Page 84 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“No.”

He rocks on his toes. “Getting pussy-whipped there? She’s fine goods, I’ll give you that. Won’t be worth shit when I’m done. You can get her first, I finish her off. Then again, maybe she’ll wish she died with her family.”

I disagree with his methods. He wants the Mulligans out of the way because they block certain channels, but I also don’t interfere with how others play—unless that fucks with me. When we entered this, before fucking Conor, it didn’t. And it still doesn’t. But what he’s insinuating…I’m not about to play. Or let that happen.

“What part of no don’t you understand?”

He looks at me, studying me closely. “Why would you care? She’s probably going under with everyone else. You get all the Mulligan territory, all their connections and some of mine.”

“I’m opening the channels they control for you. They’ll be yours. It’s a fair deal.”

“You ask a high price. I’m just looking for a little something extra.”

“Not a fucking chance in hell. The only reason you’re getting them is me. I can change it. I can call it off and you won’t be able to do a thing about it. Don’t forget I also control some of the important ports you use. Cut those off and you might well be dead in the water.”

His eyes narrow and his ugly face turns a mottled red. “You don’t want to make an enemy of me.”

“Or you me.”

Why the fuck does he want Heaven? Apart from the obvious. But she’s too old for his particular tastes—he likes underage. Virgins, if he can get his repulsive hands on them. Right now he thinks the Mulligans merely block ports he wants free access to. He knows the Mulligans were there that night in Harlem. But I’ve led him through a merry dance around the one who actually pulled the trigger. There were a lot of people there that night, most of them fucked up. I’m saving the juicy tidbit until needed, and if he suspects, he’s keeping quiet, because even an idiot like Dominguez knows the worth of our deal.

It’s more than pride or the loss of his second. But I can keep him in place—for now. Too much rides on what he wants out of this. When he came to me months ago about dealing with the Mulligans, I could have wiped them out. It would have been blood and war, but I could have done it. But the opportunity for more was something I saw, and told him if he sat back, bided his time, then he could have so much more, too.

It was stars aligning when the Mulligans came to me.

Why I moved my pieces. Why I took the opportunity. I could have let it all fall, let a war begin and stepped in later to clean up.

But I’m not interested in broken. Not when I can take the beating heart, whole and perfect, and make it my own.

He won’t cross the line with me. But I’m going to make sure he’s watched a little more closely and keep Heaven more tightly constrained.

Bottom line is, I don’t trust this man and his impatient, wild ways that remind me a little too much of Conor. He can control it. Until, of course, he decides not to. But I’ve been keeping one step ahead, leading the game.

No, I don’t trust him at all.

I let my gaze linger on his ugly face.

“Is there something else going on, Dominguez?”

“Not at all,” he says, spreading his hands wide. “But I think you’ve developed feelings for the redhead.”

“No, I’m just not done laying the groundwork for our arrangement. Here’s the bottom line.” I straighten up, and come close to him, making sure he feels the power of my height as I crowd him. “We have a deal, so stick to it or I walk, and you’ll end up with nothing.”

“I wouldn’t call the destruction of that family nothing.”

“In the long run. And destroying the family as is, is shortsighted. But your choice. I won’t stand in your way on that. But if you do that, I’ll take my pieces that are left, and I might shut you out. There’s always that.” I pause. “Play the game as we agreed is my advice. And do not piss me off.” I pause again. “Don’t worry. You’ll be getting what’s coming to you.”

“A threat? Or my reward?”

The man isn’t the smartest, but he isn’t stupid, and his instincts are razor sharp. The options are often one and the same, but I don’t say that. “Stick to the deal, and everyone is happy.”

“Except Declan and your fiancée.”

“When I’m done, you do you.” The game I’m playing is risky as hell. It has me dangling over the edge of a cliff with no safety net. It sets the blood pumping. And Heaven…I’ll deal with that when I have to. I look down at him. “Now get the fuck out of my club.”

He points a finger at my chest. “Don’t fuck me, Matteo.”

“You’re boring me. I suggest you get out now, before my fiancée returns and you screw yourself over. But, as I said, you do you.”

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