Listening to my father hold court is like watching paint dry. He’s in his element when he’s surrounded by sycophants. Remington stands back, listening and nodding like a poodle, while Santini puffs his chest up and smirks every time he catches my eye.
Since I don’t give a fuck about being here, I stay well back, sipping my black coffee and counting down the minutes until I can leave.
A hired serving girl passes Santini with a box of Cuban cigars. He grabs her ass, making her squeak in alarm. My temper ratchets up a few more degrees. The man is disgusting. Way too much like my father for comfort.
After a while, he makes his excuses and heads toward the door. Dad’s distracted, so when he slips away, I follow.
The corridor is empty. Santini stops to check his phone, so I put on a burst of speed before he can enter the nearby guest bathroom.
“What the fuck?” he snarls when I press my gun to his neck and drag him into a small reception room Dad never uses.
Santini barely fights back as I kick the door closed behind us. I shove him toward a corner table and slam his face down against the polished wood.
The light from a small table lamp highlights the sweat beading on his brow. Despite his bluster, the bastard is shitting himself.
Dad always implements a ‘no-weapons’ rule for social events. It helps prevent unpleasantness, he says. Naturally, that rule doesn’t apply to me, but even without a gun in my hand, Santini wouldn’t stand a chance.
He’s a big guy, but I’m taller, and more importantly, I’m used to fighting whereas he grew his muscles in the gym.
He’s no match for me.
“I don’t like the way you treat my sister.” My lip curls in disgust. The man’s an animal.
“It won’t matter what you think when she’s my wife,” he taunts, unable to help himself because despite the gun in my hand, he thinks he’s won.
“Tell me,” I ask curiously. “What are you gaining from this arrangement aside from a wife?” It bothers me how easily he’s accepted a bride contract for letting us use his shipping routes. It makes little sense.
Santini has a reputation for fucking anything that moves. Not once has he shown any signs of wanting to settle down into a life of domestic bliss, so what’s changed?
And why would he be interested in my sister, who is whip-smart as well as stunningly beautiful? The women he usuallygoes for are pneumatic bimbos happy to be his whore in return for a few expensive baubles.
“Serafina will make a good wife,” he grunts while struggling against the hold I have on him. He tries kicking my leg away, guessing I won’t actually kill him in my father’s house.
The safety clicks off, and he goes still.
“You can’t fucking kill me,” he growls. “You need me!”
I laugh. “I can do whatever the fuck I want.” Yes, his shipping routes are useful, but whereas my father believes our business makes millions because of the drug deals we do, our casino hotel chain is now making more than enough money.
Given how many problems I’ve had lately, I’ve decided it will make more sense to move away from dealing with the cartel. Santiago is a loose cannon at the best of times, and I’d rather not end up dead when a deal goes south.
“I’ll ask you again - tell me why you want Serafina.”
There’s a pop when I wrench his arm up higher, forcing the joint out of alignment. An agonized scream echoes around the room.
Fuck me, the man’s pathetic. He wouldn’t last five seconds in the ring. Hell, even Fina could best him, and she’s a fraction of his size.
“Let me go!”
I ignore his pitiful cries.
“One last chance before I end you.” Father’s dogs will enjoy a late-night snack. Those feral creatures love fresh meat.
“Fine!” There’s another sob before he sniffs. “Remington paid me to approach Lorenzo. Then they did their own deal, but I didn’t care about that. Your sister is a hot piece of ass, and I look forward to sinking my cock into her tight little cunt before I—”
Blood and brain matter spray all over the priceless 17th-century silk wall hanging above the table. I step back, grimacingat the mess as I survey what’s left of Santini.Fuck.Dad’s going to be pissed, but that’s not my concern right now.
What did Remington possibly stand to gain from paying Santini to approach my father and why has he done a deal with Remington?
