Page 543 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Lily pulls away, breathless. “I have to get that. It could be my brother or my dad.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say, watching her rise to her feet and grab her phone from her bag.

“Hello?” she says, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. I watch as she slowly turns in a circle, her hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Her makeup has faded over the past hours, her face the young and seemingly innocent one I first saw at the hotel.

The one that didn’t make me look twice.

Now, I think I could only stop looking if my eyeballs were pulled from the sockets.

And even then, I think they’d find their way back to her.

She’s magnetic, passionate, and unbelievably beautiful, inside and out.

I don’t know how the fuck I missed all that the first time.

Must’ve been sidetracked by the ‘People Suck’ t-shirt.

“Is there anyone else who can go?” Lily asks. “It’s just not really a good time, Allie.”

A short pause follows and Lily’s eyes drop to the pavers lining the patio. “Okay,” she finally says. “Give me twenty minutes.”

She clicks off the phone and turns her dark eyes up at me. “Zeno, I have to go to the shelter. The manager’s car broke down and the other volunteer called in sick. The doctor on call can’t get there for another few hours. There isn’t anyone else to take care of the animals.”

“Are you fucking crazy? You can’t leave. There’s no way, Lil.”

“Look, I understand the concern, but I have no choice. I’m the only one. It’ll be quick, I promise. But I have to go.”

She rushes back into the family room where Bruno, Aldo, and Chloe are congregated.

“Lily,” I call out as she hurries toward the door. “Stop.”

She turns to look at me with a lifted eyebrow. “Look, I get that this seems really stupid, but it’s my job and my responsibility.”

“What’s going on?” Aldo asks.

“Lily needs to get to the animal shelter. But you guys need to sit tight. I’ll take her and bring her right back.”

“Are you insane?” Chloe shrieks. “Lil, you can’t be serious. There are killers out there! You can’t leave!”

I pull out my phone and dial Sergio’s number while Lily tries to calm Chloe down.

“You got something?”

“Not yet. I need to leave for a little while. Lily has an emergency at the animal shelter she works at and I’m gonna take her.”

“This is a bad fucking idea, Zeno. What happens if Rayleigh pulls something while you’re gone, huh? Or the people watching you make a move? Akillmove? Then what?”

I shrug. “Then I’m dead and your problems are solved.”

“Goddammit, Zeno,” he yells. “Why the fuck are you always pulling this kind of shit? Why don’t you ever listen? Why can’t you follow fucking orders for once in your life? Lay low, stay away from Salesi’s daughter, butno. If Alek Severinov finds out what you’re doing…what you did…Jesus Christ,” he mutters.

“Look, it’s who I am,” I say. “And this time, there’s no hell fire to rain down on you. I’m taking the cloud with me.”

“You’d better not fuck up anything with this syndicate, Zeno. We need Salesi. I’ll lock you in the fucking vault if he walks.”

“Serge, don’t get your dick in a twist. We won’t be long. Mike has eyes on Rayleigh. She’s the key.”

I click to end the call and pull my keys from my pocket. Lily gives Chloe a quick hug and takes my hand. I rush her down to the garage and find one of the hotel SUVs. I open the door for Lily and run around to the driver’s side. I turn on the ignition and race out of the lot, stabbing some numbers into the keypad next to the locked exit gate. As soon as they creak open wide enough, I press my foot on the gas and head toward the shelter.

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