Page 20 of The Sting of Love
My damn skin heats up again, but I push her words out of my mind.
She saunters away with a smile, and I watch her go.
I love how she is. So carefree. It must be nice. I am like her because although we’ve both been burned by love, we still hope.
I’m the woman who’s the hopeless romantic. I still want the dream. I still want the guy. That perfect guy who’s supposed to sweep me off my feet and make me his forever.
What a shame that Donny set the bar high for this elusive guy I need to find.
I know I’m completely bat shit crazy for thinking that and shooting myself in the foot. But is it so wrong to want a man who looked at me like I was the most important thing in the world to him, or a man who touched me like I would always be enough?
That’s how Donny was with me.
Maybe that’s why I’m finding it so hard to forget him.
I don’t want to.
Chapter Six
Donny
“Motherfucker!” I snarl into the phone. I grip it hard so I don’t lose my shit and throw it into the fucking sea.
I seethe, baring my teeth, and the soles of my shoes echo against the floorboards when I kick the leg of the table.
Gibbs sighs and narrows his eyes at me. He’s never seen me pissed. Not many people have. I’m not good when I’m pissed off with shit. I lose my cool and go over the top.
“Donny, the fucker could have left town, maybe even the country after the other night,” Gibbs says and rests against the edge of the balcony.
I don’t want to hear that.
I don’t want to hear that Mario could have fucking left town or the country because it means we fucked up.
The thing is, we didn’t suspect him then. Neither me nor Alex suspected him as being part of any of this shit, or we would have taken him down to the basement and beat the fucking shit out of him before we gave any information away that something was going on.
Now he’s nowhere to be found. Of course, he’s not answering my calls, and he’s taken some of the staff with him. The fucking staff who run the place. All this in three days. It’s fucking Tuesday, and I can’t find him anywhere.
If this were Chicago, I knew he would have been found already. Here, though, where there are more powerful crime families than our little city, not so much.
Any shit could be happening, and I don’t know where to start. I’m not ready yet to admit that this could be above me. And what I need to do is cool off. I’m just pissed off that I couldn’t find him, and I don’t like loose ends.
“Donny, look, Amadeo is here.” Gibbs motions with his head toward my guest of the day and his brother walking up the boardwalk.
I really need to cool down. Me looking like I’m going to blow up any minute will not be good in front of these people. This is a test for me, and Claudius will not be happy if I screw up.Happy boss, happy life.
Amadeo and Leo get on board the yacht and make their procession toward us. I chose to meet here because it’s out in the open. I’ve got men stationed around the boat and Lois and Saul on the roof of the club in case this meeting goes south.
The brothers look alike, although Amadeo is in his late fifties, a good fifteen years older than Leo. He’s also taller. Leo, however, has more muscle.
Both have dark olive skin that’s tanned from the sun. Both have jet-black hair with gray streaks adorning the temples and they both walk with the ease and confidence of men with authority.
“Donny,” Amadeo says when he reaches me.
We shake hands.
“Thank you for coming,” I say and purposely don’t introduce Gibbs. They notice, and it should be the first sign that something is off. No names means I don’t want to share certain things. Not giving a name in a meeting like this that Gibbs is obviously part of is a sign that we are not on good terms.
“That is no problem,” Amadeo replies and glances at Leo.
