Page 62 of Own Me

She shakes her head, and I chuckle. "Liar."

Another shrug, which I assume is her way of telling me to think whatever I want.

"I'm no evil man,ciliegina mia—-"

She skids to a stop and turns around to glare at me.

Interessante...

"So you think I'm evil?"

She rejects this with an impatient gesture with her hand, and my lips curve.

Ah.

"So you do think I'm evil, but that's not what bothers you. Rather, what you didn't appreciate—-is me calling you my little cherry."

Her fingers curl into fists against her sides, but this only makes me want to provoke her even more.

"Perché?" Why?"Do you doubt that I am the man to pop it?"

Her eyes widen with outrage, but just when she's about to tear her mask off her face to chew me out—-

"Ynez!"

She breaks into a run without looking back, andfuck, fuck, fuck!

I'm fast, but I'm no fucking wolf to track her by scent, and I lose her the moment she joins the sea of girls wearing Boston Says Boo shirts and dancing to the main act up on stage.

FUCK!

I waste no time in trekking up to the main house, and Cesare is visibly surprised to see me come barging inside our security room in the basement.

My brother swings around to face me, and behind him is a wall of monitors showing real-time footage of what's taking place outside our property. The cameras installed inside that people see are all dummies; what we do here is our business alone, and even if that means not having video evidence of any instance we're under attack, it's a risk that our famiglia is willing to take.

"È successo qualcosa?" Did something happen?

"I'm looking for a girl."

The worry on Cesare's face immediately turns into exasperation, and I shake my head, saying, "This one is different."

"You've never said that about the others, I'll give you that." My brother's tone, however, remains slightly skeptical, but I take no offense since he's only stating the truth. Women are nothing but objects for hire in my life, and for the large part, I know it's the same for all of my brothers...except Giancarlo, of course.

I throw an impatient look at the other guys on duty, asking, "Who's in charge here of admissions?"

Cesare points to a younger man seated at the back, and the latter straightens nervously in his chair."Sì, signore?"

"How many guests namedYnezdo we have registered?"

His fingers tap furiously on the keyboard. "Just...one,signore."

"Email me everything you have on her."

"Sì, signore."

My phone vibrates in my pocket a moment later, and after just a few clicks, I finally know what my little cherry looks like.

Ciao, ciliegina mia.

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