Page 546 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“My calendar is pretty full these days,” I mutter. My arm is like lead. I can’t move it or my body, for that matter. “Try scheduling time with my assistant. She might be able to pencil you in, you know, when hell freezes over.”

He lets out a sinister chuckle. “I figured you’d say that, so I did something to convince you that my invitation is not the kind you decline.” He holds up a phone in front of my face, flashing a picture that makes my heart damn-near stop. “I’ll bet that’ll make you clear your calendar pretty fucking quick.”

I expel a sharp breath, an icy cold sensation snaking through my insides as reality detonates like a dirty bomb.

And I’m ground zero.

CHAPTER20

LILY

“We never got to finish our business the other day.”

My jaw drops when I look into the dark eyes of the guy who showed up here the other day. He’d looked so sad the last time.

Now he just looks angry.

“I had to leave suddenly. Sorry about that,” he says, sounding not one bit sorry at all.

“It’s not a problem. I can help you find a new friend, pretty quickly since it sounds like you might be in a rush. I am familiar with all of the animals here and I’m sure we can find the right fit for you!” My smile widens, as brightly as I can possibly manage, even though my pulse is throbbing harder with each passing second. Where the hell are Zeno and Vito? I could really use a pit bull right now, and I’m partial to either himorVito.

“Do you have any pets who have brothers?” he asks in a low growl. “Like, maybe twin brothers?” He inches toward me and panic bubbles in my chest. My gaze drops to the desk in front of me. There’s a pen on the counter used for filling out an entry form. If I move fast, I can grab it. What I’ll do with it remains to be seen, though.

“I, uh, don’t believe we do,” I rasp, sliding backward until I’m pressed against a wall.

“That’s too bad,” he murmurs. “Because I’d really love to have twins to care for. They have such a special bond. Best friends from birth. Do you know anything about twins? Do you know that when one is hurt, the other one feels the pain?” He shakes his head, a sad smile on his face. “When one is suffering, the other knows exactly what he’s going through?”

“N-no,” I stammer, a hot second away from lunging for that pen. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now you do,” he says, stepping around the side of the desk. “So when my brother was brutally murdered a few weeks ago, I felt the sharp pains where knives tore open his flesh. My skin tingled when the flames seared his. And when he died, a part of me went with him. It was like a light switch flipped off in my soul, and half of it went dark, never to be turned on again.”

“That’s terrible,” I say, my palms clenched tight at my sides into clammy fists.

“It is,” he says. “And do you know what’s worse? Living with the guilt that I couldn’t be there to help him, that it was supposed to be me with him the night he died.” He tugs at his hair. “Maybe if I’d been there, I could have stopped it. I would have put up a fight and destroyed the man who ordered the hit on my brother.” His breathing becomes labored, his hardened gaze now slightly more evil, his body trembling, his jaw twitching like…like…there’s something inside of him that is about to burst forth.

I don’t like where this is going at all.

I strain my ears to hear a jingle of the back door signaling that Zeno is back inside, but I hear nothing except dogs barking in the back.

The guy squares his shoulders as he faces off with me, his expression of despair morphing into something decidedly more malevolent. “I would have killed Nico Salesi, and then I’d go after Zeno Villani for carrying out the hit,” he seethes, lunging for me just as I make a grab for the pen. I fall backward into a chair, scrambling out of it and pushing it into the hateful man snarling like he’s going to shred the flesh from my bones with his bare hands.

“Zeno!” I shriek, slithering around the desk and running for the back of the rescue with the guy on my heels. “Zeno!” I yell louder as I get closer to the dogs. I can hear his heavy breathing behind me, his feet pounding along the tile floor. I duck quickly around a corner just before he has a chance to grab me. The barking drowns out my screams for help, and I have no idea how much longer Zeno will be outside.

The guy yanks my hair, forcing my body backward, my arms and legs flailing around trying desperately to land a shot that will loosen his grip just enough for me to escape. “There’s no way you win this,” he growls. “There’s no way your family wins. You see, it took me a long time to put all of the pieces together, to have you all in one place so you can all suffer together. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel excluded.”

Tears sting my eyes as his fingers tighten around my hair. He brings a knife to my throat, the sharp tip pressing into the flesh. “This was the exact same type of knife your brother used on mine,” he hisses. “I figured it’d be poetic justice, to slice you up using the same weapon. And I want him to feel the same pain as I did when he watches me gut you like a fucking fish. I want him to remember what he did to my brother and my cousin.”

“Ahh!” I yelp one more time, praying Zeno hears me.

“Even if he hears you, it won’t matter,” the guy grumbles, shoving me toward the back entrance.

“What did you do to him?” I cry out, tugging at his fingers. I gasp as the knife point digs into my neck.

“I would think you’d be more concerned about what I’m going to do toyou.”

I clutch the pen tight in my hand. I can’t make an attempt to stab him backward. I need to see him, to land my one assault. Something tells me that I won’t have a second shot at escape. But my mind is too flooded with ideas and plans and thoughts right now to process clearly. So I stop short and let my body fall forward.

And thank fuck, he doesn’t expect it. I crash into the door and he comes tumbling after me, losing his footing and his grip on me. I roll out from under him, and as he struggles to regain his footing, I jam the pen into his eye. The knife clatters to the ground and I kick it down the hallway, running after it like my life depends on it.

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