Read Online BOW DOWN: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Barone Crime Family) by B. B. Hamel - Free Book Online Page B

along, but we’re not winning. We need help. We need resources.”
    She sighed. “I know all this. I still don’t like it.”
    “This is war,” I said as we got onto the elevator. The doors shut and we began to ascend. “We have to do what’s necessary to win. We’re not just fighting for ourselves.”
    “Just promise you won’t compromise what we’re all about.”
    “Never.”
    She nodded once. The elevator stopped and the doors opened.
    “I’m going out.”
    “Good luck.”
    She waved and disappeared outside.
    My phone buzzed in my pocket. I checked it, and saw that I had a missed call from Wyatt. He left a voicemail, so I opened the app and listened.
    I smiled to myself. I went back into my bedroom, got out my laptop, and located his computer. It took me five minutes to break into his system this time. His computer was taken over and I typed my first message.
    “You rang?”
    “I knew you’d do this.”
    “Can’t resist a challenge.”
    “Is that what that was? I thought I was just asking for you to call me back.”
    “What’s the fun in that?”
    “None. You’re totally right.”
    “Glad you think so.” I smiled to myself. “What did you need?”
    “I wanted to meet.”
    “Already?”
    “I want to discuss business.”
    “I didn’t know you were interested.”
    “Of course I’m interested.”
    That was good. I genuinely wasn’t sure if he wanted to team up or not, and part of me was assuming that he didn’t want anything to do with it. I was worried that he was just using me to get what he wanted from me, though I couldn’t tell exactly what that was. Maybe it was just sex, maybe it was something else.
    But now we could stop with the bullshit. We were going into business together, and I knew that was going to work.
    “Good. When and where?”
    “Tonight. Same place that I saw you last time.”
    I paused, frowning. “The house?”
    “Yes. Meet me there at ten.”
    “Fine. See you soon.”
    I disconnected the connection and made sure that nobody had tracked us. Government employees were always being watched by the NSA, but the NSA had too many eyes. It was easy to hide from them if you knew what you were doing.
    I shut down my computer and looked up at the ceiling. I could tell something was happening. I felt like I was on the edge of a breakthrough, but I couldn’t tell in which direction. Something was going to happen, and I hoped that it was because of Wyatt. Maybe the war would destroy us both, or maybe we’d do what we set out to accomplish.
    Either way, things were coming and I could feel them on the horizon.

    * * *
    B rooks parked the car a block away from the house. He looked at me.
    “You sure?”
    “Of course. Wait here.”
    He nodded.
    Brooks was a good solider. Once upon a time, he was a hitman for my father’s people. But when he fell in love with a woman, and she decided to join me, he came over to my side. Ever since then he’d been an incredibly useful man, and incredibly loyal.
    I stepped out of the car and walked down the block. I was a few minutes late, just as I planned. Ahead, I saw that the door to the house was left open. Ethan was sitting on the stoop as I approached.
    “He’s inside,” he said.
    I nodded and went to walk by him.
    “Be careful,” Ethan called out as I went in. “There’s lots of broken glass.”
    I glanced back at him but said nothing. He was just trying to intimidate me. I understood that. My girls did that sort of thing to people I was meeting with. They meant well, but they didn’t realize that people like Wyatt and me didn’t need the help.
    I found Wyatt sitting inside on the staircase. He smiled as I approached.
    “I like this spot,” he said.
    “Why?”
    “There’s something poetic about it.”
    “There’s nothing poetic about sex.”
    He laughed. “No, probably not. It’s dirty, sweaty, and gorgeous.” He stood up. “But that’s not what I meant.”
    I followed him as he walked into the parlor. “The war