Liar's Lullaby

THE MANSION OF THE DON OF THE MAZZEO MAFIA—NEW YORK CITY I run my finger around the edge of my tumbler. “I’m dry,” I tell Adriano. “Hit me.” “Yes, Your Highness,” he drawls sarcastically. “Right away, Your Highness. Forgive me for mytrespasses, Your Highness.” His green eyes flash with humor. They do that pretty much constantly. Very f*****g irritating. “Shut up and pour the damn drink, man,” I scowl. My best friend and consigliere chuckles as he uncorks the Macallan twelve-year whisky we’redrinking and refills my glass. “Any new intel on the Polish?” I ask when we’re both settled back in our leather armchairs withtopped-off whiskeys. “f*****g hell, do I have to do everything myself?” Adriano smirks. He’s the only one who can get away with that expression in my presence. “You like doing everything yourself.” “That’s beside the f*****g point.” Adriano takes a swig of his drink and looks through the files that litter my desk. “You need to hire areceptionist, mio amico.” “I tried that,” I remind him. “Didn’t work.” “She was touching my shit.” “That was literally her job.” I roll my eyes. “I can handle the accounts.” “I know you can,” Adriano agrees. “My point is you don’t have to. Also—when you said earlier, shewas touching your s**t… did you mean your c**k?” Honestly, I roll my eyes so f*****g much where Adriano is concerned, sometimes I wonder if they’regoing to get stuck up there. “How long have you been holding on to that one?” I sigh. He shrugs, clearly very pleased with himself. “When you’ve got a good one, you gotta let it rip.” “You give this organization a bad name.” “Please. This whole operation would fall apart without me.” I laugh in his face, long and loud, so he knows exactly what I think of that prospect. Adriano takes another swig of his drink and gives me the finger. “f**k,” he says. “She was hot.” “Tiffany,” he replies. “The receptionist you had before the last one. The one you used to f**k on thistable.” “He name was Tessa,” I correct him. Adriano shakes his head. “It was Tiffany.” “Was it? Huh. Well, she was a good lay.” “Clearly,” Adriano says. “Why did you get rid of her again?” “She got too f*****g clingy.” “Ah, that’s right,” Adriano nods. “Didn’t she refer to you as her boyfriend?” “The day before I fired her,” I confirm. “Yeah.” Adriano laughs. “She had a killer ass. I would’ve kept her around.” “I can get plenty more where she came from,” I say dismissively. “She was a dime a dozen.” “Can’t say I disagree, you handsome devil.” “Speaking of dime a dozen, why are you here?” I drawl. Adriano gives me his megawatt smile. The smile he uses in lieu of an answer. “I’ve heard it on good authority that the Rosellis are planning a drug trade next week. Details are alittle iffy, though.” “Those fuckers are a pain in my side,” I growl. “We’ll have to take them out.” “Last week, you said they were small fish,” Adriano reminds me. Another annoying habit he has. “Yeah, well, last week they weren’t dealing on my f*****g turf,” I reply. “A lesson needs to be taught.You can handle that, can’t you?” Adriano salutes me with dramatic flair. “With pleasure.” “Good,” I say. “They’ve already had one warning, so this time, feel free to break some bones.” Adriano smiles. “Glad we’re on the same page.” “And the drug shipment they’re planning on moving—” “I’ll make sure to tell our guys to expect a fresh container late next week,” he finishes for me. I nod approvingly. We have worked so long together that he knows exactly what I expect from him. A knock on the door diverts my attention away from pleasant daydreams of dead Roselli mafiosos. The door opens and Riccardo walks in. His massive frame just barely squeezes through the narrowdoorway. “Boss,” he says to me. “I got something for you.” “What, and no present for me?” Adriano asks, craning his neck back to look at Riccardo instead ofjust turning around. Riccardo pointedly ignores him as he focuses on me. He’s a few watts short of a lightbulb, but heknows how to break things efficiently. That’s why I installed him as the muscle for the Italian restaurant I’d invested in a few years ago. In those two years, he’s never brought anything for me. So I’m intrigued now, to say the least. “What have you got?” I ask. “A girl?” Adriano repeats, swinging around with renewed interest. “f*****g hell. I know you’re thedon and everything, but must you get all the good perks?” “I’m guessing there’s a backstory here?” I ask, fixing my gaze on Riccardo. “She stole from the restaurant,” Riccardo explains. “Dined and dashed, to be more specific.” I raise my eyebrows. “How much was her bill?” “That’s your question?” Adriano asks. “Jesus, you’re lucky you have me. The question you should beasking is, how attractive is she?” I sigh. Adriano never f*****g quits. The man is fueled by whiskey and horniness, twenty-four-seven. When he returns, there’s a young woman trailing him. Her head is tilted down, a curtain of chocolatebrown hair hiding her features from view. Riccardo pushes her forward towards me and she lifts her face. She’s got the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. They set a striking contrast against her pale skin and darkhair. Her almond eyes are narrowed, angry. I see the spark of defiance in them and it sends carnal attraction surging through my body. “Leave us,” I say firmly. Riccardo bows and leaves immediately. Adriano, on the other hand, lingers long enough to shoot me a look that clearly tells me what he thinksof the girl standing in front of me. The message is clear: She’s a goddamn knockout. Then the door snaps shut. Adriano isn’t exactly delicate. The girl flinches just a little at the slam, but the defiance doesn’t leave her eyes. I notice the stubbornset of her jaw and the rigid line of her back. “I’m told you’ve stolen from me.” Her eyes glance towards the stocked bar in the corner of my office. “I don’t imagine someone like youwould feel the loss of forty-six dollars.” “Not the point,” I growl, standing up. Her eyes go wide for a moment as she takes in my full height. At six foot three, I tower over her. She’s not exactly short, but she’s built small. Petite. She’s wearing what looks like a waitress’s uniform. The kind that clings to her body, squeezes in herbreasts and pushes them up at the same time. “Do you know who I am?” I ask casually. “Someone I shouldn’t have crossed?” she mocks, matching my tone. I raise my eyebrows, taken aback by the sharp tone and the lack of fear. It’s not the kind of responseI’m used to getting. “Don’t call me ‘girl,’” she explains icily. “I don’t need your f*****g condescension.” I smile despite myself. Women never bite back. But I don’t mind when they do. It’s a rare but blissful pleasure to crack the f*****g whip. “It’s not condescension,” I say calmly. “It’s the truth, as far as I can see. How old are you: seventeen,eighteen?” She grits her teeth, grinding them down so hard I can almost hear the crackle. That does surprise me. But maybe it’s just the uniform she has on. The ‘slutty maid’ vibe softens heredges. Makes her look younger. “Listen, I can get you the money, okay?” she adds. “I’m good for it.” I’ve been in the business a long f*****g time. I can sniff out a lie from a mile away. “Yeah, I just—I didn’t have cash on me tonight and I was f*****g starving, alright?” she saysdefensively. I nod as if I’m empathizing with her. “How was the food?” She stops short, confused. “Um, what?” “The food,” I repeat patiently. “How was it?” Her mouth pops open for a moment. “I… it was good.” “That’s good to know,” I say gently. “Good food doesn’t come cheap. Especially not when you stealfrom Lucio Mazzeo.” And for the first time, I see the fight in her eyes fade just a little. That’ll make this a lot more fun. “That’s right,” I say. “You know me?” She doesn’t take the bait. “What do you want?” she asks bluntly. “I haven’t decided yet. But make no mistake—I do want something.” “Yeah, you and every other man I’ve ever met,” she sneers at me. Her blue eyes are piercingly bright. Riddled with little mysteries I want to unravel. I can tell she wants to end the eye contact. I frighten her—that’s obvious. But she won’t show it to me. I admire the bravery. Even if it won’t end well for her. I raise one eyebrow. “You think I want to f**k you. Is that it?” “Men like you always do.” It’s not braggadocio in her voice. She thinks I’m a pig. A monster. A crude, cruel beast. Unfortunately for her… she’s right. I walk around the table and pause right in front of her. There’s only a foot or two between us. She hasto crane her neck up, but she’s not meeting my eyes. Her eyes snap to mine immediately, automatically. They’re shocked—at the tone of my voice,perhaps, or my physical presence. And then they soften with regret. I can tell she already regrets obeying me so easily.