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“You didn’t think Natalia would fuck me, either, but she did.” Wizard reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. “Eventually, she’ll realize I’m her only option.”

Doom gave him a pitying look. “How are you her only option? Natalia is a beautiful woman.”

“Because I plan to take out any motherfucker who tries to stand in my way.”

CHAPTER 37

TANGLED

Rubbing her temples, Natalia considered ignoring the knock on her office door. All she had wanted was one peaceful hour to complete her paperwork before heading to the kitchen to start preparations for lunch service.

It had been a futile hope. She hadn’t been there ten minutes before one employee came in to quit, followed by two more in quick succession.

She might as well get it over with.

Taking a steadying breath, she called for the person to come in.

Her hand tightened around her pencil when she saw Marco.

“Did you come to quit, too?”

Marco’s woebegone expression shifted to surprise. “I would never quit,” he stated solemnly. “I came to offer to take some extra shifts if you need me to until you find replacements for Cara, Nora, and Nico.”

Her eyes filled with grateful tears. “I’ve already taken care of their replacements. Nina and Carlo will be moving from part-time to full-time. Thank you for the offer, though. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

Blushing to the roots of his hair, Marco began tugging at the collar of his pristine white shirt. “Whatever I can do to help, just let me know.”

“I will.”

Once Marco left, she returned to revising the work schedule. She was printing it out when the door opened, and her brother barged in wearing a worried frown.

“Why didn’t you call me about the van being vandalized?”

Carrying the paperwork, she returned to her desk. “How did you find out?”

“Marco told me when I asked why there was a rental van in the delivery spot. I wanted to know how a brand-new van could have broken down so soon. He told me you hadn’t rented it because yours had broken down—it was because yours had been vandalized,” Rocco explained. “He shouldn’t have been the one to tell me. You should have.”

“I was going to tell you when I had time. I’ve been busy. A few employees quit this morning, and I thought making sure their shifts were covered was more important.” She tapped a finger against the paperwork she had just laid on her desk. “You were next on my agenda.”

Somewhat mollified, Rocco dropped into the chair in front of her desk. “Do you know who did it?”

“Not yet.”

“What are the police saying?”

“Nothing. I didn’t call them,” she admitted, inwardly bracing herself for the anger she was certain would erupt from her brother. “Wizard didn’t want me to.” Debating whether to explain why, she decided to be completely honest. “He didn’t want me to leave a paper trail.”

Instead of becoming angry, Rocco gave a vicious smile. “Good. Tell him I want to be there when he confronts them.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “You’re not angry?”

“I would have preferred that you let me take care of the situation, but since Wizard seems to share my mindset, I’ll let it slide.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not going to give me hell about Wizard?”

Conflicting emotions crossed Rocco’s face. “I checked into The Last Riders when Arden started working at the club. They protect their own.”

“The difference is, I don’t belong to The Last Riders. They’re only helping me because I was dragged into this mess by being there.”