Page 53 of Savage Claim

I tried to swallow again, but my mouth was so dry that it took a couple of tries. “You won’t come second,” I promised breathlessly.

His smile was sharp and a touch cruel. “That’s right,” he praised, and then his lips were on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on as he plunged his tongue into my mouth. “Do I need to show you who you belong to,dolcezza?”

God, would I everstopwanting him? It didn’t feel like it. All it took was his lips or hands on my body, and I completely lost myself.

“Yes,” I murmured pitifully, cringing on the inside at the way I became a puddle in his arms.

He smirked. “Go sit on my desk, then,” he said. “Be a good girl for me.”

I could do nothing but comply.

CHAPTER 33

Lorenzo

Iwas going to pull my fucking hair out. “What are you saying, Miriam? The Feds are actually investigating me?”

Special Agent Miriam Tucker had been working as eyes for the Cosa Nostra for years, and while I appreciated what she did for us, anytime she called was instantly stressful. “We’re investigating the casino and the fire in the Bronx. The bombs were made by the same person.”

That stopped me. Alfie was a crazy motherfucker, but he had always been loyal. If he was branching out from the Cosa Nostra to sell his little innovations, it was a serious problem. “How sure are you of that?”

“The boys with the bomb squad are certain,” she said. “The people who build them usually have a signature of some kind, and the bombs in both locations matched.”

“Vaffanculo,” I muttered under my breath, pinching at the bridge of my nose. When I got my hands on Alfie, I was going to break his neck. “So, what are they going to say? That I blew up my own property for the insurance?”

Agent Tucker sucked her teeth. “That’s the going theory right now.”

I swore again. “And the fire in the Bronx?” When she fell quiet again, I knew it wasn’t going to be good news. “Miriam.”

“The building belonged to Efram Volkov. His body was found in the wreckage. Another building, belonging to his older brother Artem, was set ablaze not too long ago. Artem is associated with the Russian Syndicate. It won’t be hard to make the connection between them.”

I needed to hang up my phone before I threw it at the wall. “As long as you’re not the one making the connection, right, Miriam?”

“Of course not,” she insisted. Her voice came out in an indignant squeak. “Haven’t I always been loyal to you? Why would I call and tell you all of this if I was making moves against you?”

“All right,” I said, cutting off her babbling. “I believe you. But, Miriam?”

“Yes, Don Vitali?” She sounded meek now, almost like she was mewling at me, and while the sound of it dug into my skull, I needed her to be afraid of me.

“If there is a shred of that story that isn’t true,” I said, “if I get wind that you’re singing my name to the higher ups, there won’t be big enough pieces of you to identify. Understand?”

Miriam whimpered, “I understand,” and the line went dead.

There was a thud out in the hallway, and I turned to see Gemma’s terrified face in my doorway. Fucking bitch was spying on me. I watched her eyes widen as I went after her; she didn’t get far before I had her pinned to the wall of the hallway.Her pulse thudded beneath my palm. “Did you hear enough, Gemma?” I growled in the girl’s face, squeezing down until her face turned a violent shade of red. “Did you find out what you wanted to know?” Tears filled her eyes, and she clawed at my hands and arms uselessly. The sting of her nails digging into me barely registered.

“What the hell are you doing?” Isabella yelped, and distantly, I heard her footfalls as she ran down the hallway towards us. Isabella grabbed at my arms and pulled. “Let her go,” she demanded. When I didn’t, and Gemma’s lips started to turn blue, Isabella reared back and slapped me as hard as she could across the face.

The hit rocked my face to the side. It didn’t hurt, but the slap was just hard enough that I let go of her sister. Gemma dropped to the ground, spluttering and coughing and trying to scramble away, but my focus was on Isabella now. The adrenaline that had driven me to anger and violence shifted, and I pushed Isabella against the wall where her sister had been.

“Dolcezza.” There was no fear in Isabella’s eyes. Instead, she was furious. Her face was flushed red; her chest rose and fell with her heavy, angry breathing.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she demanded.

“She was spying.”

I watched as Isabella remembered the first time she’d stuck her head into my office without being asked, and how I’d come after her with another man’s blood still on my hands. She tsked. “I’ll bet you that she had no intention of spying,” she said. “You left your office door cracked, and she looked in. If you didn’t want anyone doing that, keep the damn door shut.”

I stared at her for a breath, and then shook my head with a scoff. “Fucking brat.”

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