Page 95 of Attraction (Mobsters + Billionaires 3)
I lift my brow at my dear brother. “Who’s watching over Ford?”
“Mads.”
Grinding my molars, I duck out of the hallway and scan the room. They’re chatting and laughing, surrounded by a family I trust. The anxiety leaves my belly, but I’m not happy.
“Hop, what was so important that you left Ford’s side? I told you to watch him.”
Hopper stares longingly at Hughes’ bottom lip and only his bottom lip.
“Hop? Do you have any updates for me?”
“Yeah…” His expression glazes over as Hughes licks his lips. “Hm. What was I talking about?”
“Hop,why are you here?”
Blinking, Hopper finally looks back at me. “Oh, sorry, boss. Yes. Dominick and Anthony are talking, consigliere to consigliere.”
Without me?The fuck?
Hughes’ eyes go wide, and I hold up my hand. No, I will not break tradition with the masquerade.
I rub my forehead, fighting off a sudden headache. “Aboutwhat, Hopper? What are they talkingabout?”
“Anthony doesn’t know but said he would be willing to listen and then get back to you.”
I glance at Mads and Ford. They seem to be having a good time, but then again, Fallon hasn’t stopped staring at Ford.
“Hop, thank you for letting me know. I still need to do this speech. Can you stay with those two? I don’t like the way Fallon keeps looking at Ford.”
“Sorry, I got distracted, boss,” Hopper says, his eyes never leaving Hughes.
I shake my head. This is a nightmare.
Hughes interrupts my thinking. “Mind if I come with you, Mr. Hopper? I’m familiar with Mr. O’Shea, and an extra person might discourage him from approaching Mr. Bradley.”
Most agents would say that a person who starts a relationship with a mobster gets what’s coming to them. I don’t get his motivation, and I wonder where Ryder is with those encrypted documents.
“You can come with me anywhere,” Hopper responds, almost shy. “And it’s just Hopper. Or Hop.”
“Okay…Hopper. You can call me Liam.”
Hopper’s smile could fuel a rocket to the goddamn moon, and if that weren’t such a huge fucking problem, I’d be thrilled.
Hughes places his hand on Hopper’s lower back, directing him toward Mads and Ford. Not sure what game he’s playing, but everything about this is a hot mess. A whole entire hot mess.
I switch my focus to the dais, getting the go-ahead from Mary. I need to stop focusing on all the moving parts because this is an important speech and another show of faith in our community. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my prepared words and walk onto the stage.
“Hello, my fellow rogues and reprobates,” I growl into the mic, playing up my persona. “Pay attention. I’m making this short because Cesar has another course coming out, and I will not be the guy who delays that. You feel me?”
Laughter fills the room, and I get a lot of head nods and raised champagne flutes in my direction. This group can see I know what’s what.Don’t fuck up the food, and don’t make them wait for it.
“I’m looking around this room, and I see a lot of people I’ve known for a long time. Whatever our legacy, we want to do what is right by our family and our communities. Gotta say, I’m proud that we voted to focus our funding this year on reproductive rights. It’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind in a room full of rogues, but maybe that’s the point. We all live and die for our families, and it’s important to take care of our women.”
The crowd agrees enthusiastically, and it’s nice to see. I continue for a bit more until I spot Cesar out of the corner of my eye, who gives me the nod.
“Looks like I’m getting the signal from the kitchen. Let’s give a round of applause to Chef Cesar.” I pause for the clapping, which is thunderous. “Let’s enjoy our time together.Mangiamo!”
As I descend the stage, Anthony and Dominick come in from an area in the back and immediately diverge to opposite corners. The Byrne consigliere, beautiful and deadly, is wearing a self-satisfied grin. Anthony looks stoic, as usual, though this is angry stoic, not happy stoic. Whatever these Byrne assholes are up to, it’s no good.
