Page 15 of Falling for the Enemy

Overly warm and needing relief from the summer humidity, I remove my cufflinks, ones that belonged to Papá, and pocket them before rolling up the sleeves of my dress shirt, stopping just below my elbows. Her gaze tracks my every move, her eyes lingering on my now unveiled forearms.

I don’t suppress the smirk that overtakes my mouth when her pink tongue darts out for the briefest second, wetting her plump bottom lip in a move I want to mimic.

It seems I affect her just as she does me.

“Don’t do that, Hermosa. Not unless you wish—”

“Do you realize you’re a fool?” she interrupts, her sudden change of demeanor slicing through the veil of whatever enchantment she’s put me under. “A fool for thinking you can move in on territory that will soon be mine without starting a war?”

Her venomous tone is biting, but the poison she spits does little to frighten me. If she wants my knees to quake, she’ll have to try harder.

“Who said I wasn’t planning for war?”

Briefly forgotten, the man beside her slumps to the ground, drool sliding from his mouth and onto the asphalt as her cheek ticks, anger replacing the desire that stained them moments ago.

“I don’t know whether you’re in bed with La Famiglia,” she says, her fingers tightening on the knife. “Or if—”

“I’m not in bed with the Italians.”

My answer is nothing but truthful.

For all I stole by forcing a tortured Angelo to sign over everything he owned in lieu of granting him the death his unending pleas for mercy begged for, La Famiglia will soon come for my head.

I’ll be waiting when they do.

I have more revenge to serve.

Chin jutting forward, she hooks a finger into the chain of diamonds that hang from her neck, the expensive jewelry drawing my attention to the line of her delicate throat.

For a moment, I wonder what her tanned skin tastes like. Is she sweet like the apple her red dress and lips remind me of? Or is she tart like the sour expression she now wears?

I’m tempted to find out.

“As a woman, many of my enemies see weakness when they look at me,” she continues, moving toward me, her calculated steps more graceful than those of a runway model’s. “But trust me when I say weakness is the last thing they think of when I come for them.”

She stops, mere inches separating us.

My skin heats when she touches her blade to my throat. “This is your only warning,” she whispers, the scent of her tantalizing perfume burning itself into my memory. “Pack up your things and leave, taking whatever soldiers you have here with you. If you don’t...” In a surprising move, she digs the tip of the knife into my skin, nicking me and drawing a single drop of blood. “Then my face will become the last you ever see.”

She turns, ready to walk away, but stops when I snatch her wrist and gently twist her arm, turning her busted knuckles to face me. If she were anyone else, I would’ve already snapped her pretty little neck.

No one makes me bleed.

Not without paying a high price.

A rifle’s laser sight hits my chest from the building at the end of the alley, its red dot hovering over my heart. It seems one of the Fallen Kings is watching us, and whoever it is doesn’t appreciate me touching their queen.

I should’ve known she wouldn’t be alone.

My club is probably crawling with Russians.

“The next time you pull a knife on me, you better be prepared to apologize.” I kiss her broken skin, uncaring of both the blood that now stains my lips and the sniper who has me in his crosshairs. “By getting on your knees.”

“I kneel for no one.” Taking a sharp breath, she tugs on her wrist, and I let her go, her soft flesh slipping free of mine. “No matter how tempting such an offer may be.”

I smirk as she walks away.

Stopping behind the nearly unconscious man who’s been an unwilling spectator to our games, she turns, facing me once more as the door to my left opens and Benito, followed by Christian, moves into the alley, their guns drawn.

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