He took his time before responding. “I promise you’ll never see me again.”
And that was all I wanted.
“So… do we have a deal?” he asked.
I nodded, my eyes burning with fresh tears.
Tony sat in his chair again. “Go back to your room. Clean yourself up. Rafael will come get you and take you to Carlo.”
I walked toward the door like I’d been hypnotized. Before opening it, Tony’s voice stopped me one last time. “And if you think telling Carlo the truth will win you his protection, think again. TheWife-killerdoesn’t exactly have a soft spot for women. Both of his previous wives killed themselves a few months after marrying him.”
“But you said they died of natural causes.”
“Suicide is natural,” he said with that mocking smile. “And in case you haven’t noticed, Carlo’s like the chief of some old tribal clan. If he gets mad at a message, he kills the messenger first, then deals with the message. So if you talk, you’ll be the first to pay for it.”
“I won’t say anything,” I sighed, then returned to my room. Shutting the door behind me, I collapsed to the floor and cried.
Rafael’s voice came from the hallway.“You have thirty minutes.”
God, these bastards had done everything to me, and now they wouldn’t even let me grieve. I felt like a soldier who’d fought too many battles in one day, and lost every single one. And now, before the next war, I had only thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes to pull myself together. Thirty minutes before facing the deadliest opponent yet. But maybe, if I was capable of blowing up mylife this badly, I was capable of surviving it too.
SIX
Carlo
Aida’s moans blended with the sound of Maxim and Lorenzo’s video game. Those two idiots had been shit-talking and betting on each other the whole ride back, like the underground fights weren’t enough for them anymore. Not that I blamed them; no one lasted more than two rounds before getting their face smashed in.
I bent Aida further over the bar, pressing her face down against the marble as I tightened my grip on her neck. My thrusts turned brutal, pounding into her with zero restraint. I shoved her blonde hair out of her face, wanting to see the wild look in her eyes. The woman moaning under me from pain and pleasure.
Letting go of her neck, I grabbed her hips, lifting her a bit to go deeper. The slap of my balls against her clit lined up perfectly with her cries.
I glanced at the clock. Time was running out. A few deep, punishing thrusts, and I let go, filling the condom. Pretty sure she came for the second time, too.
We were still catching our breath when Giorgio’s voice cut through the haze. “The girl’s here.”
Without pulling out of Aida, I turned my head toward Giorgio to see who the hell he was talking about. It was Emily. Dark hair spilling down like a waterfall. Her face was bare, eyes wide and frozen on me. That bastard Rafael was standing next to her.
“What the hell is she doing here?” I asked that prick.
As usual, that smug smirk was plastered across his face, the one I’d carve off with my knife one of these days. “Tony said she’s the one who screwed up. She’s here to answer for it.”
I pulled out of Aida and tossed the used condom into the trash. Zipped up, cock tucked back in, and turned toward Aida, who was already behind the bar adjusting her skirt. “Pour me a scotch.”
I sat behind the bar and motioned for Emily to take the seat next to me, but she didn’t move. Giorgio, already losing patience, grabbed her arm and gave her a light shove forward. She stumbled a few steps, then hesitated before trying to sit a chair away from me.
I didn’t let her. I dragged the chair beside me out and pointed at it. She obeyed and sat. Her body stiff, shoulders tense, arms close to her sides like she was trying to shrink herself. She was looking at me, but the moment our eyes locked, she flinched and dropped her gaze.
“Tony’s pulled weak-ass shit before, but hiding behind a woman like some scared little bitch makes him the definition of spineless.” I turned to Rafael. “Leave.”
“I’m ordered to stay until you’re done with her.”
I roared, loud enough to make Emily jerk back and jump out of her seat.“I’m the only one in this fucking town who gives orders. Now get the fuck out of my sight, before I feed you to Diablo and watch him tear you to fucking pieces, you piece of shit.”
Maxim and Lorenzo stood up slowly, like two lions who’d caught the scent of blood. Their video game forgotten, they stared Rafael down, waiting for the signal to attack. He finally got the message.
Realizing shit was about to go down, the coward backed off and left the room without another word. Pathetic. Even more so than his boss.
