Page 35 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“Yes.”

“She’s got a reputation, Matty,” he says, finishing the donut. “She looks sweet, but she’s got bite. There’s a rumor?—”

“I don’t care about rumors.”

“—that she’s way more deadly than her brother. And she’s Irish. Those motherfuckers are some of the stubbornest bastards I’ve met. They’ll fucking blow themselves up along with you just to get revenge.”

I smile. I’m looking forward to clashing with her. “I’ll make sure to keep explosives away from her.”

“That face you have right now, it’s lustful.”

I shrug. “If I can’t convince you of my lust for my future bride, then this alliance is screwed.”

“Matteo.”

“Roman, her father thinks he’s got the upper hand. He thinks I want his daughter because I can’t resist her. And that makes me look weak. I want him to think I’m weak. Because once this is set, I’m in the driver’s seat. I get everything that’s his.”

“Heaven isn’t going to like that.”

“There’s a very fine line between love and hate, and there’s no middle ground for ‘like.’” I smile slowly. “I’ve got that line under control.”

“Uh-huh. It wasthatgood?”

“If I have to keep repeating myself, we have a problem, Roman,” I say, tapping my fingers against the cup. “I didn’t fuck her. I didn’t need to. And this will go down without a hitch.”

“Do you think her father’s convinced that you’re the right guy for the job?”

I lift an eyebrow. “He already knows he’s royally fucked. I didn’t have to do much convincing.”

He gives me an expectant look.

“Romo, I’m fixing his problem, and he’s thinking he’s fixing mine—and controlling me—by giving me his daughter.”

Roman’s a good kid. Smart, hardworking, and loyal to a fault. He always gets the job done, no matter what it is. And he doesn’t question shit, unlike my other brothers, Dante and Sergio. I swear, sometimes I’d rather deal with my enemies than handle their messes.

“You know what you’re putting on the line by getting involved with the Mulligans, don’t you?” He drains his coffee.

“Yeah.” I know all too well, and if I make one single mistake and trust the wrong person, it won’t just be me who gets fucked.

“It can blow up all over us, Matty.” He frowns. “And you know I’m not afraid of going into battle, but there’s a lot of risk with this whole plan of yours. If Mulligan changes his mind, or she changes it for him?—”

“Not happening.”

“—then everything you’ve built will crumble. We’ve seen it before.”

“I know. But that won’t happen.” Then I say the magic words. “Trust me.”

“Always. You know that. Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll make the arrangements.”

I smile. “I want to set something up. Make it really clear the threats against them are real.”

“I’m not going to ask why. But what are we doing?”

A plan is forming. “Upping the ante. If we put people in danger, it’s going to play into Mulligan wanting to really protect his sweet little daughter through this marriage. And if he thinks it uses my wheelhouse of influence, all the better.”

“You want someone taken out?”

“No,” I say. “I want them to think the danger caused by Conor is spreading, and the only way to stop that is to give me what I want. Heaven.”

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