Page 26 of Savage Mafia King

I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. She looks beautiful, as she always does, her hair swept back from her face, a leather jacket clinging to her slim frame, and a pair of jeans showing off her slender legs. I want to reach over and grip her thigh, tell her I'm sorry for ever even thinking about doubting her, but I know she doesn't want to hear that shit.

We're heading to the fight, where the Castellano bastard who has been working against us will be. As far as they know, we haven't found out that he's been working there, and I'm going to use him as a litmus test for Isabella, introduce the two of them and see how both of them react. I'm not sure exactly what I expect to happen, but I need to feel like I have at least some inch of control over this situation.

Giovanni and Valentina did their best to talk me out of coming here tonight, but I ignored them. They want to hole up in the house and hide out. But that's how the Castellanos want this to unfold. They want us to wither away on the vine in our place, give up our power by hiding out. It's not going to happen. Not as long as I still have breath in my lungs.

We pull up outside the warehouse, and she's still not looking at me as I open the car door and gesture for her to get out. She sweeps past me without a second look. It's obvious that she's pissed, but I'd rather she get pissed at me and we figure outthe truth than play nice and lose what little safety my family still has left.

I secure her hand in mine. She tries to pull it away, but I grip tight.

"We're together, remember?" I growl at her. Her hand slackens in my grip, giving up the fight as we head inside.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but there's a crackle in the air that normally isn't there. It's more than just the smell of cigarette smoke, more than just the sticky booze on the floor, more than the tension as people lay down their bets. It's something worse. Something heavier. I scan the room, searching for my trusted staff, and eventually, my eyes land on Teyona, who's running the financial side of the game tonight. She lifts her head at me in greeting, and I make my way toward her.

"Who's working tonight?" I ask her.

"Uh, we have Polly, Paula, and Marco," she replies, running her finger along the clipboard she's holding.

My ears prick up. "Marco?"

"Yeah, he's relatively new," she replies.

"Where is he now?"

"Outside, I think." Her eyebrows raise at my sudden interest in the staff. "Having a smoke. Why?"

I don't answer, instead leading Isabella out the back, where the staff usually duck out to smoke. And sure enough, a few moments later, we come across a man working his way through a cigarette. His hands are shaking slightly, like maybe he knows he's doing something he shouldn't be doing. I reach his side, stillholding on to Isabella tight. This is the key moment. If they look at each other and show even the barest hint of recognition, then I know that something is happening between them.

"Hey."

I catch his attention. His head snaps around. He's a young guy, doesn't look much older than me, his uneven hair and jumpy attitude telling me everything I need to know. He's been sent out here to keep an eye on our business from the inside out. And as much as it infuriates me that he's been allowed to get away with it this long, I need to know whether he and Isabella know each other.

His eyes flick over to hers for a moment. I study his face, taking it in. I wait to see a flicker of shock or recognition or even a slight greeting on his part, but there's nothing. I glance at her. She's staring back at him with a similar impassiveness, not breaking his gaze. Her lips are pressed together in a hard line, as though daring him to claim some kind of knowledge of her.

"Got a smoke?" I ask him, holding out a hand.

He hesitates for a moment. He looks like he wants nothing more than to tell me to fuck off. But I run this joint, and he's not going to get away with brushing me off like that.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the pack of cigs, then holds them out to me. I take one and reach for his lighter. I'm not much of a smoker these days, but if it gives me a reason to stick around here a little longer, to figure out this fucker, then I'll do it.

"You're new, right?" I ask as I take a long draw of the cig.

Isabella grips my hand a little more tightly, as though she's fearful.

Marco nods. "Yeah."

"How'd you find out about this place?" I keep my voice as casual as I can. "Not exactly like you can apply with a resume."

"Uh, my cousin told me about it," he replies.

He's lying. His eyes slide away from mine, dodging my scrutiny.

"Oh yeah?" I shoot back.

The smoke is tearing at my throat. I take another long draw. Anger is starting to get the better of me. When I think of what they did to Giovanni, how much further they could take it if they wanted to, it's hard not to just take him on right now.

"Yeah."

"Because I heard that you worked for the Castellanos," I remark, venom rising through my words. "What do you know about them?"

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