Page 66 of The Wages of Sin

Fortunately, I’d spent enough evenings here with my brothers that I knew the place like the back of my hand.

Pulling Kiera even closer, I led us toward the VIP section at the back of the venue.

Rounding one of the corners, I spotted Gabriel. Luckily, Matteo was sitting next to him. They both had girls on their laps—busty blondes with skirts so short I wasn’t sure why they’d bothered dressing at all.

The man guarding the entrance to the area saw me coming and unhooked the velvet rope to let us pass.

Gabriel raised his glass at our approach. “Brother! I wasn’t expecting to see you out tonight. Showing your lady the town?”

“We need to talk,” I said bluntly as I settled Kiera and I down on the empty loveseat across from Gabriel.

The twins shared a glance, their smiles disappearing the moment they heard the severity of my tone. After a second of silent communication, Matteo turned to the girls on their laps.

“Ladies,” he said in his trademark diplomatic tone. “Why don’t you enjoy the dance floor while my brothers and I conduct business? We’ll find you once we’re done here.”

Clearly, this wasn’t the girls’ first time dealing with the whims of the VIP crowd because they got up without a whisper of complaint and quietly left.

As they walked away, I noticed Matteo pointedly staring at Kiera.

“I’m sure Ashleigh and Darlene would love to have you join them,” he said.

There was a sudden flash of anxiety in Kiera’s eyes as she glanced over at me.

I squeezed her hand even tighter. “She stays with me,” I said. “She’s part of this now.”

Matteo arched a brow, his gaze shifting back and forth between Kiera and I. “You certain that’s a good idea?”

“Maybe not, but it wasn’t my call,” I said. “Sal dragged her into this when he broke into my apartment to confront me about Carlo Costa.”

Gabriel sat up in his seat. “How the hell did he find out about Carlo?”

“The same way he knew you two had visited Kiera and I earlier this week,” I answered. “He’s bugged your phones.”

“Shit.” Gabriel cursed under his breath. “You really think he’s that paranoid?”

“Without a doubt. The real question is why he’s paranoid,” Matteo answered his twin before turning to me. “We all know Sal doesn’t care about some low-level punk like Carlo. Did he give you any indication why he actually paid you a visit?”

“He said he’s worried about my loyalty,” I said. “He threatened Kiera over it.”

“Well, that was a mistake,” Gabriel said with a deep laugh. “You’d think Sal would know better than to piss you off like that.”

“Exactly,” Matteo quickly jumped in. “He does know better. He’s seen firsthand what you’re capable of, brother. There’s no way he’d risk your wrath without good reason.”

“But what could Sal possibly gain by pissing Dorian off?” Gabriel asked. Picking up his drink from the glass-top table in front of him, he swirled the dark liquor around the edges of the glass.

“It’s not as if he’s ever needed a reason in the past,” I said with a shrug.

“This is different,” Matteo said, shaking his head. “Sal’s always been rude when it comes to you, Dorian—even back when papà was alive—but he was always careful not to cross the line. But threatening your girl? That’s way over the line.”

Matteo was right. The more I thought about the way Sal had spoken, the more it seemed like he was deliberately trying to provoke me.

“You think he wants me to go after him?”

That didn’t seem like Sal. He could be cocky, sure. His position as head of the family practically demanded it. But there was a big difference between being an asshole and having a death wish.

Matteo thought about it for a second before coming to a similar conclusion. “More likely, he’s hoping to distract you from going after something else…like the real reason he wanted Bonetti taken out.”

“You think Bonetti was telling the truth about Sal?” I asked.

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