Page 30 of Attraction (Mobsters + Billionaires 3)
Tommy, who I mistakenly thought was the smarter one, decides to open his mouth. “Yeah. Who needs a fairy mobster? Making it look bad for all of us.”
I cock my head and take a real long look at Tommy. “Listen, asshole. I’m not the only gay mobster out here. It’d be a damn shame if my escort records happened to be made public upon my untimely death.”
Tommy swallows hard.
“That’s what I thought. So what we’re gonna do now is we’re gonna let me get back to what is probably a fifty-thousand-dollar-a-plate dinner, and that’s the last you’ll see of me in Brooklyn. On top of that, I don’t wanna see you north of Houston Street. Ever.”
Seamus, the bulky one, snarls. “Half of our business comes from Central Park.”
“That sounds like ayouproblem,” Hopper says, coming out of the shadows with a fucking grin.
I will never get tired of grown men jumping at the sight of my brother.
Hop rubs his hands together. “Now get the fuck outta here. I can’t have you fucking up my brother’s dinner.”
“Do we have a deal, gentlemen?” I ask, knowing they are neither gentlemen nor people I can trust to keep their word.
I just need them gone for tonight.
They look at each other and, with the one shared brain cell, come to a silent agreement.
“Enjoy your dinner. Then get the fuck outta Brooklyn,” Tommy says, glaring at me.
Hopper, who is lazily twirling a butterfly blade between his fingers, rolls his eyes. The Byrne brothers puff up their chests, but it’s all for show. Seconds later, they jump into a waiting car and peel off.
I turn to my brother. “You following me, or…?”
He shakes his head, scratching the scar that runs through his eyebrow. “You know I got that Spidey sense for things. Found out this was in Brooklyn, thought I’d check it out.”
“You and that Spidey sense of yours, always keeping me outta trouble,” I say, kissing his forehead. “You let Anthony know?”
Hopper ducks his head at the compliment and nods. “He’s got people at Ford’s place right now, checking it out, making sure he’s okay.”
“I fucking hate that he’s exposed like that.”
“Kej stays in the ground floor apartment in the back of his brownstone, right? Ford should be fine,” Hopper says, rather reasonably. “And if you want, I can watch over the place.”
“Brother, I say this with a lot of love, but you don’t have any boundaries, so let’s leave the surveillance of his place to his security team. I want Ford to trust me.”
“Because you love him,” Hop says, nodding to himself. “Makes sense.”
“Hop, I never…” I’m not sure how to answer that.
He pats my shoulder. “It’s okay if your head doesn’t know it yet. Your heart will wait for you to catch up.”
He gives me a hug and kisses my cheek, then walks off into the night, whistling to himself.God, I love my brother.
Shaking my head, I smooth my suit jacket and walk back into the kitchen. I’ve been so entranced by Ford this evening that I didn’t realize we have a city commissioner, a Broadway actress, and one of the New York Mets joining us.
Way to make friends and influence people, Stefano.
My eyes narrow when I spot Fallon in my seat, leaning over, saying something into Ford’s ear. Ford looks unamused but brightens when he sees me. He pops up and walks over, surprising me with a hug.
Relief floods my chest. Maybe I didn’t fuck up too badly after all.
“Commissioner Bradford wanted to call the cops, but I convinced him not to,” he whispers in my ear.
“Thank you, little bird. I’m so sorry about the way I spoke to you.”
