Page 31 of Savage Mafia King

She grins and cocks an eyebrow. "You thought I was badass?"

"I still do," I admit.

She leans toward me and plants a kiss on my lips, the sudden touch catching me off guard. I don't know exactly what I've done to deserve her, but I sure as hell am not fighting that, not when being near her right now feels as good as it does.

She presses her forehead to mine.

"Anything," she whispers to me. "Anything I can do, just tell me. Please. I want this to be over. For my family, and..." She trails off.

She doesn't need to fill out the rest of that sentence. She might not be saying it out loud, but she can feel this thing between us, this emotion, this need for one another that goes beyond the front we try to put up.

I'm not going to let anything get in the way of doing what I have to do to finish this.

Even if I have no idea whether she will still want to be with me when we're on the other side.

Chapter Sixteen—Isabella

I run my hand through my hair, checking my reflection in the mirror behind the bar.

I hardly look like myself. I'm glammed up to the nines, with dark lipstick, dark liner smudged around my eyes, and a tight, short dress that shows off way more of my legs and my cleavage than I would normally be comfortable with. I adjust the hem of the dress once more, trying to tug it down a little to cover myself, but there's no point.

"Another drink, ma'am?"

The bartender seems to sense my nerves, and I nod, pushing my empty glass of wine across the bar toward him to indicate that I'm ready for another drink. I know I should be careful about how much I'm drinking, but I need something to take the edge off right now, something to still the wash of nerves that are threatening to take control of me.

The bartender pushes the glass of wine toward me, and I take a long sip, shooting another look toward the door. The bar that I'm at is pretty small, exclusive, and doesn't allow many people in, so it's not like there have been dozens of patrons passing back and forth in all the time I've been here. There is one, in particular, I'm looking for, though—and that's James, Marcus's uncle.

I still can't believe I'm doing this. I remember what Marcus told me before I came out here, the way he tried to soothe my overthinking once we'd strung the majority of the plan together.

"He's stupid," he told me. "And arrogant. That's why he thought he could go against the family the way he did. That's his weakness, that he thinks everything will just fall into his lap. All you need to do is exploit it, and he'll believe that you're ready to fall at his feet and work for him instead."

I'm still not sure.

When I reached out to James, claiming that I wanted to meet with him to talk about the way everything had been going and discuss a potential alliance, I expected him to laugh in my face and tell me that I must have thought he was stupid. But he didn't. Instead, he chuckled down the line and told me to come meet him at a bar close to the hotel he was staying at.

Marcus wanted to come with me, but I shut that down at once. I'm not going to put him at risk. As far as I'm concerned, he's on house arrest as long as this hit is still out on him. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for tonight, but I'm hoping I can get to the bottom of who's out to get him—and, to be more specific, how we can stop him.

All at once, I hear the door open, and into the dark bar steps the man I've been waiting for. My heart seizes in my chest, and I quickly cover up my shock with what I hope passes for a seductive smile.

I rise to my feet as he reaches me, and he looks me up and down.

"Very nice," he murmurs as he leans down to kiss me on the cheek. "I can see why my nephew has been so... taken with you."

I shudder at the sound of those words coming out of his mouth. The heavy scent of his cheap aftershave clings to his skin,and I fight the urge to pull away. I have to act like I'm really interested in him, even if being this close to him makes my skin crawl.

"I had a feeling you were going to reach out to me after what happened at the warehouse fight the other night," he says as he waves down the bartender and orders a drink. "My nephew has his brutal side, and it's not something a pretty girl like you should be exposed to."

I bite back my annoyance. I know he's an asshole, but I have to pretend like everything he says is the most fascinating thing in the world. I tip my head to the side and arrange my face into the best version of horror I can.

"I was terrified," I confess. "And I knew I needed someone who really knew what they were doing, an older man who I could actually trust." I reach out and grip his arm tightly, making my point clear.

He grins. "And I'm happy to oblige," he murmurs, pressing his knee against mine.

Is it really this easy? He doesn't seem suspicious at all, though he should be.

"Thank you for meeting with me," I tell him as I reach for the wine, glad to have an excuse to break his gaze again. "I... I want to talk to you about everything that's been going on. And the possibility... of an alliance." I lower my voice and glance around, making out like I'm fearful we're going to be overheard.

"An alliance, huh?" he asks, leaning back and gesturing for me to continue. "I'm sure we could come to some kind of agreement..."

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