Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
“That’s good,” he said.
“Yeah, it is.”
And she loved that smile on his lips.
****
Mateo expected Ella to leave him to finish washing, but instead she sunk down to her knees and reached over him. He took another sip of the hot chocolate. He still would have loved a whiskey, but she had gone to the effort of making this for him, and he was not going to spoil it, and it helped that it did, in fact, taste damn good. He took another long sip as she lathered up the sponge with some soap.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked.
Mateo took another drink of his hot chocolate and contemplated telling her. “When I took over, I dealt with one of the Bratva outfits that were making deals with my father. I didn’t like the way they did business, and after I killed him, the deals were still in place. They refused to pack up. So, I had no choice but to threaten. They attempted to get me arrested. Tried to plant drugs in some of my nightclubs. There was even one time they tried to put drugs in my car.”
“They can do that?”
“Babe, they can do whatever they like. As it happens, I may have been the bastard son of a mafia boss, but guess what, this guy has people that like him.”
Ella laughed. “I don’t think I can imagine you’re high up on many people’s Christmas card list. You’re so grumpy. You were always grumpy at work.”
He reached out and stroked one of her curls. She was the only woman to talk to him like he was a real person. She didn’t try to sugarcoat anything. He recalled throughout her time working in his bar, she always advised him that he should attempt to smile more. It might make him feel a little happier if he practiced positive techniques. If it had been anyone else, he would have fucking killed them on the spot. No one told him he was fucking grumpy and lived to tell the tale. Ella was a special person.
“Still, I made their lives a little easier. Dad was a traitor and not to be trusted. Some of the cops he had on his books, when he was bored with them and felt they knew too much, he killed them. I made sure a couple of men didn’t get hurt. They knew it was coming and were able to be elsewhere. They were also able to find the means of staying alive.”
“They now work for you?”
“Yeah, in a way. It was what kept the cops off my back. Whenever something was called in about me, they were the ones on the scene. They would find the drugs and take them. Anyway, I got so sick of it that I went to one of their warehouses and blew it up.”
She pulled back from washing his body. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah, I might also want to point out that being the bastard son of a mafia boss, I don’t exactly follow proper etiquette when it comes to dealing with enemies. I see a target, and I take care of it. It’s what I do.”
“Will you stop that?” she asked.
“Stop what?”
“Calling yourself that name?” She gave him a pointed look.
“It’s what I am.”
“No, it’s not. You’re Mateo Cole. Stop wondering what your dad would think. He’s gone now, and you’re your own man. Your own boss. Don’t let him continue to dictate who you are from beyond the grave.” She finished washing his body, and he looked at her.
“It doesn’t change who I am.”
“And I’m an unwanted kid, Mateo. You want me to keep saying that? I’m the unwanted kid of a drug addict. I don’t know who my father is. He didn’t stick around long enough to find out.” She raised both of her brows.
“Have you ever been curious to find out?”
“No,” Ella said. “Some stuff you don’t need to know. Some things are better left dead and buried.”
She reached over and touched his cheek. “I’m going to grab the first aid kit.”
He didn’t even have to tell her where it was, as she went to the cupboard under the sink, pulling out the red box. She came back to him, and she took out a plain white sterilized wipe. He held himself perfectly still as she got to work cleaning the cut.
“Do you want to tell me what happened today?” she asked.
“Yeah, the Bratva I took care of has a new leader. Some man named Han. Don’t know his last name. They had a shipment of girls come into a warehouse that had my name on it. The cops intercepted and I got the call.”
“Girls? Like actual living girls?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, it was one part of the deal my father made that I didn’t like.”