CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

TORI

THE WOMEN RUN THE STREETS

“ I t’s so good to see you in person, daddy,” I stated, hugging him tightly.

“Facetime was cool,” he said, stepping back giving me the once over.

He was dressed in dark gray slacks, a heather gray dress shirt, and black Ferragamo shoes.

A smile widened his chestnut face. I got my cinnamon skin tone from my mother.

My dad had a low-cut fade hairstyle and stood about five feet ten inches tall with a lean build that showed he worked out regularly.

“It feels good to see my baby girl in person,” he said warmly.

I returned his smile. Our big brown eyes were nearly identical. For being forty-five, Dad looked good.

Stretching my right hand, I marveled at the medium-sized warehouse. “This is your command center, daddy.”

“Does this place seriously have a kitchen?” he asked in disbelief.

He walked around the space, examining the concrete walls and floors.

“The warehouse has many amenities. On the outside, it may look weathered.” I raised a finger. “But that’s intentional - we want to give the illusion that nothing special is happening behind these walls. Take a look around, then we can discuss business.”

He grinned and turned on his heels, moving toward the back of the warehouse.

My head snapped to Ezra and Asia. “It’s just us today, huh?” I asked, staring at my bodyguard.

“Yes, Simone had to take care of some personal business on my behalf.” Ezra smirked.

I bet she did. Both Ezra and Simone were quite secretive.

“Girl, we’ll hold it down.” Asia flicked her long braids over her shoulder.

“Yeah, we will,” I agreed.

“Bianca will return next week from her extended honeymoon,” Asia added.

A chuckle rolled from Ezra’s lips. “You mean kidnapping.”

We all laughed at the inside joke.

“That is exactly what it was. Catch forced Bianca to stay with him in New Jersey.” I shrugged.

“Asia and I will be there on Wednesday. There’s some business I need to wrap up.”

Asia snorted. “Wrap up in plastic.”

“Hey, only if the bitch doesn’t get the hint will plastic come into play.” I winked.

“Hopefully, all four of you girls can get together for lunch,” Ezra added.

“Simone’s joining us in Jersey City?” I arched a brow.

“Yes. On another note, our men are keeping a lookout for Tyra.”

Ezra changed the subject.

What are Ezra and Simone up to?

“And her people. Ezra, we need to find out who she hired to assist her.”

He nodded. “I’ll put my ear to the street.”

Not sure how he was going to do that. This was the Southside of Chicago. Not New Jersey.

“Ezra, I have an idea. Asia and I are hitting the street today. We’ll find two soldiers who were loyal to me and Man-Man.”

“I have on my good sneakers.” Asia smiled as she pulled the Glock from her waist holster and checked the magazine.

Laughter rattled in my chest. I tugged my Glock free from the waist holster, holding it at eye level. I peered at the sleek black weapon. “Yeah, I’m ready too.”

Asia’s eyes widened. “What the fuck is that?” she pointed at my hand.

A loud clap echoed behind me, causing me to jump. “What’s going on here?” Dad asked, joining us in the room.

I shook my head at Asia, silently telling her not to say anything.

She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Just a misunderstanding, daddy.” I smiled innocently as he walked towards us.

“Why do you girls have your Glocks out? Is something wrong?” Dad inquired with concern in his voice.

I quickly tucked my Glock back into its holster. “As you know, Man-Man isn’t here anymore. Now you run the Southside with our help.”

Dad shook his head. “I don’t need your help, Tori.”

“Dad, I ran the streets with Man-Man. I will continue to do so.”

His face darkened with disapproval.

I placed a comforting hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, dad. We’ll be discreet.”

Inside, I winced at the lie, but forced a smile as I pulled away. “Well, mostly. Our friend Tyra has turned against us and tried to kill us before I left town. She even blew up our playhouse and almost killed Ritchie,” I muttered bitterly.

“He was inside the house at the time. Luckily, he managed to escape through the back door just in time.”

“Is your boyfriend okay?” Dad asked.

Asia stood with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face.

“Ritchie is healing.” I grinned.

“Tori,” Ezra warned.

I knew that if I didn't tell the truth, Ezra would inform Ritchie that I had failed to disclose the fact that Ritchie and I were now married.

“That’s good, he’s okay. I told you I wanted to thank the man who protected my daughter when I couldn’t. I’m still not clear why you and Daryl fell out,” Dad pushed.

I felt the anxiety creeping up my back. If I didn’t get off the subject quickly, I’d lose my shit in front of my father.

“In due time, I’ll tell you about what happened between Daryl and me.”

Ezra cleared his throat while he stared at his phone, basically urging me to get to the point.

“While my friends and I were in Las Vegas over the weekend we attended Bianca and Catch’s wedding.”

A wide grin spread across his face. “I can’t believe she got married. Make sure you tell them I send my congratulations.”

“I will,” I replied.

“While I was there, Ritchie proposed to me.”

My dad’s eyes widened in surprise.

“And I said yes.” My cheeks lifted with happiness.

“Is that so?” My dad’s eyebrows raised.

I wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of me marrying someone other than Daryl.

I held out my hand, wiggling my ring finger.

“Wow.” He gawked at the sparkling diamond on my finger.

“Yes. We eloped last Saturday evening.”

His eyes met mine. “What?” he exclaimed.

My dad reached for my hand and ran his finger over the diamond wedding band before releasing it.

Think positive, Tori. You deserve to be loved.

“Ritchie has risked his life for me countless times. He loves me.” I motioned to Ezra.

“What kind of man hires a bodyguard for you after only knowing you for a couple of weeks?” I glanced at my wedding rings before meeting my father’s gaze. “My husband, that’s who.”

I stared back at my dad. “My husband is well connected.”

“Tori, how exactly is he connected?”

“His mother was Isabella Pitucco...”

He cut me off. “...and her father was Nico Pitucco.”

My jaw dropped. “How do you know that?”

“I have a fascination with the mafia. I could tell you about any family. For example, Salvatore Magarelli created the five families in New Jersey.”

“Wow, Dad. I had no idea you were...”

“...a mafia enthusiast,” he chuckled.

“Yes,” I laughed. “Simone is seeing Ezra, who works for Nick Pitucco and Ritchie. Asia is involved with...” I looked over at her.

“I’m with Rémy and Romeo, who are bodyguards for Luca and Marco Esposito.”

Dad grinned. “You girls made smart choices. You’re essentially untouchable now.”

“Please don’t mention our connections to these men to anyone else. It could complicate things, especially because of the situation Ritchie came here to handle. We need to keep it secret for now.”

Dad made a zipping motion across his lips with his fingers. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

For my father’s sake, I hoped he was telling the truth. I wasn’t sure how he handled business, but now that he knew about our ties to the mafia, I trusted he would be careful not to jeopardize anything. I hoped I wasn’t wrong.