Page 69 of Savage Lover

“Because you’re going behind Papa’s back.”

“I told you, I don’t want to raise his blood pressure.”

“Bullshit. You know he wouldn’t like it. He’d say it’s too risky.”

“Neither one of you cared about that when we knocked over all those armored trucks.”

“That was different.” Dante frowns. “We needed the money back then.”

“We need money now!”

“No we don’t. We can get it another way. Take on partners—”

“I don’t want more partners!”

“You’re reckless.”

“And you’ve lost your nerve!” I shout. “What happened to you? You used to love a challenge.”

Dante looks truly angry now. It takes a lot to light his fuse. But once you do, there’s a whole lot of dynamite behind it. He clenches his jaw, biting back what he actually wants to say.

“I used to make a lot of stupid decisions,” he growls. “Then I grew up.”

I don’t have the same self-control as Dante. I’ve fully lost my temper.

“You just don’t like that all this is my idea,” I spit. “You want to be the boss forever.”

“I don’t give a fuck about being boss,” Dante growls, turning away from me. “I wish you were mature enough to take over.”

With that, he stalks out of the dining room, heading to the back of the house to his bedroom.

“Yeah, go take a shower!” I shout after him. “You fucking stink!”

It’s not very satisfying being left all alone with my scattered papers.

But I don’t give a damn what Dante says. I’m going to do this job, and I’m going to pull it off brilliantly. I’ll sink every penny into the South Shore and triple our empire over the next five years. I’ll take us from mafia kingpins to one of the wealthiest families in the whole damn country.

The Griffins aren’t the only ones with ambition.

I may have a temper, but I’ve got intelligence and vision, too.

I’m going to make this happen.

And nothing will stand in my way.

17

CAMILLE

Ihave to see Levi again, because I’ve got to give him the cash for that bag of Molly I was supposed to sell. Also, much as I’d like to avoid it, I need to see Bella Page.

I figured out how I can confirm if Raymond is actually Vic’s father. At first, I thought I’d need to steal his empty coffee cup or chewed-up gum. I can’t pull a hair out of his head, because the guy is bald as an egg and I doubt his security guards are going to let me get within ten feet of him again.

But then I realized that I don’t have to test Raymond’s DNA. I’ve got the next best thing—his daughter.

Of course, I doubt Bella’s gonna want to spit in a tube for me. But if I can get her at a vulnerable moment . . . I’m sure I can come up with something.

Then there’s the other person I’m both hoping and dreading seeing . . . Nero.

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