Page 36 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I set the cup down on the wet bar. The more the plan solidifies, the more I like it.

Roman stands, too. The playful air gone now. And tension is thick. “A warning and a threat?”

“Yes. I want them so scared, handing her over is the only option to them.”

He frowns. “You want her hurt?”

Do I? That’s something I hadn’t thought of. But no. I want Heaven to step into the marriage…if not willingly, then of her own accord. To protect those she loves. I almost laugh.

“No. I want a rough up, and a message. I want them to feel the danger.”

“If not her, Matteo, then who?”

My smile broadens. “Who do you think? My lovely bride-to-be’s little brother, Patrick.”

I want them to think Dominguez is putting on the pressure. I’ve already said I’m not lifting a finger until I get what I want.

I want the Mulligans to feel it. I want them to think without me somebody other than Conor is going to die. I want to make sure they get that message.

What my brother doesn’t know is that the threat is very real.

And I’m the one behind it all.

CHAPTER6

HEAVEN

Business partner, my ass. He’s a deviant scumbag.

One who made me ache with need. One who knew how to turn me on, exactly how to touch me. I’d have let him fuck me, too. And that burns.

My feet pound the pavement and I round a turn along the East River Greenway, my heart thumping in my chest. I push harder and harder to keep my lead over Patrick.

I make this run every day, and this morning, I convinced my brother to come with me. I figured he’d give me a much-needed distraction from Matteo Villani before I have the displeasure of seeing him again.

Tonight.

The thought makes my stomach flip in a way I tell myself is disgust and hate. I’m just not sure exactly who those feelings are for. Him…or me.

I still can’t believe I gave up control to that man, a money-driven thug who runs sex clubs and fixes problems and wields the kind of power I don’t like or trust. He’s sneaky, and he’s been sitting back for too long, letting everyone in our world relax.

What did people say? As long as you didn’t cross him and paid your dues, then he could make magic happen. All for a pretty fucking penny.

I’ve read about Villani. I looked into him. He owns half of Europe. Now he wants to do business with Dad. And my father is leaping at it.

A man like Villani doesn’t do anything out of the goodness of a heart he doesn’t have. He’ll want something, and—this is what sits uneasily inside me—his payments are sometimes worse than what might happen without buying his influence.

Never trust one who lives in the shadows.

If that’s not a motto, it should be.

When he got to Manhattan, seemingly out of nowhere a year ago, it was blood and bullets and fury and no remorse, and then he settled back, seemingly content with his small stake. He settled back and made money with his services, both in the clubs and outside.

He doesn’t feel like a friendly business arrangement. He feels like a deadly and dark and hostile takeover. The kind you never see coming.

There’s absolutely no way I’m letting my father sign away any part of our legacy to that fucknut. I’m sure Conor is on board with Matteo’s deal because let’s face it, all fucknuts band together. It’s like they can sniff each other out, sensing the scum on each other and realizing they’re one and the same.

Kindred spirits or what the hell ever.

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