Page 16 of That Mafioso Magic
I’d woken up that morning reeling from the dream I’d had of Adrian. We were in his office and he had one half of what looked to be the grimoire and I had my half. We then put it together and that was when the room or maybe the dream became too bright it woke me up. I had a sensation tingling just beneath my flesh. Whatever cosmic force had taken control over Adrian and I last night, it wasn’t finished with me. I wondered if he was feeling the same thing. At least, I didn’t have a hard-on, but I did have a yearning for him. That was the best way I could describe it. I also dreamed about him and that angel birthmark on his perfect ass cheek. I couldn’t let it go. I needed to see him.
I was sitting in my office a little while later, the one over my auto shop, which was my chosen place to conduct business. We had a new shipment of high-end cars come through that morning and my people were busy switching out license plates and vin numbers. Once we were done scrubbing each car clean, you could sell one to an FBI agent and they’d be none the wiser. The knock on my door interrupted me going over some minor finance issues.
“Come in,” I called out, and Rene walked in carrying my lunch. I could already smell the delicious aroma from across the room and couldn’t wait to dig in.
“They were out of that corn pudding you wanted,” she said as she placed the bag on my desk.
Rene was one of the humans who was a part of my mafia family. She gave me a sweet smile before leaving. I knew she wanted to become something more, perhaps a capo or a general, but those were positions I reserved for my pride. I had fifty pride members, but I wasn’t opposed to adding more and Rene was proving herself to be very loyal. As for my females, they all held high-ranking positions within my mafia, keeping the humans I had working for me in line. But not all worked solely for my organized family. My legit businesses needed employees I could trust as well, and they held positions throughout from floor to CFO and CEO. Some businesses I owned, but my name didn’t need to be on the paperwork. Especially if they were shell companies.
I opened the bag, pulled out the food, and began chowing down. I was disappointed about the fact that they didn’t have the corn pudding. As I was finishing up, there was another knock on my door. “Yeah,” I called out.
Shi walked in wearing a black, pinstriped suit with six-inch heels. She looked like a million dollars and I was sure the outfit was at least twenty thousand from head to toe. My girl was a fashionista, and God help anyone who got their blood on her clothes as she was beating them down. “Afternoon,” she said.
I peeped the file she was holding. “That better be some good news.” I wiped my mouth and hands with a napkin.
“Well, it’s not terrible news. Just depends on your outlook,” she said, approaching my desk and placing a folder on it.
I picked it up, flipping through the contents. “Is this the report from my Maverick Casino?”
She nodded. “How do you want me to handle it?”
“You don’t. Let Stephanie know that I want this taken care of and my money returned,” I said, closing the folder.
Shi pouted. “Well, just take away all my fun.”
“It’s beneath you,” I said.
“You let me decide whose ass kicking is beneath my six-inch heels,” she fussed.
I chuckled. “Fair enough. Let me put it this way, then. It’s not worth the hassle of getting permission from Morgan for you to enter her territory just to deal with some dumb ass humans. If it proves to be too much for Stephanie to handle… then we’ve got a bigger problem.”
Apparently, there was a ring of con men and women working casinos in the country and one of them hit mine up for three-hundred and sixty grand. Not only did I want my cash back, I needed this guy to be made an example of. His body needed to turn up somewhere with no ties back to me. That was a job Stephanie could handle with extreme prejudice. And if she couldn’t, I could replace her, too.
“You’re still no fun,” Shi pouted playfully. “I’ll let Stephanie know you expect her to handle it quietly.” Shi turned to leave.
I stood up to make my way to the bathroom, and that was when I heard the glass shatter behind me. Instinctively, I dropped to the floor, as did Shi. More bullets were fired through my window, trying to get to me. One ricocheted off the floor a few inches from my head. I rolled out of the line of where the attacker was firing. Shi was by me now, covering my body with hers as we stayed low until the bullets stopped flying.
“Stay down, Sage,” Shi said as a caution. But I wasn’t dumb enough to raise my head just in case the assassin was waiting to take the shot. She pulled out her cell phone, calling my security detail. “The boss is under attack, check the buildings across the street for the shooter. Go now!”
By the way the first bullet entered, it proved the shooter was across the street from the trajectory. What was more shocking to me was how the bullets were able to penetrate not only my bulletproof glass, but also the magical barrier I’d set up for extra protection. Somebody really wanted me dead and they definitely had magic on their side to do it. I crawled over to one of the bullets that was laying on the floor.
“Sage, stay low,” Shi warned.
“I will,” I said, not wanting her to worry that I’d be foolish enough to poke my head up before receiving the all clear from my security team.
Once I reached the bullet, I took a good sniff, utilizing my lion shifter senses. Yeah, I could smell the magic the bullet was caked in. Powerful magic, ancient and dangerous. I didn’t smell any scent, human or otherwise on the bullet. I needed to find out who was behind these attacks. Twice now, I’d been on the receiving end of a barrage of magical bullets and I didn’t like it. I needed to see Adrian, every fiber in my being told me that he could help me.
My door swung open, Shi had her gun pointed, but stayed her hand as Nadia nodded. “All clear. Whoever it was, they weren’t there by the time we located where the shots had been fired from.”
“Which means they are extremely fast,” I said. “Could be a mage who used magic to hide themselves or one of us, someone supernal.”
“There was no scent there. I could smell the gun powder and even the magic, but no other definitive scent,” Nadia said.
I rose to my feet, joining Shi and Nadia. “Take me home first, then to Adrian’s place. I need to talk to him.” I turned to look at my shattered windows, feeling the breeze blowing in. I walked over to them, confident the would-be assassin was gone by this time. I pointed to the building I suspected. “Is it this one?” A tall stone building with ten floors.
“No, the one next to it,” Nadia said.
I looked at a black stone and glass building with fifteen levels. “They were pretty skilled to be able to shoot at that angle. When I find these motherfuckers, I’m going to make them suffer.” I turned to face them. “Get someone to fix this window, I want even thicker glass.”
