Page 68 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Pushing past him, I storm down the hall and out through the closed bar. From somewhere deep within, I can hear my father, and that’s another reason to get the hell out of dodge. I’ve spent the morning working. I don’t feel like seeing him. Not yet.

The sun beats down as we hit the pavement, and Matteo is there in front of me, holding the door to his car open. I slide inside and he goes around and gets into the driver’s seat.

“Will your brother survive this meeting?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Matteo laughs softly.

“He’s completely undermining the way that I direct,” I mutter. “I mean, how fucking stupid is he? Logging payments for drug shipments with legitimate food and spirit costs? How can you fucking justify a five-hundred-dollar crate of red potatoes and cabbage? He has no clue what he’s doing.”

“Yeah, he clearly missed Money Laundering 101.” Matteo lets out a sigh. “I’ll talk to Declan if you don’t want to.”

“No,” I say. “I’ll handle it myself.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “This is as much my problem as it is yours.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s not. I mean, yes, from a financial perspective since you’re almost bound to me, but from a personal one?”

Hell no. He’s not taking this from me. “This is onmeto fix. Conor can’t be allowed to run this organization into the ground, Matteo. If he does, you won’t have anything to claim.”

“And here I thought it would take much longer for you to warm up to me.”

“It’s not a joke,” I snap. “I don’t like you. I’ll never like you, and because of you, I’ve been out of the game for over a week and look at all of the issues I’ve found with our business records.”

“That’s on your brother, not me.”

He’s right, and it only makes my fury climb. “All of the accounting is fucked.”

I take a breath. It’s not just that one thing I had words with Sean over. It’s everything.

“What do you mean, all of it, Heaven?”

I want to tell him to fuck off, but I don’t. I can’t. And there’s no one else for me to talk to about this. Not my aunt, certainly not my father, or even Patty.

“I went over all the accounts for all our businesses. And things have changed. Every business is using a different tracking method, and why? Because the asshole is skimming.”

Matteo is quiet for a long time, but he taps his long, strong fingers against the steering wheel. “I’m investing in your businesses. Fronts or not, I don’t take kindly to stealing.”

“You’re supposed to be protecting him, too.”

Matteo turns and looks at me. “Doesn’t mean I can’t teach him a lesson,amore mio.”

I shake my head. “If anyone does that, it’s going to be me.”

“You can’t and you know it. You’re smart, so be smart.”

He’s right, and I do know it. I clench my hands on my thighs. “Conor was just waiting for me to get pulled out so he could do what the hell ever he wants. This is the last straw, and you’re right. I’m going to be smart. It’s up to me to prove he’s fucking everyone.” I point to the steering wheel. “So, drive.”

He presses the ignition button and the engine growls with the same kind of ferocity bubbling in my veins. “Where is he?”

“I thought you knew.”

“My people know. I’m asking you.”

“42nd Street and 11th Avenue,” I say. “He’ll be down there today. And just so we’re clear, this is a meeting I’ll take by myself.”

The address isn’t far from Molly’s, and we soon roll to a stop in front of a warehouse. Matteo stares up at it, his brow furrowed. “This place looks like a breeding ground for scumbags. You’re not going in there alone.”

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