Kingpin (Breeding #4)

Act normal, I tell myself. “Hi,” I manage to say and give a small wave. A woman who saw someone get murdered here wouldn’t be so casual and friendly, right? Jesus, I want to smack myself. “Hope you don’t mind I cut through here. Shortcut to the station,” I say. He doesn’t say anything. He keeps staring at me.

Okay then. I turn and keep walking, picking up my steps a little and praying he doesn’t follow me. I feel the breath I was holding leave my lungs as I see the train pull up right as I get there. I jump in, falling into one of the seats, and my head drops back against the window. Maybe I’ll take a cab home tonight, because I’m never going down that alley again.





Chapter 5





Salvatore





“It’s been two weeks. Are you going to tell me who she is or not?” Gio asks, startling me.

“It’s none of you — ”

“You can’t keep saying it’s none of my business.” He cuts me off and gives me a glare. “Everything is my business, especially when it comes to you. I know you’ve been watching the woman who lives there. Are you going to tell me why?”

I’m in my office packing up for the day. It’s only four o’clock, but I like to watch Thea walk from the telemarketing job to Rita’s, just to make sure she’s safe. Not that she knows I’m watching her. I haven’t spoken a word to her directly since that first night. But every day since, I’ve been a part of her life. In more ways than she realizes.

I let out a deep sigh and sit down in my chair, leaning back. Gio may not be my brother by blood, but he is in every other sense of the word. There’s nothing I’ve ever kept from him, and this secrecy is causing a rift to form between us. This has been something that’s only mine, but I know it can’t stay that way forever.

“Her name is Thea,” I finally admit, and look away from him. I don’t like sharing any part of her, even her name, with someone else.

“She’s the reason we bought the building, right?” he asks, and I nod. “Does she know who you are?”

There’s a long pause, and I look back to him, unsure of how to explain it. Then I decide the truth is the best.

“She saw me kill Joey. I chased her down, and now I’m just making sure she doesn’t talk.” Okay, so maybe not one hundred percent true.

“You let a witness walk?” Gio’s voice is a mix of shock and disapproval.

“I took care of it,” I say defensively, and stand up. I go back to cleaning up my desk before I leave. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.

“Salvatore.”

“Giovanni,” I snap back.

“Is this going to be a problem?” he asks, and now there’s concern, rather than accusation, behind his words.

“Have I ever not taken care of business? Have I ever once put us in jeopardy?” Heat rushes up my neck as anger takes hold. I walk around the desk and get toe to toe with him. “Have you once in your goddamn life ever known me to not cover my shit and do what’s best for everyone in our family?”

He clenches his jaw and rolls his shoulders. Gio is a kitten until you get in his space. That’s when the panther comes out and he’ll rip your throat out. But I’m not scared. He and I had our differences when we were younger and we worked through them. I just need to remind him that I’m not the enemy.

“You’re right, brother,” he finally says, and reaches out to put a hand on my shoulder. “Just be careful. I know I give you a hard time about finding a woman, but I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“I know. I will be,” I say, and it goes a long way to cool both of us down. I pull him into a quick hug and then step back, grabbing my bag off the desk.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I say as I walk out of the office.

When I get to the garage, I slip into my black Maserati and start it up. It’s not a long drive to the place where Thea spends the first part of her day, but it gives me just long enough to talk myself out of approaching her today.

It’s been hell these two weeks, keeping my distance, but I keep promising myself that I will make my move soon. I also needed to make sure she didn’t run to the cops. It was a real possibility, although I hoped she wouldn’t. I needed to see who her friends and family were and if she confided in them about what happened. I put a few of my men around in key places to watch and listen, and so far, there’s been nothing. She’s kept her silence, and for her loyalty she’s been rewarded. But the greatest reward is yet to come.

After the night we parted ways, I bought the building she lives in and secretly had a few upgrades done. I had cameras installed, better lighting outside, and security guards placed at all the entrances. A couple of the guys I had watching the area knew to be on the lookout for her, but I didn’t mention her name. I just said she was a distant cousin to a family member and was staying there temporarily. Which is true. She won’t be in that dump much longer.

I also went to her telemarketing job and spoke with the owner. I pretended to be a headhunter checking for work references on Thea, and they offered up everything they had on her so easily I nearly lost my shit. I kept my cool, though, and learned all that I could and paid them for their time and services. If they seemed at all surprised by this, they didn’t act like it and pocketed the money without another word.

As soon as I left, I contacted my tech guy to hack in and erase any data the company had on her. Fucking idiots just gave me her life in a folder without so much as a glance at an ID.

I didn’t go into her waitressing job, but instead watched her from outside. She kept to herself and worked her fingers to the bone every night. It made my chest ache to watch it that first night.

I followed her on the train home but stayed in a different compartment and kept my distance. That first night, after she was safely in her home, I ordered Chinese for her and had it delivered. She tried to refuse it, but I paid the guy an extra fifty to tell her it was for her and it was taken care of.

Now every night, I have food sent to her home. She stopped trying to refuse after a few days, but I keep wondering if she knows it’s me. I wonder if there’s a place inside of her that knows I’m taking care of her. Just like I said I would.

At the end of every night I wait outside her building until I watch her light go out. After that, I head home and think about her until I fall asleep. I can’t hold back much longer, and each day that passes, I become less and less patient.

I pull up in my usual spot that’s close to the old house she works in but not close enough for her to notice me. A Maserati sticks out in a neighborhood like this, but she hasn’t so much as glanced in its direction. One day I’m going to talk to her about being aware of her surroundings.

I’m early, but I never mind the wait for her to leave. Some days I follow her on foot to the train station and ride it with her. Some days I wait until she gets on and then drive straight to Rita’s. I strum my fingers on the steering wheel as the clock ticks by.

When she’s five minutes late, I get annoyed.

I get out of my car and pace a little closer, thinking that maybe I can see if there’s a meeting or something happening inside.