RUTHLESS KING

29 PAINTING THE STREETS RED

Luca
Tony eyes me as we walk up Canal Street toward the Red Dragon. “You
sure about this, capo?”
I pat my old friend on the back and toss him a teasing grin. “What’s the
matter, Tony, are you going soft?”
“Of course not.” He drags his palm over the back of his neck. “I just
don’t think you should poke the bear in his den. Especially after all the shit
that’s gone down in the past few weeks.”
“If Jianjun has something to say to me, he can say it to my face. Right
now, he’s not the one I’m interested in.”
“You really think Bo will just hand over this supposed sex video?”
My hands curl into fists at my side as a surge of anger floods my
system. It’s bad enough I even have to think about that asshole’s hands on
my girl, but now there’s a video? Just the thought makes me want to rip
Bo’s spine out from his throat and paint the Red Dragon in his blood. “I
have to find out if it’s true,” I growl. “Jones already had all the
inappropriate comments deleted, and he’s having the story monitored for more. But if there is a video ….” I can’t even complete the sentence. Bile
creeps up my throat at the idea of his hands on her, on my princess.
The red and gold awning of the Red Dragon looms closer, those stupid
Chinese lanterns swaying on a breeze, and I pick up my pace, anxious for
this to be over. The pair of ruby dragons sneer down at us, and I hurry up
the stairs, each step intensifying my rage.
I whip the door open, and Tony quickens his step to meet my angry
strides. A hostess stands at the podium, and her crimson lips slide into a
smile. The hustle and bustle of lunch hour hums along behind her. Damn it.
The few times I dragged my ass over here were during non-business hours.
This thing with Stella is driving me so mad I hadn’t even realized what time
it was. “Welcome to Red Dragon—”
I raise my hand, cutting her off. “I’m here for Bo Zhang. Tell him
Signor Valentino needs to have a word with him.”
Her eyes widen, that flash of fear in her gaze only stoking the burning
rage in my core. Be afraid, be very afraid. She spins on her heel and
scrambles between the tables of the packed dining room.
From across the room, my gaze lands on the far corner table. Jianjun
and the two other leaders who make up the Triad. Tony nudges his elbow
into my ribs. “You see that, capo?”
“Mmm.”
“You think they’re going to let us walk in here and beat the shit out of
Jianjun’s son?”
“I don’t really give a fuck.” I lick my lips and slide my hand behind my
back. My fingers settle on the cool metal of my handgun. I’ll put a bullet in
each of those figli di puttana if I don’t get what I want.
The hostess stops at Jianjun’s table and dips her head. As she whispers
something, all three pairs of dark eyes slant in our direction. I respond with
a shit-eating grin. “I want Bo,” I mouth across the room. Jianjun’s eyes narrow before he whispers something to the girl. She
scampers down the hall into the back room, and seconds later, reappears
with that bastardo Bo at her side.
Tony stiffens beside me, and without looking at my right-hand man, I
already know he’s reaching for his gun.
The old man crooks a finger at his son and mutters something in his ear.
Whatever he says pisses him off. Bo glares at me from across the room,
burning hatred lancing through that shifty gaze. A faint shadow still darkens
the skin beneath his eye, and a scar bisects his upper lip from our run-in at
the subway station. He stalks closer, and I revel in the anger twisting his
features.
I school my expression to neutrality, waiting for that lethal, icy calm to
wash over me. It’s that control that has allowed me to get where I am today
and continually climb higher.
Bo reaches us and jerks his chin at the door. “Let’s take this outside.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Tony answers and unbuttons his jacket,
revealing his revolver.
Bo’s jaw tightens, the faint flicker his only tell. Does he have any idea
what’s coming for him today? He marches down the steps then turns at the
corner to the alley behind the restaurant. His cousin Feng and another guy,
one of the idiots from the Heart Ball, stand in the shadows.
“So what brings you here today, capo?” Bo’s busted lip snarls around
the last word.
I tilt my head to the side, the sharp crack making Feng flinch. I can’t
help the smile his reactions brings. I step closer to Bo, so close his loud ass
cologne makes my nostrils twitch. “I’ve heard a disturbing rumor that a
video of you and Stella may exist?”
The asshole grins so wide it takes every ounce of restraint not to knock
his teeth in. “You still fucking my leftovers?” My hand juts out, fingers wrapping around his throat before his men can
move a muscle. Tony pulls out his gun and trains it at Bo’s head. “I already
warned you what would happen if you talked about her like that.”
I apply more pressure to his Adam’s apple. He still smirks, but his throat
bobs like mad beneath my thumbs.
“I’ll snap your windpipe right now, Bo. Tony will take out these two
idiots before either of them make a move. Is that what you want?”
“You’ll start a war,” Feng hisses.
“Maybe it’s time for the unavoidable.” My voice is deceptively calm.
Inside my blood boils at this asshole’s disrespect. Of all the men Stella
could’ve been with, why this testa di cazzo?
“What do you want?” Bo rasps out.
“I want the truth. I need to know if such a video exists.”
Again, that fucking smile.
“Don’t!” I snarl.
“Don’t what?” The grin falters as I squeeze harder.
“Don’t even think about her, about the two of you together.” Crimson
seeps into my vision, my chest rising and falling faster. Dio, I can’t fucking
handle the image. The two of them together coalesce in my mind, the
sickest torture. “Damn it, Bo. Does it exist or not?”
Tony cocks the gun and presses the barrel to Bo’s temple. “Answer the
man, coglione.”
Feng and the other guy both go rigid.
“Is there a problem here, Luca?” Jianjun’s withered voice snakes
through the thick silence.
“Nope, no problem,” I answer without turning. “I’m just trying to get an
answer from your son.”
The old man hisses something in Mandarin.
Bo heaves out a breath. “No.”
“No what?” I hiss. “There’s no video.”
“You sure?” I press my thumbs into his throat, and he chokes on a
breath.
“That prude would never let me tape her,” he pants. “The few times she
did let me fuck her she just laid there in the dark, under the covers.”
I swallow down the fury as more images rush through my mind. This
motherfucker didn’t deserve her, not for a second. My fingers tighten, and
Bo’s face glows a satisfying crimson.
“Luca …,” Tony warns.
Dio, I want to end him. But damn it, Feng is right. I’d start a war, and
I’d only end up putting Stella in harm’s way.
“Lascialo!” he grits out.
I’ll let him go when I’m damned good and ready. I sear my gaze to his,
eyes narrowing. “I warned you at the ball, and I’ll do it one more time and
that’s it. Erase Stella from your mind, don’t think about her, don’t talk about
her, and most importantly never lay a hand on her. If I find out you so much
as breathed around her, I’ll choke the life out of you and everyone you’ve
ever met. Capisci?”
“Yeah, I got it, man.”
I slowly release my hold on his throat, and Tony lowers the gun from
his head.
As I turn away, he mumbles under his breath, “That pretty little thing
must be putting out a lot more for you than she ever did for me.”
I whirl around and slam my fist into his throat. He staggers back,
choking and spluttering. Feng and the other guy move in, but Tony’s gun
makes a hasty reappearance and the cowards back off.
“Enough,” Jianjun calls out. “Signor Valentino, you’ve made your point.
Now leave or I will have you removed from my property.”
I finally turn around to face the old man. “I appreciate your
understanding, Jianjun. I believe I’ve already made it abundantly clear to your son, but I have a feeling he’s a bit hard of hearing, so I’ll repeat it to
you.” I stalk closer until I can make out the wiry gray hairs in the leader of
the Triad’s long beard. “Stella Esposito McKenzie is mine. Anyone talks
about her or looks at her the wrong way, I will take it as an act of war. Are
we clear?” I punctuate each of my final words with venom.
He offers me a tight smile. “Crystal.”
“Perfetto.” I march out of the alley with Tony at my heels, my heart a
little lighter.