Page 173 of Creep

“What do you want?” he asked finally.

“I want in on the skin deal,” I said.

He tapped his finger on the surface of his desk. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I run a legitimate business. No skin deal.”

“Cut the bullshit, Tacchini. We both know you’ve got your nasty little fingers in all sorts of pies. All I ask is a small piece. It’s not too greedy, is it?”

He smiled, obviously enjoying this conversation. Good. I got him right where I wanted him.

He looked back down at the head. “How did you manage to cut off the head of thecapo dei capiof the Camorra?” he asked.

I shook my head. “That’s not for you to know. You did say you’ll give out favors to anyone who can bring you his head, no?”

He chuckled darkly. “I said that to my men. Men who had sworn their lives and loyalty to me. I don’t even know your name.”

“You can call me Beckett. And you’re right. I haven’t pledged to you.” And I didn’t fucking plan on pledging to the fucker. “But I know you’ve made an exception before.”

Both Leo Briggs and Luckas Whitlock were considered outsiders. Giovanni Tacchini had no problem bringing them in.

“Beckett,” he repeated as if testing the name out. “Okay. I’ll give you a little taste.”

He leaned down and pulled out a sticky note on his desk, writing something down and handing it over to me. The corners were tinged with Gallo’s blood.

“Come to this address this Saturday at three o’clock. Don’t be late.”

I nodded, tapping my knuckles on the desk once before turning away and walking out the door, showing him my back.

“Oh, and Beckett?”

I twisted my head around. “Yeah?”

“I want the son’s head, too,” he said, pointing to Gallo.

I didn’t say anything. I slowly walked out of his office, smiling.

Things were finally picking up.

45

LIA

I lookedto my side and took in Mael’s profile as he drove the familiar road.

We were actually doing something… fun.

And I was determined for it to be fun. To not think about my dad or Leo or… Victoria, who had been ignoring my calls.

I should take the hint and leave her alone. After what she said, she obviously wanted nothing to do with me, making it so much harder for me to make sense of the fact that she was actually my most enduring friendship. I’d made friends easily as a child, but the older I got, the harder it became.

When I met her in college, I had been alone. Most of my high school friends had moved on with their lives, going in separate directions from me, and I didn’t try to keep in contact with them.

At that time, Caden was still alive, and I only cared about him and my relationship with him. But when Victoria showed up and shoved herself into my life, working hard to gain my friendship… it had been nice to have someone to talk to, to share my thoughts and feelings with who wasn’t family.

Which didn’t make any sense how she could so easily just throw it away now.

I frowned.

I was doing the one thing I said I wouldn’t do—thinking about all the bad things in my life now and not focusing on the fact that Mael was taking me out on a date.

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