The kid was an issue, of course. But only time would tell with that. We’d find out sooner or later if he was mine, and then I’d go from there.
But in the meantime, I wanted his mom. I wanted Kaley bad, so bad that I woke up the next morning with a fucking hard cock and a dream of her still lingering in my head.
I grunted, rolling out of bed.
Kaley was firmly lodged in my mind. I’d been telling her the truth when I said that the reason I let her in was to fuck her again. It wasn’t the whole reason, of course, but it was an enormous one.
She could be useful to the family. But she could also be useful to me.
As I stood up, the phone next to the bed started ringing. I grabbed it. “What?” I grunted.
“Vincent Mori?”
“Yeah.”
“This is Jefferson. Arturo wants to see you.”
“Fine,” I said. “When?”
“Now, in his study.”
I hung up the phone. Jefferson was like the house’s phone operator, and it wasn’t often that he was used to send messages like that.
Must be urgent. I quickly got dressed, throwing on what clothes I had there, and walked out into the hall.
I moved through the twisting passages, heading toward Arturo’s study. I had a feeling about what this was about. It wasn’t often I got invited into the big boss’s inner room, and it was almost never a good thing when I was.
I made it to his study and knocked on the door. “Come,” I heard him call out.
I walked inside. Lucas was already there, leaning up against a bureau. Two other captains, Ernesto and Gian, were also there. Gian was a younger guy, loyal to Lucas, while Ernesto was one of the old guard. He was loyal to Arturo, but mostly to himself.
“Sit,” Arturo said, gesturing at the last remaining chair. I sat down. “Coffee?”
“Please,” I said.
Lucas poured me a cup and handed it to me. “Thanks,” I said.
I sipped the hot black liquid.
“You know why you’re here,” Arturo said. “We heard from the Russians.”
“I take it they’re unhappy.”
“They think we kidnapped the girl.”
I nodded, not surprised. “I figured they’d play it that way. Blame us instead of admitting to their own embarrassment.”
“Yes, well, they’re threatening war.”
“More than threatening,” Ernesto cut in. “They’re pushing for it.”
Arturo held up a hand. “They say if we don’t return the girl by tonight, then they will consider our families in a state of war.”
I laughed. “By tonight? Who said this?”
“It came from Ivan himself,” Lucas said.
Shit. Ivan Ivanov was the head of the Russian mob, and one of the most feared men in the city.
“And the kid?” I asked.
“They make no mention of him,” Arturo said.
I nodded, sipping my coffee. “I assume you want my opinion.”
“You’re closest to the girl,” Gian said. “We want to hear what you think before the council decides.”
“The Russians know we aren’t going to give her back by tonight,” I said. “They either genuinely want to go to war or they’re bluffing.”
“I agree,” Lucas said.
“War,” Ernesto grumbled. “We haven’t been at war in a long time, Arturo. Are we prepared for that?”
Arturo looked at me. “How is your Chinese deal coming along?”
I frowned. “Stalled. I haven’t heard from Bao in a few days. But I’m still confident.”
“Good. We’ll need those weapons if we’re going to war.”
“This is foolish,” Ernesto said. “Just send the bitch back. What do we need with some Russian whore?”
I stared at Ernesto, my jaw clenched. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up. Lucas nodded at me and then looked at Ernesto.
“She could be useful,” he said. “And her child might be Vince’s.”
“So what?” Ernesto asked. “I have a thousand bastard sons. None of them are worth going to war over.”
Arturo laughed. “So callous, Ernesto. But I am inclined to agree that she is not worth going to war over.”
“I vote she stays,” Gian said. “I think she’s useful. And fuck the Russians.”
“She can be useful,” I said. “Give her time.”
Arturo crossed his arms. “How much time?”
“Two more days. At least until we find out if the kid is really mine.”
“We must vote today, Arturo,” Ernesto said. “We can’t delay.”
“Very well,” Arturo said. “I will speak to the council and take all of this into advisement.”