Page 14 of Monster

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Teo?”

I recognized the bidding voice and turned to face the man I had just saved Charlotte from.

“I’m sorry, but do we know one another?” I asked.

The man snarled. “Look at me and tell me you don’t know who I am.”

I slid my eyes down his body. “My apologies. But, I don’t have a clue.”

He lunged at me. “I’m a Lucchese, you bastard. And that woman was promised to me.”

I wrapped my hand around the man’s throat and quickly pinned him against the wall behind me. Which startled those around me as they gasped and watched in horror with widened eyes.

As if they were somehow innocent in all of this.

“I don’t give a shit who you are, do you hear me? I won, fair and square. Nothing is promised at an auction. So, get over it.”

The man glared at me. “Lorenzo is my half-brother. He’s going to have your head for this.”

I squeezed his neck tighter. “Then, he knows where to find me, you nameless little punk.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?”

His arm came up, dislodging my grip against his neck. But, when he made a move for my own, I ducked down. I felt him fall against my back and I stood up, flipping him head over heels as I smoothed my hands down the front of my suit. A woman shrieked as she stood up, her champagne splattering everywhere as this No-Name Lucchese idiot slammed directly into their table.

And as he was trying to scramble to his feet, I pulled the gun from my hip holster and pointed it right at him.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” I said coolly.

Lorenzo’s voice came from beside me. “You know, I figured you’d attempt to cause a scene at my party. But, I didn’t realize you’d be packing heat in the process.”

I holstered my gun. “I’m always packing. You know that.”

He nodded toward the man on the ground. “Get up, Ronnie. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

The supposed half-brother I’d never heard of before scrambled to his feet, eyeing me with a heated stare that warned me of more to come.

“I look forward to it,” I said with a grin.

Lorenzo held out his hand, stopping his half-brother in his tracks. “I’m sure we can come to an agreement. My brother says you’ve wronged him somehow?”

My eyes gravitated over to him. “He’s upset that I won the bidding war for woman number four.”

“Did you reserve her like I asked you to, Ronnie?”

I paused. “Reserve her?”

Lorenzo shot me a look. “I was talking to my brother. Ronnie?”

The man’s nostrils flared. “No. I didn’t have time to fill out bullshit paperwork while setting up this damn place all day.”

Lorenzo lowered his hand. “Then, there’s nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands.”

Ronnie took a step toward me. “I’ll get a taste of her sooner or later. Mark my words, Emiliano.”

I nodded slowly. “Well, let me know when you’re coming over. I’ll make sure dinner’s fixed.”

Ronnie charged me, but Lorenzo caught his brother before he got to me. A smart move, too, because I wasn’t afraid to put a bullet in this man’s gut if I needed to. The Lucchese Family was the single largest stain on this island’s history, and I had plans for their family.

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