Page 10 of Sins and Secrets

The man throws his head back and laughs like it’s the funniest joke that he’s ever heard. “Do you really think that you’re threatening, little girl?”

“Fuck off.”

His eyes narrow and he takes slow steps toward me like a predator hunting his prey. His hands curl into fists at his side. “You’re going to regret talking to me like that. Do you really think anyone is going to come in here and save you? Me and the boys have been talking about the way you run your mouth for weeks.”

“Good for you. If you come any closer, I’m going to make sure that you can never have children.”

I glance around the room, trying to figure out if I can get out of the kitchen without putting my hands on him. The moment that I try to fight back, it’s going to be a meeting with Alessio.

I don’t know how that meeting would go, but Alessio isn’t known to be the kindest man out there.

He laughs and lunges at me. I jump to the side, ducking beneath his arm as I move. He slams into the counter as I spin around and reach for the nearest thing I can find. I heft the weight of the frying pan in my hand, glaring at him as he stands up.

“You bitch.” He gives me a wild grin. “You’re going to regret that.”

“Fucking try it,” I say, crouching slightly, prepared to run or fight.

He lunges at me again and I swing the frying pan hard. The pan collides with his face and the sickening crunch of his nose breaking fills the room. Blood pours down his face as he staggers back.

The man spits blood onto the floor and shakes his head. “You’re going to fucking regret that.”

He storms out of the kitchen, forcing his nose back into place. I take a deep breath, keeping the frying pan in hand as I walk over to the knives. I pull the largest one from the block, ready in case he comes back with some of his friends.

Footsteps echo outside the door before Davide enters the room with the man trailing behind him. Davide looks exhausted as he stops in front of me and crosses his arms.

“Really, Billie? You broke his nose?”

“Bastard was trying to assault me. You’re fucking right I defended myself.”

Davide sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You know that any fighting has to be brought in front of Alessio. Let’s go.”

I glance at the man who tried to attack me before putting down the knife and the pan. Though I know it’s a bad idea, I flip the man off before following Davide out the side door. As soon as the door is shut behind us — the man still inside — Davide turns to me.

“Really, Billie?”

“You already asked that,” I say as I continue walking by him. If I have to meet with Alessio, I might as well get it done sooner rather than later.

“Don’t you have a sense of self-preservation? Arturo is in the hospital. The fear of what he could do to the men isn’t going to stop them anymore. In their eyes, he is as good as dead for the time being.”

“Davide, I know what I’m doing. We both know that I could have killed that man if I wanted to. All I did was break his nose.”

He falls into step beside me, tension rolling off his body in waves. “I know Arturo trained you to be as deadly as he is, but I don’t need dead bodies while I’m acting consigliere. Please keep the violence to a minimum.”

I shoot him a glare. “I’ll do my best but I’m not going to let those bastards assault me because they think they can. And to be honest with you, if I hear of them trying to assault any other women, I’ll kill them. I don’t give a fuck.”

Davide’s eyes widen slightly, the familiar fear shining there. He shakes his head as we get into a car and drive toward Alessio’s private office. He keeps his home and his office segregated from the main building of the compound, preferring to be as isolated as possible.

It’s fitting for a man as cold and distanced as he is.

“Billie, you need to be careful.” Davide’s words are a warning that I doubt I will heed.

“I know you might mean well,” I say, my tone cold as I cross my arms. “But like I said, I’ll defend myself if anyone tries anything against me. You may be the acting consigliere and I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself. And I’ll kill if I have to.”

Davide’s mouth presses into a thin line and he grips the wheel until his knuckles go white. Every now and then, he looks in my direction before changing his grip on the wheel.

At least he’s smart enough to know I mean what I say.

4

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