Page 488 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Ha. Not tonight.

I’m just here to rescue an unwanted guest and give him a new, albeit temporary, home. I hate that I can’t keep all of these rescues. The shelter keeps them safe and off the streets but they need loving families who will take care of them and cherish them forever.

And I’ve committed to fill that role for as long as I can.

I scour the lobby and see a space cleared in the middle of it, blocked off by obnoxiously bright orange cones. Nothing subtle about that.

There is also caution tape wrapped around the area, just in case somebody was blinded by all the neon. And there are about five guys hovering over the space on the floor. I start to walk toward them and a tall, blonde woman taps me on the shoulder and gives me a long, slightly critical once-over.

“You must be from Animal Rescue,” she says in a clipped tone. “Nice t-shirt, by the way.”

“I am. And thanks. It’s my favorite.” I smile, looking down. “My brother gave it to me.”

Dogs. Because People Suck.

Nico sent it to me as a gag gift a couple of months ago. He doesn’t know it’s become my unofficial uniform.

“It wasn’t really a compliment,” she says with a blatant eye roll, nodding her head toward what looks to be Ground Zero. “The dog is still loose, although we’ve got footage that places it near one of the restaurants.”

Shocker. It must be starving.

“It is also a rather menacing animal,” she continues. From the tone of her voice, I can tell she wants to frown but there must be so much Botox in her face that the movement is impossible. “It is not good for business to have it running around here. We’ve had reports of loud growling and barking.” The woman leans toward me, making sure to wrinkle her nose before continuing. “Security was contacted toescortit out the back after it deposited fecal matter all over the Italian marble floor, but the authorities insisted we contact you to handle it.”

I furrow my brow. Escort. That sounds like code for something else, something I’m pretty familiar with, courtesy of my bloodline. “You can’t just shoot a dog for wandering into your hotel!” I say, my voice rising. “What kind of evil, heartless jerks are you?” My pulse throbs against my neck, fists clenched at my sides. You can’t insinuate that you were about to shoot an innocent dog on my watch. Animals are my people, and I am so ready to go all Wolverine on her plastic ass for even uttering that threat!

“We’re the kind of people who understand perception is key to success. We try to attract a very specific type of clientele.” She narrows her eyes at me. “People unlikeyou. People who don’t want to be inconvenienced by a raggedy animal darting round the casino and ruining their experience. People who actually get dressed up for a visit to the new ‘it’ hotel on the strip. People, whom I am certain, don’t own t-shirts likethat.” She gives a casual shrug. “It’s just a class difference. That’s why people come here. That’s also why youdon’t.”

Oh, now’s she’s done it. And I don’t even care that the dog is tearing this place up! I hope he leaves steaming piles of crap every five feet in this place! I hope it ruins the carpets! I hope all of these women step in it with their red-soled shoes!

“Actually, Idon’tbecause I’m working my way through college and would rather spend my time helping mistreated animals than here, around people like you who have poles shoved so far up their asses that their heads come to a point!” I try to keep myself as composed as possible, but I can feel steam pouring out of my ears as my heart thumps harder and harder. I take a step closer toward her, my hand raised like I’m about to bitch slap her, a grimace twisting my mouth like I’ve just taken a bite of a lemon. The woman has about five inches on me, but I don’t back down. In fact, she does.

I guess she doesn’t want to incite me any further since I may just take a shot at her face and disrupt the hard work of her cosmetic fillers.

And they’re definitely working overtime on her mug.

She jumps back with a loud shriek, holding up her own hands to guard her face. “Ahh! Stay away from me or I’ll call the police!”

I smirk at her. “Wow, that’s all it takes to crack the façade and throw you into a panic? I guess you’re not much into spanking, huh?”

“Do we have a problem here?” A deep male voice vibrates along the back of my neck, rippling through me, and I swing around so suddenly, my ponytail slaps against my cheek. I smooth the front of my t-shirt down without thinking as my eyes tangle with the curious ones of the man staring down at me.

Good Lord.

Suddenly, I do have a problem. A very big one. About six-foot-three, maybe?

My mouth drops as I drink in his tall, dark, and devilish vibe. It instantly intoxicates me in a way I’ve only experienced one time before.

One time, three weeks ago, to be exact.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Zeno.” The look of disdain on the woman’s face morphs into something decidedly more friendly. Very friendly, as a matter of fact. So friendly that she puffs out her chest and forces her boobs forward so they practically pop out of her low-cut blouse. I roll my eyes, the shock of seeing Zeno again not enough to mask my disgust. Could she be any more transparent? “Thisperson,” Bitchy Botox Face says, saying the word like I’m no better than the dog shit piled on the Italian marble floor. “Just tried to assault me.”

I flip around, my eyes wide. “And what was my weapon, exactly? Scathing rhetoric?” I start to shake, exaggerating her bullshit panicked expression and body language as I speak in a taunting, high-pitched voice. “Oh my goodness, Zeno! Save me from the Animal Rescue girl before she opens her mouth again and lets that flaming tongue of hers flap! My virgin ears can’t bear to hear the truth about how snobby and arrogant I am!” I smile sweetly, my voice returning to normal. “Looks like the dog might not be the only bitch here, huh?”

Her eyes nearly bug out, but her forehead remains tight and her eyebrows never move. Snobby, arrogant, and completely numb in the face. “You need to get that disgusting mutt out of here or I will call the authorities,” she hisses. “And do it fast. Our reputation is tarnishing with each passing second that you stand here in that ridiculous and offensive shirt,” she huffs, smoothing back her long hair and flashing a grateful smile at the man behind me.

Anger for this bitchy woman is the only thing distracting me from my Zeno disdain. I grit my teeth. I amsogoing to find her car outside and smear dog shit all over it!

“Rayleigh, I’ll take care of this.” Zeno’s deep, accented voice ripples through me once again, making the skin on the back of my neck prickle. I’m afraid to turn around because if I look into his eyes, I might just melt like a bar of chocolate in the hot sun.

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