Vengeance: DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

Fourteen

Savio

I hate Luca for telling me not to go straight home. Smart ass. I would rather kill him than admit he's right. Just knowing that Natalia is back on my property lifts a weight in my chest, but that weight has been replaced by the kind of raw anger I try to avoid; I can feel it clouding my judgement.

It only took her a week to break the contract, and for what? I think back to the scene in the basement. If she saw me kill that man, I could understand her feeling afraid. But to bolt? I thought better of her; she is born and bred into violence, as much as she wishes to pretend otherwise. Impulsively, I send her a text message. Just two words. Perhaps the fear of waiting, trying to imagine what I'm going to do, will teach her to respect our contract.

Joe can sense my mood and makes his report quickly and quietly. The clubs are thriving, even without a trace of underground activity to boost the profits. We are planning the five-year anniversary celebration of the opening of my first club, a huge modern structure downtown. The guest list includes celebrities, millionaires, and not a single member of the mafia. But I can't bring myself to consider details like table settings or menus today. I tell him to contact my COO, a woman whose taste is probably infinitely better than mine.

With the party out of the way, I turn my attention to preparing my businesses for my imminent trip to Italy. I instruct my secretary to book a jet for myself, Natalia, Luca, and the rest of the men I'm obliged to bring. At this late notice, international flights are unspeakably expensive, but the cost is entirely negligible for me. The logistics still give me a headache. I have to appoint people to run my businesses in my absence, reschedule meetings and events, and prepare the men I'm leaving behind to help raid Vincente's territory without giving them enough details to leak our plan.

Even when I'm trying to hurry things along, the sheer number of details that need to be addressed drags on for hours, and before I know it the sun has begun to set. I stride down to my car, enjoying the way the girls I pass scatter out of my way. I speed all the way home, unsure if I'm eager to punish her or if I just want to see her face, after thinking I might never get to again. I take a deep breath in the driveway before going inside. Control. It's what distinguishes me from my peers, and it's infinitely more powerful than impulse.

Luca eyes me as I enter. "Where is she?" He jerks his chin upstairs toward my bedroom. Well, that saves me from dragging her there. Feeling his hand on my arm, I squeeze his wrist. "It's ok. I'm fine. Where did you find her?"

"She was standing in the street just outside." This surprises me. I assumed she had run as far and fast as she could, only to be picked up and forced back. "She looked like hell, Savio. She didn't tell me what happened." The thought of anyone hurting her besides me infuriates me. What was the point of trapping her here under my total control when someone else still got to her first? Luca watches me pour three glasses of wine. I hand him one. "Drink that and get out." His lips quirk.

Picking up the other two glasses, I walk slowly up the stairs, making sure my steps are easily heard. The door to my bedroom is pushed mostly shut. I shoulder it open in one smooth motion, then stop, letting it smack the wall and come back to hit me again. She's sitting on the windowsill in a pair of my flannel pajama pants and a tight camisole, staring fixedly outside even though it's mostly dark. My cock was already starting to harden, and her outfit choice and freshly-washed hair send a jolt of electricity through me. Her wary eyes follow me as I slam the door behind me with my foot.

Not taking my eyes off her for a second, I walk slowly across the room and hold out one of the wine glasses. She's already breathing rapidly and shallowly, like a frightened bird, pretending to ignore the glass. I outwait her, standing perfectly still until she sighs and takes it, making sure not to let any of her skin touch mine. I brush a hand over her hair, enjoying her shudder, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. She seems relieved to have me further away.