Page 11 of Sins and Secrets

ALESSIO

I don’t know what I’m going to do about Billie. The call about her fighting with Roman, one of the older capos, is enough to give me a migraine. I don’t know what she’s doing but this isn’t the first time she’s tried picking fights with people since she found out her father is in the hospital.

It’s like the woman has a death wish just because her father is sick.

As I wait for Davide to arrive with Billie, I pace back and forth across my office. I’m going to have to deal with Roman as well, but if I don’t pull Billie into the office first, then Roman will start shit with the other capos.

I have enough drama going on at the moment. I don’t need Billie to start civil wars with my capos.

How the hell am I supposed to deal with her?

Especially when I agree with what she did. Roman has had a broken nose coming for a long time. He just picked the wrong woman to try and push his luck with. He should have known that Arturo taught her how to handle herself.

It’s the first report of attempted assault for him, though, and it will be the last. I may be lenient on some rules, but trying to sexually assault anyone is a death sentence.

“Davide, leave us, please. Go get Roman. I wish to deal with him next.”

Davide nods and closes the door. Billie perches herself on the edge of a chair and crosses one leg over the other. She looks down at the ground, though I can practically feel the anger radiating off her.

A million different thoughts of what I could do to her right now flash through my mind.

Most of them involve spinning her around, bending her over my desk, and hiking that short dress up over her curvy hips.

Get your shit together. You can’t think about her like that.

“Alright,” Billie says, as she looks up at me. “I know that I shouldn’t have broken that piece of shit’s nose. I can’t apologize to him, though. Please don’t make me.”

“Billie, you know how to conduct yourself. Why are you behaving this way? Do you have a death wish that I don’t know about? I’m not a patient man and I’m not going to continue to allow this behavior from you.”

She raises an eyebrow and shrugs. Her arms cross, pushing her breasts together. The low neckline would easily be pulled out of the way if I wanted to taste her.

I’m a fucking goner. There is no coming back from this. I’m going to an entirely different circle of hell for thinking about Arturo’s daughter this way. Fucking my hand to thoughts of her is bad enough.

What’s worse than hell? That’s where I’m going.

Her green eyes narrow as she glares up at me. “Or what? You’re going to kill me? For defending myself against someone who wasn’t going to take no for an answer? I could have done a lot worse. I should have done a lot worse.”

“He is going to be dealt with for trying to hurt you. I have a zero-tolerance policy for that shit and I will not allow it to continue. However, you have made a point of being defiant with a capo. I don’t tolerate violence among the famiglia.”

“He treats people he thinks are beneath him like property.”

“That still doesn’t excuse the way you are speaking to me,” I say, my voice low as I invade her personal space. “You were raised in this life, and you know the expectations. If I have to beat them back into you, I will, but I really don’t want to do that, given who your father is.”

Billie scoffs and puts her hand on my chest, trying to push me back a step. “I know what the rules are. I’m sorry. It’s been a hard week.”

“Here’s the funny thing,” I say, leaning into her touch as my cock strains against my black pants. I keep it away from her, knowing that if I feel her body fully pressed against mine, I will lose all semblance of control that I have. “I don’t think you are sorry. I think that there is a part of you that is craving the punishment. You want a reason to feel shitty about something else.”

“You think you know me, but you don’t. I don’t crave anything.” Her voice is slightly breathy as she looks up at me. Heat shines in her eyes and her fingers curl slightly against my chest. “I am sorry, though. I know that this is putting you in a difficult position. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. Papa may be in the hospital, but I should remember myself.”

“Tell you what,” I say, already knowing that I’m in over my head with her. “In the privacy of my office, you can say what you like, and we will not have a problem. I understand that what is happening with Arturo is a lot and you need a place to vent. You can’t take it out on the capos. I don’t want to hurt you if I don’t have to.”

Thank you.” She frowns, dark bags beneath her eyes and the exhaustion on her face. “But I’m not a rat. Venting to you is like signing my death certificate. These men already disrespect women. What do you think will happen if I come to you with my problems?”

“Then I will deal with them,” I say. It should be obvious to her. “I’ll keep you out of it.”

She gives me a bitter laugh and shakes her head. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

“Excuse me?”

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