“Come on,” I whine. “You're my right-hand man, and you're supposed to do these things for me.”
He laughs loudly and pushes off the weapons table he is leaning on. “This is what I do as your right-hand man,” he says, pointing to Todd. “I clean up your kills; I don’t go to galas.” He grimaces at the word gala.
“Fine, be that way,” I say and flip my hair over my shoulder. “Gage and I will have all the fun.” I check my phone for the time. “Shit. I have to go.”
He shoos me away. “Go. I got this”
I blow him a kiss and run for the stairs leading me to the main house. “Thank you!”
When Micah realized what I was doing, he built my torture chamber for me. The door that leads to it inside the house just looks like a wine cellar when you first enter, with a hidden door. That leads to a hallway with several doors with fingerprint locks. The last door leads to the chamber. My dad never knew what I did in my free time; Micah found out by accident. Instead of judgment, he made sure I never got caught.
This is the only way my mind is clear of everything I have ever gone through. I go after the assholes like the ones who raped and tortured me. Some people go to therapy. I murder.
As I round the corner into the house, I run into Gage’s chest. “Whoa,” he chuckles, grabbing my shoulders to steady me.
“Sorry,” I say and take off running again. “I’m late! Gala with me in two weeks, so have a tux ready!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he yells back.
Gage is not someone you would expect to be involved in the Mafia. Brown, thick wavy hair over ice blue eyes. Perfectly sculpted face. Two diamond studs in each ear. Lean swimmers’ body. Complete pretty boy. But that’s why he works as my date for galas. He looks the part of the spoiled rich boy. No one would ever know this fun-loving guy has a mean streak a mile wide if you pissed him off.
I jump into my black BMW M4, one of the more low-key cars I have, and head to the restaurant to meet Leo.
“Damn, Baby, you look gorgeous tonight,”Leo greets with a kiss on the cheek.
I sit in the chair he pulls out for me, waiting for him to do the same. “You do too,” I reply, looking him up and down. Black button-up over black jeans paired with black boots.
I kept my makeup understated tonight, just black eyeliner in my cat eye and some pink lipstick to make my pouty lips stand out. No foundation for my tan skin, not when I planned to sweat it off.
I slide my black leather jacket off to hang on the back of the chair, and Leo’s eyes zero in on my cleavage.
He folds his arms on the table, leaning closer. “Are you trying to make my cock stay hard through dinner?” He looks me over again. “Because it’s working.”
I chuckle and mirror his pose. “I’ll make it all better after dinner,” I say as I move my tank to the side to tease the edge of my lacey bra.
“Fuck,” he whispers.
I move it back into place when the waiter walks up. “Ms. Poletti,” he greets me with a nod since this is one of the places I frequent, and most people know who I am by reputation. They may not know exactly who I am, but they know I’m important. It’s funny how that level of respect works. I grew up here, so most people knew me through my dad, but I made a name for myself.
Sure, there are rumors we are Mafia, but no one can prove it. We have legit businesses everywhere. Restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, you name it, we own one. We are right on the beach, so we own sea charter businesses, too, which is how we filter in all the illegal shit.
Leo and I order our food and enjoy some light conversation, but our minds are on what we’ll do after dinner. Which hopefully includes being very naked; it’s been way too long.
Serial killers don’t usually have much time for sex.
Our food arrives, and both of us are lost in the deliciousness. This isn’t one of my restaurants, but I love the food here. I’ve tried to poach the chef multiple times, but he’s loyal to the owners, and I can respect that.
“Where’s your mind at?” Leo asks with a teasing smile.
“Just thinking about the food,” I reply, then look through my lashes. “Then you having me for dessert later.”
He unleashes his full megawatt smile, straight white teeth, and a twinkle in his pretty eyes. “Baby, I plan on having you for a full-ass meal later; I’m a hungry man.”
I lean forward again. “Why don’t we cut the shit and just get out of here?” I suggest.
He signals for the check, and we’re on our way to my beach house before too long. I keep it for reasons like this. It’s hard to bring a guy home with a bunch of dudes running around, scaring them off.
“Fuck,”Leo gasps out, pulling away from my mouth.
