Page 48 of The Mafia's Broken Vows

“I should go,” I say, putting away the weights and straightening.

“Dante. Did you hear what I just said?” The chill in Sal’s voice stops me from brushing him off.

I grab a bottle of water from the cooling rack, condensation dampening my fingers as I twist off the cap “What?”

“I asked you if you thought Benjamin O’Shea was lying when he claimed his daughter was betrothed?”

“Who cares what that lying prick said?” Even if he wasn’t Irish, Benjamin O’Shea remains high on my shit list. What kind of father keeps his daughter in the dark and lies to her every single day? “Why do you ask?”

“Because in the last three weeks, there has been a flurry of activities in Boston.”

I grunt, not bothering to ask Sal how he knows. Sal lives and breathes intelligence. From bugs to hacked communications to a robust network of spies.

“Do you know why the Mob is getting restless?” Sal pushes, and I tense. From his tone, I know I won’t like his next words.

“Why are they restless?”

“Because there are rumors that you plan to break the treaty. To take Red Wine.”

Fuck. Someone has been talking. Only seven people were there that night, including the pilot, Addy, and me.

I huff out a laugh, hoping it doesn’t sound as hollow as it feels. “Why the fuck do the Irish think they know what I’ll do?”

“Is it true, though?” Sal prods.

“I’m not a fucking caveman, Sal,” I say, deflecting. “If there’s going to be any taking, she’ll be a willing participant.”

“Sure. Well, in any case, Boston is beefing up their ranks as if gearing up for a world war. And you know there’s no one on earth they hate more than us. We’re talking negotiating alliances. Setting wedding dates.”

And finally, I see where Sal is going. He’s telling me Addy could be married soon. The question is, why he’s telling me this?

“It’s not possible. Sal, Addy doesn’t even know who her father really is. She won’t be marrying any mobster soon.”

“You forget that the Mob and their affiliates don’t require a courtship or even voluntarily said vows, to seal their deals. Only a consummation.”

The thought hits me like a tornado, and my vision goes red. Cool water sloshes over my hand as the bottle crumples in my grip.

Over my fucking dead body.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think Sal was warning me not to violate the treaty. Quite the contrary. He’s telling me that I’m running out of time.

Unable to continue that line of thought without getting violent, I snap, “I’ll see you tonight, Sal.”

I disconnect the line, the only sound in the gym my ragged breathing, and Black Sabbath blaring through the speakers. My heart aches like a raw wound, the anger a living thing inside me, consuming me from the inside out as I contemplate the implications of Sal’s words.

I need to move, to do something, anything to release this fury. I head into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes as I go. The icy spray shocks my system, but it’s exactly what I need to clear my head.

Yet, even as the frigid water numbs my skin and cools my anger, my cock remains rock hard and throbbing with rage and need.

Addy is mine. All mine. I clench my jaw against the surge of arousal that courses through me.

I brace a hand against the marble wall of the shower, emitting a groan as I cup my heavy sac. I let my fist slowly slide up and down my rigid length. What happened three weeks ago was just a small taste; I need more. We both do. A proper reunion is long overdue.

I’ll have to pay her a visit right after my meeting with the Senator. And tonight, there’ll be no holding back. I imagine her soft, pliant body writhing under me, with those too-full breasts and tight, rosy nipples. But it’s that pink scar running down between the twin swells that calls to the darkness in my soul. It’s the most potent aphrodisiac I never knew existed.

Christ. It was so hard not to go overboard with her in those three months. She was untouched, yet depraved. Inexperienced but ravenous. It was hard to stay away, but she had such a hair trigger; it was dead easy to get her off just by talking to her.

And when I went to see her. Fuck. She was insatiable. She wanted to try everything. A flash of memory assails me. How she asked to suck on my balls. How she got on her knees and drove me insane until I lost it and came in her hair like an untried teen.

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