Page 67 of Kissing the Villain

A cute dimple popped on his cheek. “Always.”

As Luca left the house, he stopped in the entryway and glanced at me. His blue eyes were intense and focused. I forced a smile, all while fighting my hatred for him. They left the house, armed and on a mission, and dread filled my belly.

28

LUCA

Anger surgedthrough my veins as I slid into the passenger seat of Marcello’s Maserati. Pictures of Alex naked, some with her lying on my bed, were being circulated on the dark web. In others, she wore skimpy lingerie, making suggestive gestures with her hands and mouth. There were even videos of her sucking my cock and a few where I fucked her from behind.

The Albanians had stolen the files from my phone. Men from the depths of the criminal underworld were requesting the owners ofIl Circoto add Alex to their next auction. The future Queen of The Devil’s Knights was worth a fortune.

“What’s the plan?” Marcello asked as he drove off our property with Bastian and Damian following in the Porsche.

“I don’t know yet.” I stared out the window, my jaw clenched. “One thing at a time. Just head toward the marina. We have to offload this shipment before we can worry about the Albanians.”

“This feels wrong. I think it’s a trap.”

“This isn’t our first shipment delay.”

Gripping the wheel, he took a hard turn around the bend. “The timing is convenient. We’ve been fielding threats for the past month. Then, our European friends change their plans, throwing off our deals with the Sicilians.”

“If we don’t find Kurti and his men soon… He’s trying to sell Alex on the black fucking market. And it’s my fucking fault.”

“You fucked up,” he admitted. “But this isn’t your doing.”

I shook my head. “Kurti wants revenge for what we did to his wife.”

Last month, I met with new business associates from Albania. We needed to work with these men to further our future projects within the country. So I went to Berat, and they took me out for drinks. Before I knew it, I woke up in bed at my hotel without my phone. The fuckers drugged me.

At first, it was a text message threatening to take Alex. They almost kidnapped her from Brooklyn, so I had no choice but to bring Alex back to Devil’s Creek to become my wife. It was better if she believed her precious Pops was in danger. He played his part so well, preying on her emotions. Because without our protection, she was as good as dead.

“If you want to keep her alive, we must work with the Five Families,” Marcello pointed out. “They have more men, more resources.”

“No,” I said without a second thought. “They want too much. We will find another way.”

“What choice do we have?” Marcello flew down the hill, taking another hard turn, and the scent of the bay floated through the windows. “We can’t admit any new Knights until afterLegare. And with how you treated her at dinner, I’d be shocked if she ever marries you.”

“Don’t talk to me about Alex,” I snapped, seething with anger. “And Wellington? I can’t believe that old motherfucker offered her a choice between us.”

“Your jealousy is fucking with your head.” He sighed. “It’s making you irrational.”

“We’re done talking about her.”

As the marina appeared, I bobbed my head to the rap beat, ignoring my brother.

“No, we’re talking about her,” Marcello yelled over the music. “We should take her to the safe house. Put her someplace no one will find her.”

“She’s safer with us.”

I flipped through my cell phone and opened the security app. Scrolling through the cameras in the house, I searched for Alex and Roman. She lay on my mother’s studio floor, dressed in black pajama shorts with pink dots and a matching tank top.

Alex dipped the tip of her brush into crimson-colored paint and swirled it across the canvas, creating another painting. I loved watching my girl create her masterpieces. She was so talented, a natural artist like my mother.

Roman sat in a chair by the door, watching her with his hand on his chest, his fingers a few inches from his gun. He was the only person on our team I trusted as much as Marcello, but I needed to see her.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Marcello.” My heart hammered in my chest as he parked at the marina. “Kurti won’t stop until Alex is dead.”

“Roman is with her,” he assured me. “The guards are working double shifts. No one will touch her.”

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