Page 71 of Claiming the Mafia Queen

I miss them.

“Shit…” He mumbles, pulling me back to the now.

Seeing Josh this worked up is making me nervous. I can’t have the cops poking around on me. I’ve been battering people in town left and right. Every single night.

Most of them were hired-hand goons of Madam Rosa, but no one was off limits.

One guy was a loan shark that had just attacked a chick in the middle of the street for owing him five hundred dollars.

Another one? He was a guy that flipped me off when I accidentally ran into him at the grocery store.

“Did you do something to piss this one off?”

He doesn’t answer me.

”Josh?" I ask. "What's happening? I can help you, you know…”

Darting around the room like a pinball, he’s on the hunt for something. I can’t place what it is yet. I just know by the shifty eyes and the fact that he’s pacing, he’s looking for something.

He snuffs out his carton of cigarettes on top of the countertop and sighs desperately, digging into them.

“I stopped calling…” he says breathily. “She’s left like four voicemails and I’ve not called her back.”

“Maybe…” I trail. “Maybe…you should…?”

He shakes his head. “It’s worse than that.”

“How?”

“I used a Google number and got rid of it just so she couldn’t get a hold of me anymore…”

I put my head in the palm of my hand. “You’ve pissed her off…” I groan. “What happens when she gives you up?”

“She’s never seen my place…” he says, smartly, as a shit-eating-grin plasters all over his face.

“So, let me get this straight…” I take a deep breath and massage my face, wiping away any remnants of exhaustion that seemed to be mounting. “You didn’t trust her enough with your phone number…”

“Nope …” He laughs. “Never trust a bitch…”

“You didn’t trust her with where your place was…” I trail some more.

He laughs again. “Exactly.”

“But you somehow…” I’m trying really hard not to hurt his feelings here. I take a deep breath. “You thought it was a good idea to share the fact that you smuggle drugs and buy stolen car parts?”

He stares at me and blinks. I want to choke him the fuck out of him. How can anyone be this dumb?

He stalks over to the counter again, ignoring me. I can’t help but let a chuckle escape me from the depths of my chest. He pours himself a shot of vodka. Downing it, he shrugs the cigarette he pulled from the pack earlier into his mouth. “I need a light…”he grumbles to the guy that still stood in his rec room, holding a pool cue.

“I’m Tony, by the way…” I say to the random dude, extending my hand to shake.

“Larry…” he says. “Nice to meet ya!” He lights the lighter for Josh and ignites the end of his cigarette.

I watch as he takes a long, deep drag and turns back to me.

“So, is there a cure for this kind of stupidity?” He asks me.

I shrug. “At least you’re charming, I guess…”

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