Page 39 of Mob Princess

Israel was looking into ways to charge Pava with my family’s murder.

“You know, you really shouldn't be snooping through his things.”

I snapped the folder closed as Giovanni’s voice sounded in the kitchen.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

He grinned. “I suppose I could ask you the same thing.”

I stood. “Well, I currently live here. What's your excuse?”

“Just dropping by for a visit. Is Israel around?”

She really wished she had on more clothes. “I don’t believe you for a second. What are you really here for?”

He nodded to the folder. “Does he know you’re looking around in his things?”

“Does he know you were coming by?”

He shrugged. “Of course not. It was supposed to be a surprise. I thought you two had a deal that wherever he went, you went?”

Shit. He’s right. “Israel had an emergency.”

He walked towards me. “I hope you’re better in bed than you are as a liar. Because that was rough. Want to try again?”

I backed up. “Don’t come any closer.”

“I just want to have a conversation on why I’ve caught you screwing around with my brother’s things. That’s all.”

“Those folders are about my family. They’re just as much mine as they are his.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I wasn’t certain Israel would see it that way, but…“Yes.”

“Will he see it that way if I happen to give him a call?”

He wouldn’t because then he’d have to admit what he was doing in the apartment when Israel wasn’t around. “Get out. He’s not here. You can come back tonight when he’s home.”

Giovanni kept coming towards me. “You know if you want Israel to trust you? Snooping around isn’t the way to do it.”

I’d realized that about the time I’d heard Giovanni’s voice. My back fell against a wall. “I take it this is where you tell me you’re going to threaten to tell him if I don’t give you something you want?”

He walked up to me with the evilest of grins on his face. “Maybe. This is exactly where I tell you that if you don’t pack up your shit and leave today, I’ll head to where my brother is right now with picture proof of the fact that you’re digging around in his things.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as he turned his phone towards me. And when I saw the pictures he silently took of me digging out that folder and flipping through it, I wondered exactly how long this man had been there without me knowing it. It made me sick to my stomach. It made me understand just how disgusting Israel’s world could sometimes be.

I wouldn't let it phase me. “Why do you want me gone so badly in the first place? You want to marry your brother or something?”

He chuckled. “You’re cute, I’ll give you that.”

I shrugged. “Genuine question. Why do you really want me out so badly?”

He slid his phone into his pocket. “I want to see Israel happy. And right now, all you do is make him miserable.”

“No.” She didn’t buy that for an instant. “You’re much more selfish than that. Come on, Giovanni. What's the real reason? You want me for yourself, don’t you?”

He snickered. “I wouldn't mind taking you for a ride, sure, but I don’t want you at my side. Who would?”

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