Page 11 of Bastard Prince
“Actually,” I said, raising my voice over the noise of their movement. “There is something else.” I paused until I had their attention again. “Amber. She’s out.”
Massimo whistled, low and long, and Benny asked, “Outout, or just out?”
“So far, just out. She crossed a line and I want her brought in. You see her, you tell me. She is not welcome in our house anymore. But at this point, I want her alive.”
A few more words of ascent and everyone headed out to start doing what they did, leaving the bar empty except for Rock, Lexi, and myself.
Moving to the booth, I stood across from Lexi, waiting until she finished whatever it was she was working on before she looked at me. “You have any luck finding Amber yet?”
“Not a thing. Looks like the bitch has gone to ground, slithered off somewhere like the snake she is.”
“Well, keep watching, will ya? I want to know if she so much as breathes in this town.”
“I’m on her. You can bet your ass I’m on her.”
I believed her.
“When I find her, how hard do you want me to go?”
“Like I said, for now, I just want her brought in. But, if she insists on making this difficult, then you can go as hard as you want. Blow up her fucking life. I don’t want her to have a single place to turn to.”
Lexi’s face lit up with a sadistic grin. “You got it, boss. Just give the word.”
I knocked my knuckles on the table, then turned and headed behind the bar. Now that the place was empty, I poured my own drink, sliding one across to Rock where he leaned against the other side of the wood.
“What a fuckin’ week,” Rock groaned, lifting the glass and taking a healthy mouthful. I followed him, downing the tequila in one go and pouring a second. Well, third.
“Yeah, when it rains, it fuckin’ pours, hey?”
“You need anything else from me?”
“Nothing I can think of right now,” I replied, wanting nothing more than to get back out to the house and see Francesca.
Which was weird in its own right, but I was getting used to feeling weird when it came to that woman.
“Alright, then, I’ll lock up and take off.”
“Keep your phone close, Rock. We need to be ready to move on any of these things at any time.” It had been a while since we had to live like this, but not so long that we were out of practice.
Rock cocked his head to the side. “This thing with Francesca...it’s, like, real for you, isn’t it?”
Real? It was fucking consuming me. I thought about her every second of the day. I worried for her safety, her happiness, what she needed, what she wanted. I thought about what she looked like, what she smelled like, and how badly I wanted to know what she tasted like. I thought about how strong she was, but how vulnerable at the same time. I thought about all the ways someone could hurt her, how they could take her from me, and then I thought about all the ways I would kill anyone who fuckin’ tired.
So, yeah. This thing with Francesca was real.
But all I said was, “Yeah.”
Rock nodded, accepting my one word answer. “Alright, then. Let’s take care of our fuckin’ business.”
And that was exactly what I intended to do.
CHAPTER THREE
Francesca
Monday morning brought with it a confusing bundle of emotions.
For starters, I was excited to be heading toA Taste of Edento start the first day of work with our guys. Lexi had been hard to get a hold of all weekend but she came through for us big time, setting everything up for our site to launch today at noon and even getting a bunch of well-placed ads up and running. Honestly, though internet porn was not a business I had ever considered being involved in, I was absolutely thrilled to get started. I thought back to the condescending sneer I received from Enzo’s lawyer last week in this very building and smiled. I’d show Julian Wilkes, Esq. that I was completely capable of contributing to this marriagein ameaningful way.
