Page 96 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“True, yes. But I can make changes. Suffer a little.”

My spine starts to prickle with ice. “You like it easy.”

He leans in close, pointing a finger at me. “I know it was that little prick, Conor. And you do, too. I wanted a piece of their pie. And I know he was there that night in Harlem.”

“This doesn’t change a thing.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’d hoped he’d take a little longer, but this is an easy adjustment. Or should be. I don’t like the nasty gleam in his eye.

“That Conor killed my second?” He shrugs, but that gleam remains. “No, that doesn’t change. I am smart, I suspected that was why you put them under protection so quickly.”

“It’s only a small part. Marrying the daughter comes with protection. Everyone has enemies. Even you.”

“And you.”

“Yes,” I say. “Even me. Difference is, I have better resources. Do not screw this deal.”

“And if I want changes?”

I stare down at him. “The deal stands as is.”

“Not anymore. After talking to you the night at your club, I’ve been thinking about your bride-to-be. A lot.” He pauses. His smile is slow and nasty. “Heaven. I want a slice of Heaven. And I’m gonna take it.”

I force a laugh as the cold grows, spreading through me. “Not on your fucking life.”

“You’re sweet on her.”

“No, but I have plans, and my plans work. We both get everything we want. You wanted Declan gone, you also want the person responsible. And I’ll wrap a fucking ribbon around Conor and hand him to you. But you don’t get Heaven. She’s strategic to my plan.”

“Or your dick. I bet it’s realheavenbetween her thighs. I bet that cunt is tight. But knowing a Mulligan did this, things have changed. It wasn’t only my second who died. Conor killed someone else with his spray of bullets. She just died.” Now his eyes get hard. “Shedied. And I get Heaven. Fair is fair.”

The foreboding grows. But I push it down.

“What are you going on about? Heaven was never on the table as an offering for you.” I never mentioned her specifically, and I know it was a given she’d be part of the Mulligan package, but an unspoken given, which gives me a little leeway to subtly change the deal.

Because I find I don’t want her paying with her life. And I sure as fuck don’t want this monster touching her.

“It’s only fair, Matteo, that Declan’s girl pays up. For the death, you see.” Dominguez looks at me, the hardness making his eyes almost black with grief that’s twisted into ugly and deadly rage. “A daughter for a daughter.”

I had known others had been shot that night. And I should have pushed harder, looked deeper. But I didn’t. And now…

Oh, fuck.

That prick Conor killed Dominguez’s only daughter.

CHAPTER22

HEAVEN

Aunt Maura keeps fussing, her hands nervous butterflies as she adjusts the veil. There’s concern in her expression, just below the surface.

As for me…

I don’t know how I feel.

There’s hope.

But that spot of foreboding has grown, like there’s something lurking at the edges of everything, threatening to bring things tumbling down, things I don’t understand. Because the thing is, Matteo, that hard, dangerous, ruthless man, has been almost loving to me. He’s guided without being heavy-handed, he’s talked things through with me when it comes to my work, helped me see the bigger picture when I’ve wanted to dive into the now and rain fury down.

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