Page 57 of The Wages of Sin

And that was more than I ever dared to hope for.

She was still smiling as the elevator doors opened on my floor. Stepping out, she casually wrapped her arm around my waist. I draped mine over her shoulder, feeling downright domestic as we walked down the hallway together.

Distracted by thoughts of all the deliciously dirty things I planned to do to her once we got back inside, I didn’t notice that someone was in my apartment until after I’d already closed the door.

It was a rookie mistake—one that should have been far beneath me.

“Been out enjoying yourself, boy?”

I froze at the sound of the familiar voice, one that had never been heard before in my home.

“Sal.” Before turning around to face him, I shepherded Kiera protectively behind me. I found him sitting in the chair closest to the window, his arms stretched wide along the back, making it clear he’d had no trouble making himself at home. “What are you doing here?”

On the surface, his wide grin might be mistaken for friendly, but there was no mistaking the daggers shooting from his murky blue stare. “I would have waited outside, but I figured you wouldn’t mind if I made myself at home.”

“How did you get in?” I asked as casually as I could manage. “I don’t remember giving you a key.”

“I borrowed one from the twins,” he answered. “It was either that or bust down the door since you’ve never trusted me enough to invite me into your home.”

“Don’t take it personally,” I answered, making a mental note to change the locks as soon as he left. “I don’t invite anyone.”

“Well, that’s clearly not true.” His gaze shifted a fraction of an inch, settling on Kiera. Anger welled up inside me as I felt her tense at his attention. “Besides, I know for a fact that Gabriel and Matteo were here earlier this week.”

So, he was keeping tabs on the twins now? That was interesting…and more than a little unsettling.

Almost as unsettling as the intense way he was studying Kiera’s face.

“They don’t need an invitation,” I said forcefully, trying to pull his attention away from her and back to me. “They’re family.”

It worked. Sal cocked his head to the side, more open malice creeping into his joyless smile. “And I’m not?”

“I don’t know. Are you?” I asked, lobbing that ball right back into his court.

After all, he was the one who had always denied our connection. The one whose coldness made it clear he thought of me as an interloper with no place in the D’Angelo family.

“No. I’m not your uncle. I never have been.” His smile became even more brittle as he finally said the words that had been unspoken since the day his brother had brought me home. “The only thing I am to you is your boss.”

If he was trying to injure my pride, he was going to have to work a hell of a lot harder than that.

“What are you really doing here, Sal?”

“You want to get straight to it? Fine,” Sal said with a shrug. “I want to know what made you think it was a good idea to go to the strip club Tuesday night and leave behind a bloody crime scene?”

“What is he talking about, Dorian?” Kiera’s voice might have been nothing more than a shaky whisper behind me, but it somehow still managed to fill every inch of strained silence in the room. “What strip club? What crime scene?”

“She doesn’t know?” Sal’s sick grin widened. A stomach-twisting kind of pleasure entered his eyes. “And here I figured this piece of ass was the whole reason you paid Carlo Costa a visit that night. She is the one he was after, right?”

My whole body tightened hearing Sal describe Kiera in such vulgar terms. Without realizing it, my hands curled into fists at my side.

“Kiera, go to the bedroom and close the door,” I told her without taking my eyes off Sal for a second. “I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

But she didn’t move. Her hands stayed curled around my side, her fingers digging into my sides for support. I could practically feel the fear and confusion vibrating through her.

I wanted to turn and assure her everything would be fine. That Sal wasn’t a threat…at least not in the traditional sense, but before I could get a word out, Sal laughed.

“You surprise me, Dorian. Let the girl stay. I’ve never known you to be ashamed of your work before.”

“I’m not the one with reason to be ashamed,” I said, anger dripping from every word.

---