he didn't provide any information and his face twisted into a mocking grin, I rolled my eyes. "Pick up and deliveries go as planned?" I asked.
"Smooth as could be. The product is gone. The cash is in."
"Good. Did Bryan come to pick up the cash yet?" Vanessa's eyes felt heavy on my spine, and I knew she studied every word that passed between us.
She wouldn't talk, and she knew the score. But that didn't mean that I wasn't bothered by the fact that the woman knew any details of the less savory part of the Bellandi business. It was just another reason that I'd never touch her.
A scorned woman who knew my dirty laundry was not my idea of a good time. I took security risks seriously. And that one had a flashing red warning sign etched onto her ass.
Do not fucking touch.
I was good with that, at any rate. The last thing I wanted was to get drunk on whatever love Kool-Aid seemed to be in the air. "Not yet," Ash said, nodding his head at Vanessa over my shoulder and motioning her on to get back to work setting up at the back bar. She let out an audible scoff, undoubtedly wanting to annoy me some more, before she moved on finally.
Tapping the bar one more time, I turned and spun for the stairs in a hurry to escape before anyone could follow me. Once I rounded the top, I found the privacy of my office and closed the door behind me with a sigh of relief.
I fucking hated people.
I hated their nosy bullshit and their phony crap. I hated all but the select few I considered family, and everyone else could just leave me the hell alone. I wanted real interactions. Genuine conversations. I dealt with enough scum through the Bellandi Empire that I didn’t have any interest in faking it for people who weren’t worth my breath.
Flicking on each of the monitors as I passed, I let them boot up to give me the unhindered views of every corner of the club as I moved to my desk and took my seat. The window to my left looked down on the full expanse of the main floor. I started up my laptop as I grabbed my cell from my pocket and dialed a number that I had called far too often in the recent months. "What's up, Enzo?" Scar asked, his voice dripping with amusement at my regular phone call.
I'd already called him once that day.
"Everyone turn up for the evening shift?" I asked.
"Hello to you too, fucker," he mocked with a laugh. "Yep. Bryan just left for pickup. Antonio, Leo, and Franky are off until tomorrow. The others all came in on schedule. We're safe behind castle walls for the rest of the day, and nobody has any plans of leaving as far as I know."
"Alright," I sighed. My free hand scrubbed over my face and I stared at the door as someone knocked softly on the other side.
"You've got to breathe, man. Your tension is at a whole new level the last few weeks."
"I'm missing something," I admitted, chewing at the edge of my thumbnail. "When I miss things, shit gets bad. I just can't put my finger on it." Another knock came, and the sound threatened to jar me into the memory of what might happen if I lost focus.
People died when I didn’t pay attention.
The third knock pissed me off, but clearly it wasn't one of those scenarios that would go away if I pretended it didn't exist. "I gotta go." I hung up before Scar had the chance to respond and torment me some more. I knew, I knew, that this anxiety didn't seem normal to any rational person. I also knew to trust my instincts because they never failed me.
What the fuck was I missing?
"Yeah?" I called, slumping my torso over my desk. Vanessa opened the door and strolled in like she belonged, and my eyelids twitched in annoyance. "Do you need something?"
"You look like you could use some help relaxing," she cooed, approaching the desk and leaning down to touch her hands to the surface and flash her cleavage in my face. "I could help with that."
"Look, no offense. But there's way too much pussy out there for me to shit where I eat, especially here. It is not gonna happen, so how about we just stop this whole charade and move on with our day, yeah?" She blanched,