Fearless: Mob Boss Book Two (Volume 2) by Michelle St. James Page B

receptionist—a leggy brunette—showed him into John’s office. He had no way of knowing if it was intentional discourtesy or just more of John’s obliviousness about family protocol, so he took deep breaths while he followed the brunette to an office at the end of a long, carpeted hall.
    Angel needed John. And that meant Nico would do whatever it took to get what they could from him.
    The receptionist opened the door with a smile, then waited until Nico walked through it to close it with a quite click.
    John stood behind a modern desk, the streets of Hollywood humming on the other side of the giant window behind him.
    “Nico!” he said, coming around the desk with a smile. “So nice to see you.”
    “It’s been a long time,” Nico said as they embraced.
    John patted his shoulder. “It has.” He gestured to the two upholstered chairs in front of the desk. “Please, sit.”
    John Lando was a small man with a soft face and eyes the color of sand. Everything about him was unremarkable, and Nico marveled again that John somehow found himself head of the LA family. It’s true what people said; it really wasn’t what you know, but whom.
    Nico took a seat and looked around the room as John made his way back behind his desk. It was more generic than Nico would have expected, with gray carpet and furniture that was obviously expensive but far from inspiring. Framed movie posters provided the only color in the room, and Nico thought he recognized images from John’s last two films.
    “So what can I help you with, Nico?” John asked when he was settled.
    “I’m looking for Dante Santoro.” Nico had decided to take the direct approach. He had no idea if John was helping Dante in LA, but being direct might throw him off balance enough for Nico to determine if he was hiding something.
    “Dante?” John blinked at him.
    Nico nodded. “He’s off reservation, has taken a hostage. I need to find him.”
    John opened the top drawer of his desk, fidgeted with something inside before closing it and returning his gaze to Nico. “Well, Nico, I’m not really in the know on this kind of thing.”
    “I understand,” Nico said. “But the last call from Dante came from LA. I figured if anyone knew anything, it would be you.”
    He wasn’t trying to flatter John Lando. The man couldn’t care less about being respected outside of the movie industry. Nico was simply hoping to gauge John’s reaction, see if he closed up or distanced himself rather than offering to help.
    “You give me too much credit,” John said. “My time is almost exclusively occupied by my production company. The truth is, Gino Torelli handles most of the family business, an arrangement that works perfectly for me.”
    He wasn’t lying. Gino was John’s Underboss, and rumor had it he handled day-to-day family business so John could focus on his movies. It was a weakness with no real consequence; in LA, the movie business reigned supreme. John wielded far more influence as a film executive than he would as Boss of the LA family. It was probably one of the reasons Dante came out west to stage his coup. The U.S. arm of the Syndicate had been headquartered on the east coast since the late 1800s. A takeover would have met with more resistance there, and Dante may have found help harder to find.
    “That may be true,” Nico said. “But we both know big decisions always go through the man in charge. And that would be you.”
    He held John’s gaze until he broke eye contact, shuffling things nervously around on his desk.
    “I’m sorry I can’t help. I haven’t heard anything about Dante being in LA.” He looked up, his eyes unnaturally bright. He might be the worst liar Nico had ever seen. “But I’m having a little party tomorrow night to celebrate funding on a new project. I don’t usually mix family business with movie business, but you should come.”
    It was a fatal mistake on John’s part. In an effort to deflect Nico’s questions about