Page 5 of Kingpin

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“Do you have the documents?” I asked.

Pava Moretti handed me a rubber-banded stack of folders from his inside suit pocket, and I quirked an eyebrow.

“Here they are,” he said.

I took them from him. “This is it?”

“Did you expect anything more?”

“For a crime family that boasts about raking in sixty million a year, yes. I did.”

Pava motioned for me to sit at his dining room table, and I took him up on the offer. I slid the rubber band off the file folders and started opening them, studying how they had their assets distributed. It was the first of many steps I had to take. I had to memorize the structure of their business and how their wealth was allocated before I could take on running two crime families. I didn't know why Pava seemed shocked by that. I was marrying their only daughter—hell, their only child!—and everyone knew Pava was sick.

Incurably sick.

I flipped through the pages and studied the numbers. They were impressive, sure, but not nearly what my family’s numbers were. Then again, no one else would ever reach those numbers. They weren’t possible unless specific tactics I practically trademarked were employed. That’s what kept my family on top, trade secrets divulged to no one.

Even I had to admit that the Morettis were well off.

No wonder she’s beautiful.

Their daughter was gorgeous. Honey-colored eyes. Tan skin. Awkward auburn hair that somehow seemed to fit her. She had luscious curves, too. Curves I’d fully explore with the palms of my hands and the points of my teeth on our wedding night. I drew in a deep breath to keep my erection at bay. Already, I throbbed for her. Aching for her. Her beauty was unmatched, that much was for certain. Out of all the women who had been offered to me for marriage, she was the only one I didn’t have the urge to turn down.

Then again, that might be because she came with a formidable family I wanted to run.

I wonder what she’ll look like with all that makeup washed off.

I hated that shit. Makeup was a tool used by liars, cheats, and self-conscious women. I knew she’d be stunning without it. Though, she could keep that red lipstick. The streaks that stuff would make on my cock made my spine shiver with anticipation.

However, if she ended up being one of those women who didn’t believe they were pretty without makeup, we might have a problem.

Focus, Israel. You can tackle those issues later.

“So?”

My father’s voice piped up behind me, and I slowly lifted my eyes to his. I silenced him with a glance, then let my eyes fall back to the numbers. They couldn't have been everything. The Moretti family was well-known in both the Italian and American mafia circles. They had a dynasty that went back almost two fucking centuries. And all there was to show for it were six manila file folders of typed-up information?

Something isn’t right here.

I stood. “I’ll be taking these with me to—”

Pava cleared his throat. “I can’t let you take those, Israel.”

The room came to a standstill as I locked eyes with the old man.

“I’ll be taking these with me to look over. And in the meantime, you can get me the rest of the information I need.”

He shook his head. “With all due respect, until I die, I’m still the head of this family. You aren’t running this show yet.”

“And what good is my running anything going to do if I’m not equipped with the information I need once you draw your last breath? Do you really mean to tell me you want to learn this after you’re gone instead of picking up where you leave off, so nothing drops off the map?”

All eyes were on Pava as my family stared him down. I tucked the folders underneath my arm, not giving him a choice. After sidestepping him, I drew in a deep breath.

“Have your daughter prepared for our wedding ceremony. We are to be married before the month is out.”

My family followed me outside before my bodyguard opened the door for me. I slid my ass across the buttery leather seats before my father dropped down beside me. I tucked the folders inside my own suit as my eyes shifted out the tinted windows of the town car. And all at once, we eased down the hill of the Moretti estate and headed back to ours.

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