Page 456 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I pull my arm away from him, my throat so tight I can barely breathe. “I heard what you said, you fucking lunatic,” I hiss. “Don’t ever touch me again or you’ll lose that hand.”

He chuckles. “Such a badass. I like that fire in you. I’m gonna have to figure out a way for us to work together again. I need someone like you on my crew. Face of an angel and tongue of a viper.” His hand grazes the top of my thigh. “I’d like to see what else you can do with that tongue, too.”

His touch scorches my skin and not in the good way. “I said take your fucking hands off.” I grab his hand and sink my teeth into the flesh as hard as I can until he yelps and yanks it away from me.

“You stupid bitch.” His blue eyes darken. “I’ll kill you if you ever try something like that again.”

I narrow my eyes. “Bring it on, asshole. I’m good at one thing. Killing. So try me.” I shove the car door open and stomp into the hotel, not looking back once. I keep my teeth gritted because the gravity of the situation I’ve stepped into is dragging me into the pits of hell.

I’ve always teetered on the brink, but always managed to steady myself before plunging into the fiery depths.

Tonight, though, I’m consumed in flames, and there’s no lifeline dangling over me.

I’m on my own.

Either I figure out how to pull myself out or I perish.

Those are the alternatives.

My shoulders quake as I hurry through the casino and I hear someone call my name.

Dammit.

This is not a good time at all for a little girl talk!

“Anya!” Dottie says, waving me over. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Are you okay, dear?”

I gasp for breath and shake my head. “No,” I whisper. “I’m not.”

“You’re so pale. Do you need anything?” She takes a tentative step forward as if she’s contemplating her next move, and then she wraps her arms around me.

And it feels so nice and warm and comforting.

My life is none of those things, so I bask in the novelty of it all, knowing that I need to have a very difficult conversation in the next few minutes.

I can use all of the comfort I can get since I am on the verge of being alone again.

More loss.

More devastation.

I honestly don’t know how much more I can take.

The lies, deceit, and misery — my God, it’s killing me, slowly and tormentingly.

I breathe Dottie in, the scent of her flowery perfume filling my lungs. She rubs a hand down my back and I hug her.

The last real hug I had was the day Maks was killed.

I’d had a bad day and I remember him gathering me in for a big bear hug.

My brother always watched over me and made me feel protected.

I haven’t had that in so long.

But somehow Dottie knew exactly what I needed before going to find Dante.

I pull away, a smile on my face. “Thank you,” I murmur, giving her hands a squeeze. “I needed that.”

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