Page 201 of Vicious Temptation

Of course he did. I expect nothing less from a man as whipped as my father.

“I also spoke to Matteo.”

Any relief I was feeling is gone.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she says, with her mom voice turned all the way up.

Fucking Matteo is a rat bastard.

“Mamá, let me explain.”

“You’re not alone in this world, Remi. There is nothing you could say or do that would ever make me stop having your back.”

Seconds before bright headlights fill my rearview mirror, the growl of an engine sounds behind me. I’d recognize that purr anywhere. A Hellcat woman through and through, Mamá has owned more than a few over the years, but her latest baby is impossible to mistake.

“If you thought I’d let you do this alone, you must not know who I am.”

There she is. Amalia, la mercenaria.

They weren’t exactly bedtime stories, but the ones about her life in Villa Dorada, where she led an all-women mercenary team, were always my favorite.

I can’t help smiling.

“Matteo is a traitor,” I say, unable to keep the humor from creeping into my voice.

“No. Matteo cares about you.” She pauses. “And I threatened his life.”

“That sounds more believable.”

“When Santino called me about his cleanup crew going to your garage, I had to use every ounce of patience and understanding I possessed not to come find you and stop you.”

“And you didn’t.”

“No,” she says. “Because I know you need this.” She goes quiet for a moment. “And maybe I need it too. That man fucked with my daughter, and that’s something I’ll never let slide.” Pulling up beside me, she rolls down her passenger-side window. I do the same. “This is all you, Remi, but I’ll be there when you need me.”

I give her a wide smile before she falls back, then follows me off the ramp.

“Run me through your plan. Is he expecting you?”

The mother who called to make sure I was okay is gone, and in her place is the woman from all those stories, already plotting and calculating alongside me.

“I placed an anonymous bet. Pinks and fifty grand. If he’s the greedy bastard I know he is, he’ll show up.”

“Are you sure?” she asks.

“I have sources, and it’s basically a guarantee.”

I walk her through the rest of my plan. The lot has too many witnesses, but I know the route to the bridge well enough to pinpoint exactly where the cameras and crowds disappear. All I have to do is get Rafe out there, isolate him, and kill him.

It’s simple enough.

Then I’ll be home in time to fall into Thiago’s arms or to ride his face. Either option is valid, and either sounds like the perfect way to end a chaotic day.

By the time we reach Furia, the energy is electric. The crowd looks twice as big as it normally does on a night like this, and my phone hasn’t stopped vibrating for the past twenty minutes. Everyone’s talking about the anonymous bid.

I had to leave my GT-R at home because the moment I pulled into the lot, everyone would know exactly who I was. Tonight, I brought out the big guns with a matte-black, stripped-out R35 I’ve been saving for a rainy day.