Page 96 of Sixth Sin

“Careful, Miss DeLuca. I’ve made a very lucrative career from destroying people’s lives.”

She whips back around, eyes blazing. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact.” Now that I know her game, my voice is dangerously calm.

I’ve been accused of money mongering all my life. Most of the time, the accusations were true. This time, well, I’ll let Violet DeLuca think what she wants. Because she means something to Angel, I won’t push back.

Unless she does. Then the gloves come off.

“Angel and I are very happy.” I circle her, her eyes following my every move. “And we’re going to stay that way, or you and I are going to have a problem. Do we understand—”

“Vi!”

We both turn around as Angel comes barreling through the door, her arms open and a smile on her face I haven’t seen in months. She crashes into Violet, wrapping her in a hug so tight, I’m not sure either of them can breathe.

Violet squeezes her just as fierce. I watch. I study. And as Violet’s eyes shift my way, I warn. Don’t do it.

“Rook, I thought you were on set?”

Angel breaks their embrace and waves her hand. “Noah came down with food poisoning, so I shot a few scenes without him, and the director called it a day.”

Wonderful. A full day at home. Just Angel and Violet.

As I count up all the things that could go wrong, Angel squeals and hugs her again. “I can’t believe you’re here! How long are you staying?”

“Only a couple days, if it’s okay with you.”

Days? What the fuck?

Gritting my teeth, I will her to look at me, but the bitch purposely ignores me.

“Okay?” Angel squeals again, and this overly perky attitude is starting to grate on my nerves. “Stay two days, two weeks, two months.” For the third time, she pulls her into a crushing hug. “God, I’ve missed you.”

Finally, Violet casts a quick glance my way, a smirk playing on her mouth.

This whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It’s a grenade waiting to explode, and that Crayola-haired bitch is going to be the one to pull the pin and blow us all to hell.

Breaking their embrace again, Angel’s face lights up. “Oh, we should all go to Amalia for dinner.”

“You two have fun,” I tell her, forcing my way in between them, because, fuck you, Violet, she’s mine. “I have a lot of work piled up.” I start to give her a kiss on the cheek but change my mind and take her lips instead. It’s a demanding, unapologetic kiss, and Angel lets out a nervous laugh when I finally let her go. “We’ll catch up tomorrow.”

The last thing I hear just before I walk out of the room is Violet’s whispered voice. “Count on it.”

I see it coming as soon as I open the door. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“I’m not in the mood, Milly—back off.” I push past her, ignoring the curious stares of my former employees as I storm into my office and collapse into my chair.

Of course, she doesn’t listen. The door doesn’t even close before she’s barreling through it like a mini cyclone, crossing her arms over her chest in front of my desk. “Who peed in your Cheerios?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose in an attempt to ward off the headache brewing behind my eyes. “The ghost from dive bars past.”

Sighing, she plops down in one of the two chairs in front of me. “Dom, why are you still with her? You got the money. Rosten’s off your back. All you’re doing is drawing more attention to yourself. You can get laid anywhere. Why her?”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Does this have anything to do with that detective?”

I still, slowly lifting my gaze over my fingers. “What detective?”

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