I’m glad we had the chance to go over everything,” he said.
His sentint ward my heart. I couldn’t believe how far our relationship had managed to progress since we had first t.
I walked out of the warehouse and was surprised to find that the sun was already starting to set. Talking with Frankie had taken more ti than I had realized.
Elio was pulling in just as I shut the warehouse door behind . As he parked his car and got out, I couldn’t help but stop and admire him as he walked toward . I had just seen him earlier in the day, but sothing about the way he looked after a long day of work made him even sexier to .
His suit was slightly disheveled and his tie had been loosened, and I could tell that he had been running his hand through his hair like he often did when he was thinking hard about sothing. Every bit of how he looked made want to devour him.
The corner of his mouth quirked up when he t my eye and warmth pooled in my belly. Fuck, I was head over heels for the man. It was hard to believe there had ever been a ti when I hadn’t felt like this about him.
He wrapped his arms around as soon as he was close enough. His cologne had faded just enough so that I could sll him underneath it; a delicious earthy scent that always reminded of a forest. I snuggled in against his chest, taking my ti to soak in everything about him.
“Hey, sweetheart, I missed you,” he murmured as he leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead.
“I missed you too,” I gladly admitted. “Too much.”
“Do you want to get away for the night?” he asked.
I leaned back so I could look him in the eye. “What do you an?” I asked.
“I want to take you sowhere. We’ve had so much going on lately, I feel like I haven’t been able to stop and really enjoy you in so long,” he said as his hands rubbed circles on my back.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked. There was no way in hell I was going to turn him down, but I wanted to know what I should pack.
“It’s a surprise! Co on, let’s go. I’ll text Frankie and tell him we were needed elsewhere,” he said, his eyes dancing with excitent.
“Okay, just take ho so I can pack first. I’ll be quick.”
“No need, we’ve got everything we need in the car already. I didn’t want you to have to do any planning whatsoever. Co on!”
“Okay, okay,” I laughed and let him tug along to the car.
“Let’s go, we deserve a little getaway,” he said, as much to himself as to .
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