Chapter 11: Chapter 11

PRESLEY

“I know, Tal,” Presley muttered as she pulled up the sheets on the bed. “I’ll try. He’s just so handsome, albeit a little mysterious. I just feel like I’m so unworthy of his time.”

“You ~are~ worthy of his time. After Abel, you deserve to let go and have some fun,” Tally responded.

Presley heard the back door close. “I need to go. We can talk about this later. Love you.”

She hung up the phone and finished straightening the sheets. Santino appeared in the doorway, and Presley dropped a pillow when he smiled at her.

“Sorry. I took advantage of you being on the phone to make my bed.”

“Don’t apologize. I invaded your space this morning.” He walked over and helped pull the comforter up. “Thank you for letting me nap with you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So, what would you normally do on a day like today?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Presley shrugged. “After a night like last night, typically, nothing. I would consider this my lazy day.”

His eyebrow quirked. “A lazy day? What is this laziness you speak of?”

Presley laughed. “Stay in my pajamas. Do an eye mask. I might catch up on my DVR or watch a movie. If I’m feeling so inclined, I might order some takeout. Just hang around the house, not doing much of anything.”

“I’m sold,” Santino said.

“What did it, the eye mask or the takeout?”

He barked out a rumbling laugh. Presley felt her toes curl at the sound.

“All of it, especially the eye mask.” He stood and checked his watch. “Would you mind if I went back to my place first? I’d like to grab something other than jeans.”

“Go get your things. I’ll find something to watch.”

He reached out, taking her hand and pulling her toward him. His fingertips brushed the hair away from her face.

“I look forward to spending the day with you, Press.”

“Me too.” She flushed from nerves again.

“I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her on the cheek and pulled out his phone as he headed for the door.

She watched him get in the car and wave to her before taking off down her street. His bodyguards scrambled to follow.

Finally, she let out the nervous giggle she had been holding in. She gave herself a moment of excited dancing before rushing back to her room. She didn’t know how much time she had before he came back and hurried to gather things for their lazy day.

SANTINO

As soon as Santino pulled up to his house, he knew there was something wrong. Too many people were there. He stepped out of his car and spied his uncle’s convoy. He could hear Elio inside yelling at someone.

“You can’t just fucking come in here!” Elio bellowed.

Santino practically ran through the front door and into the large office that was once his dad’s. His Uncle Abramo was sitting behind his desk, his feet propped up on the top as his men tossed documents out of Santino’s filing cabinet.

“Abramo! What the fuck is going on? Why are you in my fucking house?” Santino’s voice boomed, causing everyone to still.

His uncle stood, slamming his fist down on the desk.

“You fucking punk! You come in here and think you can cap me at the knees? Taking my place and my source of revenue away? You think you’re better than me?” his uncle shouted.

Santino felt his anger rise. “You barge into my house, disrespecting my position because I won’t let you sling dope in my fucking clubs?! This is my fucking town!”

“Sonny, you have no idea what you’ve done!” Abramo yelled. “I should have been head of the family.”

“You think I give a shit?! You think this hurts? Wait till I cut the weapons off.” Santino hissed. “What the fuck is wrong with you, thinking you can come in my home like this? Everyone knows you’re weak. Even Dad knew you wouldn’t be able to run this family anywhere but into the ground.”

The men in the room shifted nervously as Santino approached his uncle, sizing him up. His uncle snarled at him, but Santino could see the fear flicker across his face. Something had Abramo nervous and acting rash.

“What’s wrong with you?” Santino asked. “You look like shit.”

“I want that shipment back, ~Santino~,” Abramo growled.

“What shipment?”

“Espinoza’s. The one you took trying to show me you’re the ~boss~.” Abramo stalked around the desk, shoving his finger in Santino’s chest. “Either get me the shipment or get me the money. The cartels don’t play well with those that steal from them, and I’d hate to have to throw you under the bus, dear nephew.”

His uncle stormed out of the room, his men following him. Santino heard their cars pull out of the drive and sat down hard in his chair. He rubbed his face with his hands.

“Elio, get everyone in here.”

“Yes, boss.”

***

They spent the next few hours going over every document in his father’s hidden safe. Santino found everything his father had been into. From the shady business deals to the drugs, hookers, and empty bank accounts, he couldn’t believe the shit his dad had pulled over the last couple of years.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?” He looked at Elio.

“I had no idea it was this bad. Your dad hid a lot of shit,” Elio said nervously.

“Fuck!” Santino shouted, standing up from his chair. He paced behind his desk. “Half a million dollars in missing product? Get Espinoza on the phone. We’ve gotta work this out.”

Santino looked around, noting a missing face. “Where the fuck is Paulie? Wasn’t he in charge of overseeing this shipment?”

“Probably still sleeping,” Elio sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “They caught another dealer late last night in one of our clubs. Paulie took him for questioning himself. Said he didn’t know much and didn’t have any more product on him. Whoever’s doing this is either smart or lucky.”

“I’ll put out some feelers now that you’re back in town,” he added. “Find out what people know and who your dad was doing business with.”

“Good idea. Find out how deep in the shit we are. Call in any money that’s owed to the Agosti family. Get the loan sharks out and start pulling in those markers.”

He checked his forgotten phone and saw several messages.

Presley

Are you okay?

Presley

I know you didn’t specify a time, but I’m getting slightly worried

Her last message was three hours old.

Presley

Please just let me know you’re okay. I can take a hint.

He sighed, feeling like shit for not giving her a heads-up, especially after overhearing part of her conversation earlier with the cupcake.

It was late—much too late to call her or go back over—but he decided he should at least text her. He typed out a quick message and set his phone back down.

“Tell Paulie to get his ass over here. I want to know what happened and where that shipment went,” Santino growled, his guilt fueling his bad mood.

Elio nodded and started to rise.

“And Elio?”

“Yeah, boss?”

“Check the safe. There should be some bonds in there. Make sure my uncle didn’t take them. I don’t fucking trust him. We can cash them out if needed.”