Page 26 of Claiming the Mafia Queen

I’m the one that’s supposed to cause the Colombos to come crashing down. But, I know to do that, I’m going to have to consider Tony’s plan.

It’s a good plan…

It just makes me a little sick to my stomach.

Asking a bunch of thugs for their help…

I hated that I needed their help in the first place; but I knew that was my ego talking and to be a good leader, sometimes you have to toss your ego to the side.

As soon as I stomp back through the crowd, I slam my hand down on the bar again and look at Jamie. “Give me the damn bottle…” I demand pointing to it. “You want some?” I shake the bottle at Tony, who has his head down, clearly drunk.

He let out an audible sigh.

It's taken me a handful of years to learn secret love languages. Booze was one of mine. Cigars were Luigi’s. I couldn’t help but wonder what Tony’s were…

He grabs the whiskey from me and places the bottle to his lips, downing a large swig. Maybe booze is his love language, too. I don’t know for sure, but it seems like he’s drowning something with me as he drinks. I follow suit, the warmth of the liquid rolling down my throat, sending pleasant shivers down my spine.

“You guys don’t want your…glasses…?” Jamie asks.

Tony shakes his head. “Better from the bottle…”

He snags the empty glass from where I’d been sitting and frowns slightly, like he's deep in thought. “We need to have another…” he says. “Before we talk about what I know we’re about to talk about…”

I smirk.

“What are we going to talk about?” I ask.

I’m not sure why, but I feel nervous. My shoulders tense.

He grabs his phone and curses. “It’s late…” he says. “And I’m drunk…” he pushes it deep in the pocket of his pants. “But you want to talk about this Colombo plan since you just found out that Luigi and Frankie are being dicks in your office and you realized you’re drunk and vulnerable right now.”

“Am I that readable?”

“Like a book…” he laughs, standing. “With a big font…”

I’m not sure how I feel about that, but it’s a sobering thought. I don’t have time to be that readable …that predictable. He must be able to read my mind because as soon as he throws cash down to Jamie he turns to me, “But, I’m really good at reading people. And that spark right there.…” he points to my chest “It’s what makes you you…and it’s what makes you a leader…”

I shake my head. “I think you’re drunk. Because that doesn’t even make sense.”

He laughs. “Let’s get you back to the hotel, yeah?”

I nod. I need to get up in the morning. They weren’t babies anymore, but I still liked to be up with my kids before they went off to school each day. “We should probably walk…”

“Wedefinitelyhave to walk…”

“Aria…” he trails. “Exactly what is it that we’re doing?”

I shrug. “About to walk?”

He narrows his eyes on me. There’s no fooling him.

I plonk another glass of fire whiskey down in front of him. “Last drink?”

“Just one more…”

He downs most of it in one quick movement.

“I really don’t want to be hungover in the morning…” he announces as he looks at the last sip in his glass.

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