Page 319 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Her eyes immediately brighten and she sits up. “I’d love that. But… do you think I can call Frankie? Please, just let me make sure he’s okay.”

I grind my teeth together but give a swift nod. Let her talk to him now. Who the fuck knows how much longer he has to speak before someone yanks that tongue out of his double-crossing, lying fucking mouth? I reach onto the coffee table and hand her my phone, walking into the kitchen while she dials.

A minute passes and she lets out an impatient huff before speaking into the phone.

“Frankie, it’s me. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I’m fine, so don’t worry about me.” She pauses for a second before speaking again. “Just please do what he needs, Frankie. Help him fix things and get him his stuff back so that nobody else gets hurt. Please. I…I love you.”

I can hear the sigh of frustration as she stabs the End button.

She joins me in the kitchen and hands me my phone. Panic settles into her features as she raises her gaze toward me. “No answer,” she mumbles, nibbling on her thumbnail.

“It’s, ah, kinda early,” I offer. “Maybe he’s still passed out?”

“Maybe,” she says, bending down to ruffle Bella’s fur.

I sink down next to her and place my hands on her shoulders. “Hey, don’t worry. I told you I’d handle it, didn’t I?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“So, you have to trust me.”

Those words don’t taste fabulous on my lips, I’ll tell ya that.

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “I do.”

The ache in my chest is tearing me apart right now, but this is the only way I can fix things.

And Frankie is the problem, not the solution.

“So go get dressed. I left a sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants on the bed in your room. Once we’re out, I’ll get you something that actually fits.”

Chella snickers and runs into her room to change. She turns to peek over her shoulder before disappearing down the hallway, flashing a teasing grin at me. “Wait, so you’re letting me go to a place where you know I’m about to strip down and you’re not going to follow me?”

I hold up my phone. “I’ve got fires to fight. And I don’t mind tearing off your clothes. Makes the prize even more worth the effort.”

Her giggles travel down the hallway with her, and once I hear the door close, I dial Bobby’s number, hissing into the phone as soon as he answers.

“Listen, I need you to find Frankie Amante for me as soon as possible.”

“Sure, boss. What do you want me to do with him once I find him?”

“Bring him to the place where we took care of Salvatore. I wanna talk to him.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

“And whatever you do, leave Ray out of it. He knows nothing, you got that? Don’t tell anyone where you’re going or why.”

“Yeah. No problem, boss.”

I end the call and quickly get myself together. Then I pop a few Advil because the throbbing between my temples makes me want to collapse on the couch and smother my face with a pillow.

I need a fucking plan!

I am exposed, like an open wound, and if I don’t figure out a way to plug it, I’m gonna bleed out.

Literallyandfiguratively.

I sink onto the couch, fisting my hair.

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