He answered after two rings.
“Rafa,” he said. “Where the fuck are you?”
“With the girl.”
“Shit, man. Do you know what I’m dealing with?”
I had a feeling I did.
“What?”
“Ernesto. And he’s fucking pissed.”
“I take it he’s unhappy I beat the fuck out of his two goons.”
“Yes, he is. What the fuck were you thinking?”
“I was thinking the asshole wants Cassidy for himself, and I wasn’t taking any chances.”
He sighed. Vince sounded stressed, but he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t such a fucking pussy that he was afraid of pushing Ernesto’s buttons.
“Tell me next time,” he said, “so I don’t have to get blindsided.”
“Sorry about that, boss.”
“What happened anyway?”
“He had two goons waiting outside Cassidy’s place. I didn’t know what they wanted, and I didn’t feel like asking.”
“He says he put them there for her protection.”
I laughed softly. “Doubtful.”
“I doubt it too, but Arturo is unhappy.”
“Tell Arturo to grow a pair.”
“He thinks the whole fucking organization is about to go up like a fucking bomb.”
“Tensions are high.”
“You’re fucking right they are. Arturo isn’t wrong to be paranoid. There’s a rip down the middle of the mob, and shit is going to go down sooner or later.”
“You think Ernesto is going to try to stir that shit up now?”
“Maybe. I can’t be sure.”
“How much danger is Cassidy in?”
He paused. “I don’t know that either.”
“Fuck.” I knocked back my drink. “What time is it anyway?”
“Two in the morning.”
‘The fuck you doing awake?”
“You know I don’t sleep.”
I laughed. “Good point.”
“Look, I think you should bring her in.”
“You fucking kidding me?”
“I’m not kidding. Bring her to the mansion. We can keep a closer eye on her. I have muscle here.”
“So does Ernesto.”
“And so does everyone. Nobody makes a move in here. You know that.”
I sighed, pouring myself another. He did have a point. Nobody fucked with the sanctity of the compound, or at least they never had. There were too many guys with too many different levels of loyalty to really try to make a move.
It seemed crazy, though. The mansion was the center of the Barone family power. Arturo would be there, Ernesto would be there, and anyone else who might want Cassidy, too. We might be outnumbered, depending on what all the bosses wanted at the time.
But it was also the safest place. We could watch her closely. We could have lots of guys around at all times. Guarding her in this apartment would be a huge expense and a pain in the ass. We just couldn’t do it, even if we wanted to.
I didn’t want to go to that fucking place. I wanted to get her as far away from them as possible. But if Vince thought it was best, I had to trust him.
“Okay,” I said finally. “Fine. I’ll bring her in.”
“I know you don’t want to. We’ll work this out.”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “Sure.”
“I’ll tell the staff.”
“Later.”
I hung up the phone and sighed. I finished my last drink.
What shitty whisky.
I walked quietly into the living room and watched her sleep for a second. She was beautiful and calm, innocent and idealistic. She should have been my enemy. She wanted to shut down my people.
But I wanted her more than I could even begin to understand.
I crouched down next to her and softly said her name. She blinked and woke up slowly.
“Hey,” she said.
“We need to go.”
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself. “Uh, what?”
“Sorry.” I stood up. “We need to go somewhere safer.”
“What are you talking about? Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, but we’re not that safe here. We need to go.”
“Rafa, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Get your stuff together. I’ll drag you out if I have to.”
She stared at me defiantly for a second, and that made my cock stir. But finally she stood up. “Fine,” she said, and disappeared back into her bedroom.
I grinned to myself and leaned up against the door. She didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t blame her.
But she had no clue what was in store for her.
17
Cassidy
The mansion was set just outside the city on a huge plot of land. I thought we were driving through the wilderness, but really we were just driving through the compound’s outer forest.