No Strings Attached

CHAPTER 16

"Surprise motherfuckers," I announce, flinging open the doors to Le Aquile Rosse's estate.

"What are you doing here?" Everett asks, not bothering to mask his surprise as Ari roughly shoves him.

"Who cares? She's always welcome here," Ari winks at me, smoke drifting out of his mouth as a cigarette rests carelessly between his fingers.

I sigh and sit down on a couch, taking Gabriel's cigar from his hand and sucking in a breath before exhaling.

"Adelyn came in yesterday for a tattoo with Vincenzo as her personal bodyguard and just then he came back to get one," I explain, "They can't know we're on to them, can they?"

"They shouldn't know," Griffon says coldly, "Dumb fucker probably just wanted to get in your pants," he says as he rolls his eyes.

"I doubt that," I raise an eyebrow at the scowling man.

"It means we got in his head, which is exactly what we wanted," Everett says in a bored tone, "He's still rattled by our appearance at the auction and wants to know why we were there,"

I shrug, "He saw my tattoo, and asked about it," I say quietly, grimacing as suddenly 4 sets of eyes burn into me.

"And this is why I told you to use a more discrete marking," Everett says in an exasperated tone, shaking his head like a disappointed father.

"He's so bloody stupid he probably won't catch on," Ari says, a lie, but a lie told to make me feel better.

"So if they know, where does that put us?" Griffon asks slowly.

"They don't know we're after them, we haven't told anyone and we have no mutual connections," Ari says calmly, "He's smart enough to know not to try and hit us first, so I'd say he'd wait for us to fuck up,"

Gabriel nods, "I agree, if they have a single brain cell between the lot of them, they'd wait until we make a move," he muses.

"Does that put us on a time schedule though?" I ask, "They can only wait so long,"

"We were always on a time schedule sweetheart, your dearest Grandfather gave you one month remember?" Everett drawls, taking a chug of his beer.

"What's the dumb fucker even gonna do after a month? Stay with us and you're safe," Griffon almost laughs, as if the thought of my Grandfather hurting me is nothing more than an outlandish possibility.

"Well say that we only have a month, at the first of next month, which is only a few days away, there's a ball for the high ups in the underworld. The De Santis' will definitely be there, so we just need to make sure we're there too," Ari says, taking a breath of his cigarette as he looks around the room.

"Why's there a ball? Do they just scatter them in throughout the year?" Griffon asks with a raised eyebrow.

"First of September idiota, it's the Autumn ball," Everett says, flicking his twin in the ear.

"That wasn't around in my day," Ari grumbles, "Stupid prissy rich folk adding balls to every fucking season,"

"It's because they already had events bearing the start of every month, so the Don of the American Mafia proposed making a formal event," Gabriel explains,

"I swear you know everyone and everything," I chuckle, looking at the now smiling man.

"Everyone loves me, they tell me everything," he says with a smug look.

"What's the plan then? We kill him there?" Everett asks.

"I kill him there," I correct him, raising an eyebrow at him as he mutters an apology.