Page 101 of Empire of Seduction

Oh, god. Why did he have to say things like that?

Tongue thick and my throat tight with emotion, I whispered, “Let’s get out and I’ll bandage up your side.”

Vito

The cottage had a decent first aid kit, and a few butterfly closures took care of the worst of it. I sat on the bathroom counter while Maggie finished cleaning and bandaging the wound on my ribs.

Paloma, as well as my men, argued over driving back tonight. They tried to keep me in Queens, saying it was too dangerous and we didn’t have enough experience driving in snow. Iwouldn’t hear of it. Nothing was going to prevent my return. The thought of Maggie waiting in the cottage during the storm, alone and worried, was intolerable.

So I took the wheel and the responsibility. The roads had been shit, the visibility practically nothing. But the SUV had four-wheel drive, so we went slowly, all of us silently concentrating on staying alive. Only once did we slide off the road into an embankment. It took all four of us, but we finally got the SUV back on the main road, my scrape the only injury.

Maggie’s warm exhales coated my skin as she gently worked on me. I rested my hand on her back, just needing to touch her. The wound was nothing—I’d certainly had worse over the years—but I enjoyed her attention. First the hand job in the shower, now this. I was a glutton for anything she’d give me.

“When was your last tetanus shot?” she asked.

“Within the last few years, don’t worry.”

“That’s a relief. At least you won’t come down with lockjaw—which would be a real shame for such a talented mouth.”

Smiling, I tucked a piece of wet hair behind her ear. “What did you do all night?”

“My friend Sam and I hung out until the snow started. We used your jacuzzi and Maz brought us dinner. There’s some left, if you’re hungry.”

I was starving, actually. I hadn’t eaten since this morning. “Then what did you do?”

“Watched this show I’m currently obsessed with.” She squinted up at me. “Do you watch much TV?”

“Movies, yes. TV, no.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Not at all?”

“Not really. The last full series I watched was when I was on the yacht with my brothers.”

“What was the show?” She reached for another butterfly bandage.

“Gomorrah. A mafia crime drama set in Napoli. It made my brothers and I laugh all the time.”

“Laugh, because it wasn’t realistic?”

“It was realistic, but the characters were so stupid. No real mafioso would be so careless, so reckless.”

“How do you keep from getting arrested?”

My palm stroked her back as she leaned over. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes. Why else would I ask?”

Her tone was sharp, but I liked it. Her rough edges didn’t bother me. “Most of what we do is legal. It’s easier to hide the bad stuff that way. If you know how to work the laws, you can do almost anything and get away with it.”

“So you’re saying everyone is corrupt.”

“People who play by the rules get taken advantage of. You’ll never get ahead by being nice or fair.” D’Agostinos were taught this lesson from the cradle.

“That’s pretty harsh.” She placed a bigger hydrocolloid bandage over the butterflies then smoothed it with her fingertips. “Did you have something to do with a biker that’s missing?”

Despite my shock, I forced myself to stay loose. Relaxed. “What are you talking about?”

She straightened, confusion etched into the lines of her face. “Something Sam said tonight. One of the dancers at Sparkles told her there was a hot Italian man there, asking about some bikers. And now one of those bikers has gone missing.”

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