Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 132

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

“You’ll have forty five minutes once the feed cuts aft, the guard informed him

Matteo’s brew wrinkled. “What?”

“Forty-five minutes. The guard repeated.

He yanked Matteo’s hand down to the table so he could loop the handcuffs around the bar and secure the one he’d undone back around his wrier.

“What the fuck is this? I’ve never had to be…”

“Just following the new boss’ orders,” the man remarked.

Matten finally took a moment to look at the guard. Dark brown eyes that could never smother out all their warmth crinkled around the edges in humor.

Matteo reached up and yanked the handkerchief away from the man’s mouth.

“You fucking son of a…”

“Watch it,” Leo warned.

Matteo lurched upward but was caught by the metal bar. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Matteo asked, rage bubbling up from his stomach in the form

of toxic sludge. “I gave you very specific orders, Leo! What the fuck did I say?!”

“You said…”

“I said fifty feet!” Matteo bellowed, the fear in his gut threatening to override the anger. He fought to maintain that anger, he couldn’t let the fear win out.

Not before he had answers. “Fifty feet was the maximum distance I allowed you to be away from my wife. Where the fuck do you get off disobeying me?!

Where is she?! Where is Gen?!”

“You really think I would disobey you?”

“Who knows what you would do? You’re all over the place since she came into the picture!”

“Right back at you. Sit down, Accardi,” Leo warned.

Matteo kicked the chair opposite him. It flew across the room and hit the wall. “Tell me where she is!”

“Sit down, Matteo! Leo scolded, pointing a stern finger.

Matteo’s chest felt tight but cracked open with each haggard breath. He sat with a thud in the metal chair. Leo shook his head. He splayed his palms wide

and leaned over the table toward his boss.

“I haven’t disobeyed your order,” Leo repeated.

Matteo stared at his body guard and his closest confidant. His breathing was loud, his blood roared in his eats but suddenly something clicked and he finally understood what Leo said. Leo nodded, the look on Matteo’s face letting him know he understood.

“Forty-five minutes,” Leo repeated with a nod before he pushed away from the table and went to the door.

Leo pulled the door open and Matteo shot to his feet, forgetting again that he could not stand all the way up while his hands were anchored. Waiting on the other side of the threshold was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, made even more so by the separation they’d endured for nearly a week. Genevieve watched him with her knowing, impatient eyes which flicked up when Leo held out a pair of handcuff keys for her to take. She gave him a nod of

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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

thanks before stepping past him into the room. She looked every bit the professional woman with a long wool trenchcoat seemingly too warm for the current climate. Then again, he hadn’t been outside in four days, perhaps there had been a cold snap.

She flicked her hair behind her as she walked toward the table. She slapped down a folder and dropped a tote bag from her shoulder that landed on the ground with a thud. She picked up the chair he had knocked over and set it back at the table. Her ice blue eyes raked over his person and she clicked her tongue when she saw his knuckles. Her eyes raised up to meet his and then her right eyebrow popped up.

“I’m glad you could finally make time for me, Mr. Accardi,” Genevieve said, her tone clipped. “I had to charade as Roman’s paralegal to get in here to see you. I wasn’t about to be turned away for a third time.”

Matteo’s smile grew bigger. She’d tried to visit him twice? No wonder she looked so angry. Her eyes flicked to his cheek, telling him his dimple must be showing. “I apologize. I had a few matters of business to attend to.”

“Hm, clearly,” she said, glancing down at his knuckles for emphasis.

She bent over to rummage through her tote. She placed a first-aid kit on the table that made him bite his lip. She sat down and looked pointedly at his

chair, God, was her pull always so magnetic or was it four days of nothing but male sweat and testosterone having this effect on him? All he wanted to do

was touch her, bring her to her knees, fuck her senseless.

“Why am I still in handcuffs?” he asked.

“We need to talk. I asked Leo to keep you from getting to me.”

Matteo groaned and pulled at the shackles on his wrist. “Unlock me from this table, Weakness.”

She cast a disinterested look at his wrists, wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Her phone rang. Matteo lowered himself into his seat as Gen put her

phone to her ear.

“Yeah?” Gen listened for a moment while her fingers tapped along the table. “You’re sure?” she asked, her eyes returned to Matteo to wander over his appearance. “And you have eyes on Raphael? He’s not going to take a peek?” Another pause as Gen’s gaze locked with Matteo’s. “Good. Thank you, Leo.”

Gen started digging in her tote again and procured a kitchen timer that resembled one his grandmother had passed down to his mother. She turned the dial and placed it on the table with a clink. The timer started to tick and he smirked down at the little object counting down from 45. It was definitely his

grandma’s.

Matteo looked back at his wife who regarded him with cold indifference. He held up his wrists again and bobbed his head down to it. “Weakness…”

“Not just yet,” she said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“We have forty-five minutes. Raphael cut the feeds so no one will be able to watch us.”

Matteo growled low in approval, thinking of all the things they could get up to in forty-five conjugal minutes. “You called in Raphael?”

She shrugged and crossed her arms. “I’m smart enough to know when I’m in over my head and I need reinforcements.”

“Does that mean Alessio is in the states with you?”

“And Conor.”

*Dream team. Now, about these cuffs…”

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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

“We’ll talk first…”

“How about instead…”

“We’ll talk first,” Genevieve repeated. “We both know if you weren’t tied down, I wouldn’t have managed to say hello let alone discuss what’s needed. This is a business meeting before anything else. There are more important matters than our libidos to consider. Why don’t we start with you telling me what you’ve

learned?”

Matteo’s eyes wandered over the trench coat she was wearing. “Why don’t you take that stuffy thing off so my imagination can stop drumming up distracting images? Matteo suggested.

Gen’s lip quirked on the right side, the first hint of a smile she’d gifted him. “Fine. I’ll go first.” Genevieve sighed with exaggeration as she flipped open the folder she’d brought in. “FBI ransacked our apartment, the club, all tracks and casinos under our name along with the company. Nothing we weren’t expecting there. They left the accounting firm alone along with the properties under everyone else’s names. They also didn’t get to the three safehouses

which is good.”

“Do you have a piece of paper?” Matteo asked, interrupting her.

She glanced up before she rolled her eyes and slid a blank sheet of paper over to him.

“I gave the workers at Accardi Industries time off until this blows over. Oh, and the guards you sent over came around so I…”

“Pen?”

“Huh?” she asked, glancing up from the paper she had been reading from.

“Do you have a pen?” he asked.

She sighed. “Yeah, here,” she said, throwing a pen at him. He chuckled and clicked it open as she continued, “Where was I, duh, duh, duh, duh, yes, I was

saying I hired on the guards you got fired and…”

“Frankie,” Matteo said, his head bent over his paper.

“Excuse me?” Gen huffed.

Matteo looked up and smirked at her aggravated expression. “Frankie got them fired.”

Gen rolled her eyes. “Right, sure, anyway, I got the prison guards set up as security around Accardi Industries for now. Once I get a better idea of their strong suits, I might move them.” Matteo nodded to himself in approval. “Let’s see, I have the meeting set up for the Russo’s in three days and I met with

O’Brien and…”

“What?” Matteo looked up.

She narrowed her eyes and the skin of her forehead crinkled. “I spoke with O’Brien as was part of the plan. Remember?”

Matteo’s gut twisted. “Alone? Did he hurt you?”

“What? No, of course not. Leo was there. What is the problem?”

Matteo shook his head. “Something I learned. Here…” Matteo slid the piece of paper he’d been writing on across the desk with a proud smirk.

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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

“What is this?” she asked, holding it up.

“It’s what I’ve learned. You can take it home and look over it, leaving more time for us to…” Matteo didn’t finish. He raised his wrists up, signaling for her

to unlock them.

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