Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 81

Chapter Eighty–One

Matteo smirked down at the photo of his weakness flipping him the bird. He loved when her eyes sparked fire in that playful way. He imagined her rifling through his drawers, her delicate fingers tracing over his clothing as she searched for the vibrator he’d stolen. He shook his head and slid his phone in his back pocket before leaning forward against the ropes of the fighting arena. He looked out on his men who he had gathered for their monthly meeting. They were all making toasts or shoving each other around while they waited for the meeting to begin. He was just waiting for two more people to show

Louis appeared in the throng of people and hoisted himself up to stand beside Matteo.

“How’s your sister?” Matteo couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Pissed but she’ll live. I warned her over and over not to mess with her but…” Louis shrugged.

“Has she learned her lesson finally?”

“About backing off from you?” Louis asked with a raised brow. He scoffed. “You’re dreaming. You either need to find her a man of equal wealth and power or get better health insurance for your employees.”

“The Royale is coming up. Maybe we can find her a decent bidder there,” Matteo suggested.

Louis laughed. “You plan to bring her and Gen? I’d love to see how they’d react to that.”

Matteo shrugged. “Maybe you could bring her?”

“And leave Jada at home? Nah, I don’t have a death wish,” Louis said.

The door at the back of the room opened revealing Frankie and his younger brother. Matteo had hired Stephen as a favor to Frankie. He’d become directionless after college, a nuisance to his parents, so he’d brought him into the fold and put him under Leo to learn some manners. Judging by the way he walked with his nose pinched and his head tilted back, he’d already received his first lesson. Frankie walked up to the ring and smacked Stephen on the

back.

“Just think of it as an initiation ritual, Steve–O,” Frankie said.

“Why is he here?” Matteo asked, glaring down at the boy. “He’s meant to stay with Gen so Leo can attend.”

Frankie shrugged. “They had words. Leo doesn’t trust him yet.”

“What happened?” Matteo asked, eyes narrowed, knowing Leo wouldn’t hit the guy for no reason.

“I…”

Frankie smacked Stephen on the back of the head before he could say anything. “He made a comment he shouldn’t have, is all,” Frankie said, giving his brother a hard stare as if he was about to say something that would get him killed.

“Mhmm,” Matteo hummed, making a mental note to discuss what exactly happened with Leo himself. “She’s your future Donna. Any disrespect toward her is disrespect to me. You’ve been warned once, don’t let it happen again.”

The look in Matteo’s eyes was enough to make the poor whelp shiver.

“Sorry, Boss,” Juliano interjected. “Did I just hear you say you’ve found us a Donna?”

1/3

3:08 pm PD

Chapter Eighty–One

All conversation in the room ceased Heads turned toward the ring, waiting for his answer. Matteo bobbed his head for Frankie to get in the ring with him.

“I guess now is as good a time as any to get started. You heard right… the woman I’ve been seeing, who was kidnapped by Rooster and his men, has agreed

to be our Donna.”

“The fucking bad ass who tore the guy’s lip off?” someone yelled from the back.

“And beat the fuck out Louis‘ sister?” another chimed in.

Matteo smiled. “One and the same. Her name is Genevieve Sinclair. She is still learning the ins and outs of the operation so I expect you all to continue to treat her with care. Though it hasn’t been made official, I have every intention of doing so at the earliest opportunity. I expect you all to defend her with your own life as you would mine.”

His men started to clap. A surge of energy vibrated through the room at his announcement and he couldn’t help but smile with pride. Alessio had been right, his men needed this. They needed to know there was a future for them, they needed hope.

“Get to work on that heir, Boss!” Juliano shouted.

“When’s the swearing–in?” Don yelled.

Matteo held up his hand. “We haven’t worked out the logistics yet. It’s still new and I don’t want to rush this. I need it to be perfect. But, I didn’t want to hide it from you all, either. Be patient and I promise you as soon as I get everything settled, we’ll celebrate.”

After a few minutes of applause and congratulations were passed around the room, the men eventually quieted.

“Now, back to the other reason I called you here tonight. We’ve been getting attacked at our tracks and casinos. Someone out there knows our MO down to the last bid. We’ve been getting played, gentlemen, and I am not fucking happy about it. We have a mole. If not more than one.”

Matteo took a beat to glance around at the faces before him. His men looked around too, as if the traitors would suddenly do something to out themselves.

“There are two possibilities for who might be behind this. One of them is our own cousin, Galante.” A murmur of anger swept through the room at the name. “I have received intel that he thinks us weak.” The anger turned to a boil of rage. “This same intel alluded to the fact that he might want to make a move on us soon. I need you all to be on high alert. I have Beatrice in his inner circle,” Matteo said with a bob of his head to the woman holding her glass up in salute at the bar. Several whistles rang out and Beatrice’s smile grew. “But more heads are better than one. Keep your ear to the ground. If anything seems fishy, tell me, Frankie, Louis or Marco at once. I don’t care if he’s taking his dog to a new groomer or has switched his hair dying brand, nothing is too small. Understood?” A chorus of agreement flowed through the group of men.

“The other possibility is a man that goes by Luca Guerra. By now I expect you to have all been warned about him?” Another chorus of affirmation. “I’ll be leaving for Los Angeles in a few days to have a second meeting with him.”

Will our Donna be there as your bodyguard?” Juliano barked out with a laugh.

“Guerra is an unknown. We are looking into him but, right now, he is considered a threat and should be treated as such. I have selected a small group of men to come along for the ride in case things go south. I also have new assignments for a few of you around town. Make sure you check in with Frankie before you leave tonight.”

Matteo’s phone buzzed in his back pocket. Seeing as how everyone else who would text him was standing in front of him, he knew who it had to be. He pulled his phone out and unlocked the screen to see what Gen had sent him. His mouth went dry at the photo of her naked, in his shower, her body coated

in soap.

Gen: My shower has better water pressure.

Chapter Eighty–One

Frankie knocked Matteo’s shoulder, palling his focus away from the photo. He slid the phone back in his pocket and cleared his throat. What was he talking

about?

Frankie rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “O’Brien’s men have been facing obstacles at the Austin track the last week as well. I have a few of you set aside to go down there and back them up. With everything going on, we can’t afford to disappoint O’Brien. I also want to bulk up our other operations. The men we select to run out money need to be properly vetted. Marco has picked out a few people to assist him with that. Our monthly change up will now become a weekly one. Any of the runners give you trouble, eliminate them at your own discretion. We can’t have any leaks. No loose ends. I’m fucking sick of losing men. Watch each other’s backs. Got it?”

A mumbled agreement reverberated through the crowd.

“Willy and Joe’s funerals will be held next week,” Matteo chimed in, feeling another buzz in his pocket. “I expect everyone to be there. No exceptions. They would do the same for you. The club is closed for the rest of the night,” Matteo said, wrapping it up. “I gave Nora the go–ahead to keep the bar open,” he added, with a nod to the bartender flirting with Beatrice. “If you’re on duty, get back to it and you can come in when you’re off. That’s all. Get back out

there.”

The men started to murmur to themselves as they either made their way to the bar or toward where Frankie now stood with assignment sheets in hand. Matteo stepped away from the ropes and fumbled with his phone. It was another photo. This one was her leaning against the kitchen island, the new robe he’d left her falling off her shoulders exposing a portion of her breasts while she rose a forkfull of his lasagna to her mouth.

Gen: Very yummy… Just waiting for dessert.

Someone smacked him on the back and Matteo jerked. Louis gave him a weird look and tried to glance over his shoulder. Matteo instinctively shoved him back and hid his phone in his pocket. Louis gave him a knowing smile.

“Jada likes sending pictures too,” Louis said.

Matteo’s eyes narrowed. “Fucking don’t.”

Louis held his hands up in surrender. “Just get out of here, Man. We’ve got this handled. Enjoy your honeymoon before the shit hits the fan.”

“What makes you think the shit is about to hit the fan, Louis?”

Louis‘ smile dropped and he sighed while looking around. “Can’t you feel it?”

Matteo took in a deep breath and nodded. Yeah, he’d felt it ever since his mother and brother’s deaths. An impending reckoning several generations in the making. Life had been good to his father and his father before him. Soon he was afraid it would all be tested. He just hoped he could stay focused enough to hold it all together.

RVisitor

ahh soo good need more!!!!!

your an amazing writer this is the second book you’ve got me in love with!