Chapter 39

39

Cass

I 'm just about to head out to go fishing for an unfortunate Russian man when Cole slips through my bedroom door.

"Hey…wow," he says, his eyes widening when he sees me in my little black dress and heels, my hair pulled up off my neck.

"Hey. How did things go with your dad?" I ask him while trying to ignore how much I love the way he looks at me.

Cole shakes his head and takes a seat on the foot of my bed, eyes lingering on my bare legs. "The talk with Andrew was good. Great. He's…a really nice guy."

"Okay. So why do you say that like it's a bad thing?"

He chuckles and then gives me a sad smile. "Because I don't think I'm anything like him."

"Of course, you are. You're a nice guy. Or at least you were. It's my bad influence that's turned you into a murdering mobster."

"I like being a murdering mobster," he says confidently. " So, I guess I don't have to try to be a nice guy anymore..." Tilting his head to the side, he says, "Where exactly do you think you're going looking like that this late at night?"

"I'm going to Rasputin."

"Rasputin? You're going to a Russian club? Why?"

After smoothing my palms down my dress, then adjusting my thigh holster, I tell him the truth. "Daddy gave me a new assignment."

"Oh, yeah? One just for you?"

"Yep."

"What's the assignment?"

"I have to bring home an inside man for him to string up in the basement tonight."

"Wow. And how exactly are you planning to get him here?" Cole asks. His jaw ticks as he clenches it tight. "Oh, right. That's why you're dressed like…that."

"Want to come and watch?"

He immediately gets to his feet and steps in front of me. "Watch you flirt with some unsuspecting man and then lure him to his death? Hell, yes, I want to watch. And then I want us to both come."

"That ship has sailed," I remind him. "No more fucking. And we should take two SUVs, you know, one for you and one for me and the unsuspecting man?"

Shaking his head, he says, "Hold on. Back up. You keep saying no more fucking, but then you got on your knees and let me fuck your mouth, so I'm sure you can see why I'm so damn confused."

Placing both of my palms on his chest, I look him in the eye and plead with him. "Let me have this. Please."

"Let you have it?" he repeats with a frown.

"The Salvato legacy is mine. You know how badly I want it. How much I need it. Please?" If I'm going to con Cole out of being a billionaire mobster businessman, I figured I should at least say please a few times.

"Fine," he says without even two seconds of hesitation. "You can have it."

"Really?" I ask, surprised he's willing to give up that easily after all the work he's put into our competition. There must be some strings attached to his forfeit. Probably tons of strings.

"My father offered me a job. I won't take it, but I'll have plenty of options," he explains. "So, I'll throw in the towel, if…"

"Here we go." I heave a sigh and cross my arms over my chest, preparing myself.

"I'll tell Dante you should be his heir if you'll let me tell him that you're coming with me to New York for the next year—"

"Cole, I can't," I interrupt.

"Because we want to be together," he finishes, making it one hell of a string.

Fuck.

"Why won't you just give up and walk away?" I ask him softly, seriously.

"Isn't it obvious? You don't walk away from the person you want to spend every day for the rest of your life with, Cassie. So, you know what? I don't care if you keep trying to push me away. I can handle that and whatever else you throw at me, including all your crazy as shit moods. I'm not scared of you, even if you can kick my ass. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."

I shake my head while blinking the tears away. "Your life with me would be way too short."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he exclaims. "I can take care of myself. It's a dangerous lifestyle, yes, but you're worth the risk. We can rule this city together better than Dante ever did."

"No, we can't," I tell him before I brush past him and walk out the door.

Col e

That woman is so damn infuriating.

Just when I think she's finally going to cave and admit she loves me too, she says shit to make me think it was all an act. That she slept with me and shit to wrap me nice and tight around her finger while waiting for the perfect time to beg me to drop out of our little competition and let her win.

If that's what it will take to be with her, I would gladly do it. I just worry that once I forfeit, she'll laugh in my face, then tell me it was all a lie.

Cass has abandonment issues, I'm well aware of that. It's why she acts like a bitch and pushes people away. Her issues and my own don't play well together.

I have trust issues. Always have. The only person I've ever been able to count on is my mom, and it turns out she has lied to me my entire life. We moved so often when I was growing up that I never had any close friends until high school. Then, after graduation, we all went to different colleges and grew apart.

At Lennox, I'm not like all the rich kids and don't have anything in common with them, so there's no one there I can count on either to be there for me if I needed them.

I want to trust Cass, and to prove to her that I won't up and leave her or mysteriously disappear like her mom and sister. But fuck, she doesn't make it easy.

I grow even more pissed off at the crazy redhead when I make it outside to the casino parking lot and find that her and her guards have left without me.

Texting her, I tell her, Be careful. The Russians may have poisoned you once before. No telling what they might try next.

Cass's instant response is, I can take care of myself.

At least I saw that she has her gun in her thigh holster under her dress if shit goes bad. I know Cass won't hesitate to shoot anyone who endangers her.

"Ready, boss?" August asks when he holds open the rear passenger door for me while Mike cranks up the engine from the driver seat.

"Yes. But I'm not your boss," I remind him.

"You're one of them," he says as I climb inside. "Dante might be the big boss, but we take orders from you too now."

"Fine. Whatever," I agree, too busy worrying about Cass to even appreciate their loyalty to me.

I haven't ever been to the Russian club before, and it's crowded, but nothing like most venues along the strip with a mile long wait to get admitted. The music is too soft, and the bar must be slow since it's actually slam-packed.

Cass's red hair should be easy to spot even in the dim club. When I don't find her right away, I start to panic.

"Where are Cass's guards?" I ask August.

"There," he says, pointing to the far side of the bar.

"Why isn't she with them?" I ask as I weave my way through people to ask them that question.

"Where the fuck is Cass?" I ask the guy in charge; Brian I think is his name. He's holding some sort of alcoholic beverage with a cherry on top, sipping away on the red straw like he's relaxing by the pool on vacation.

"Calm down. She just went to the ladies' room," he says.

"Why didn't one of you go with her?" I ask him and his sidekick. "And why the hell are you drinking on the job?"

Brian eyes August who says, "Don't look at me. Answer the man."

"Not that I owe you an explanation," he begins. "But Cass asked us to order her a drink, one without alcohol in it, fuck you very much. And she wanted one of us to taste it to make sure it's not poisoned. I'm risking my life right now. "

"That's literally your fucking job!" I remind him. "And Cass is wandering around alone in the club of Dante's biggest rival!"

Muttering a swear, he says, "Sam, go check on Cass, will ya?"

The man who looks even less competent than Brian, darts his eyes between him and me. "What, like, do you want me to actually go into the women's bathroom?"

"No," Brian says at the same time I tell him, "Yes!"

"There are stalls, you know," August tells him. "It's not like you're going to see her on the pot or whatever."

With a nod, the man finally wonders off. I'm about to stop him and tell him I'll go find her myself when someone grabs my arm. A familiar woman with white-blonde hair.

"Inessa?" I say in surprise when I take a step back out of her grip.

"Keep your hands off him," Mike warns her.

She ignores him, speaking only to me. "Hello, Cole. I thought you might show too."

"What are you doing here?" I ask her since she helps manage the sports bar.

"Looking for you. Can we talk outside for a moment?" she asks.

"We can talk here." I'm not leaving this building until I see Cass with my own two eyes. "And make it quick," I tell her, wanting her to be gone before Cass gets back.

Going up on her toes, she cups her mouth and says into my ear so softly I miss several words. It sounds like she says, "Dante will never choose you; you know that don't you?"

I turn my head to look at her face, trying to figure out what the fuck she's talking about.

Again, she speaks right into my ear, "He wouldn't choose anyone over his own daughter. That's why we need to take them both out."

"Wait. Did you say take them out?" I ask her in confusion. "You mean...you want to kill Dante and Cass?"

"Once they're out of the way, you and your mother can take over the city."

Jesus fucking Christ, this is bad. Inessa is actually just saying this shit out loud as if it's no big deal. "If anything happens to Cass…" I start, before trying to rein in my temper. If I get defensive, Inessa won't tell me anything else. She's given away enough that she's waiting for my reaction, to see if I'm with the Russians or against them.

The adoring, lustful look in her eyes says enough. She wants me to take over the city, but her and her crew don't plan on giving Dante the chance to hand it over.

"How…how exactly do you plan to, you know, do it?" I question her, needing more information if I'm going to stop her. Inessa's smug smile makes me sick. "What have you done, Inessa? You're playing a dangerous fucking game."

"Dante will surrender himself in exchange for his daughter."

"You...you already have Cass?"

"She's being detained, yes."

"How? Where?"

"Her guards should've gone to the restroom with her..." She trails off glancing at the guards surrounding me with her brow raised.

"Oh."

Fuck.

"We made sure to handle it ourselves this time. We tried and failed the first time with the bombing, and twice with the youngest daughter because of Flynn Dunne's incompetence. We won't fail this time."

The Russians were the ones responsible for the bombing of the casino. We already knew that. But they also attacked Sophie with the drones, and then were backing Lochlan's brother when he attacked her at their house.

Now these fuckers are going after Cass and could be planning something against Sophie again. I have to warn Dante not to show up here and figure out how to save Cass. I can't let these psychos hurt any of the Salvatos. I don't think I could live without Cass. And my mom, god, she's been through hell these past twenty years. Now that she finally found happiness, losing Dante would destroy her.

Cass may drive me crazy with her roller coaster of emotions, but she's all that I think about, the only woman I will ever love. I can't even close my eyes anymore without seeing her beautiful face.

And the few times she's been with me and actually let her guard down, I've seen how she really feels about me, no matter how hard she might deny it.

Cass was never my competition. She's been my partner in crime this whole time. Bonnie to my Clyde.

The past few weeks we've worked together more than we've worked against each other.

I've killed for her, and I sure as hell will do it again.

"Are you with us?" Inessa asks.

"Have I ever told you how much I fucking hate Dante Salvato?" I lie to her, trying my best to convince her to trust me. "He beats my mother and treats her like shit. I only wanted to be named his heir so I could bankrupt him, giving away every penny his family has ever earned. I can't wait until he's dead."