Enough with this shit! “Control your man.”
He placed his hand on the back of Michael’s neck and squeezed it. “Baby?” Vitya asked gently.
“Yes, honey?”
Give me a break!So much for friendship. These two had to be all sugary sweet in front of me while Rosa ignored my ass.
“Stop teasing him.”
Michael rolled his eyes and then patted my arm. “I’m sorry, man. You know I’m just teasing.” He paused and then added. “If it helps, I think she was actually thrown for a loop.”
It did, but right now, I couldn't afford to think about my woman; otherwise, I would barge inside her stupid family mansion and kidnap her.
“Is everything ready for tonight?” A change of subject was a good idea. I needed to make sure the plan was in motion. We had no time to waste.
“Yes. Melissa called.”
“Did you tell her?”
Vitya nodded and then took out a white envelope. “She sent this by fax, has some suspects on tonight’s guest list who might have been behind it. She studied all those cases, and she has a feeling we are all missing something.”
“Woman basically discovered America,” Michael said sarcastically. He didn't much like her, but we didn't know why. He refused to elaborate.
“She knows not to get involved, right?”
“Yea, she is not happy about it, but she has to accept that in exchange for having all those names. Her hands are tied.”
“Good.” Even though I asked her for help, she had no business sniffing in my dealings, and had I known the woman would be such a pain in the ass, I’d never have approached her in the first place.
“What about the kid?” Vitya and Michael winced and shared a look. “Bad, Pakhan. I think they permanently damaged his liver, so I’m not sure he’ll be much use unless he has some other talents.” If I could smash Stefano all over again, I would. What he did to the kid was unacceptable, and now his whole life was ruined because of it. “Backstory?”
“Foster care, then streets. Has a girlfriend. Probably a motive for him to win that fight as she is loaded.”
Cursing, I sipped the coffee while my mind absorbed all this information. “Just what we needed, another Romeo and Juliet.” Rubbing my face with my palm, I ordered, “Recruit him anyway. We’ll find him a job. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to the kid.” Then I tore away the seal on the envelope and scanned the names.
My gut never failed me. That was why this list brought nothing but frustration and anger, and my fists clenched.
Whoever hurt my Rosa and had some kind of vendetta against me and Don wasn’t on this fucking list.
Conductor
Exhale and inhale.
In and out. In and out.
Pressing my palms against each other in a Namaste pose, I held my back straight as a bird cheeped above in the trees, and willed myself to calm down and heal with the fresh autumn weather.
The inside of my thigh throbbed painfully from the lacerations I’d inflicted there with a kitchen knife, playing close to the artery, which could have ended fatally for me, but from this came the excitement and adrenalin rush. Momentary bliss blocked the reality in which Dominic and Rosa had spent the night together where he made her body sing. Although no one really knew him in bed, he probably used his best charms for his Rosa.
Charm and skills that were supposed to be mine and mine alone, but he chose another.
Rosa Giovanni had ruined my life, but I almost danced with happiness as the big day was near, and she’d end up in an unhappy marriage, which I’d make sure to turn into hell on earth. I wanted her to know what it was like to beg and pray for just a moment of happiness.
As for Dominic Konstantinov, he’d have to either deal with it or go down with her.
Simply put, there was no third option.
Rosa
