Page 10 of Savage Mafia King

"So, Isabella is going to be here tonight?" she asks me quietly.

"Yes, she is."

"Why?"

I fight the urge to roll my eyes.Do these people have no faith in me at all?

"Because I need to make it look as though I'm really committed to her," I reply calmly, taking another sip of my drinkas we wait for Gio to appear in the doorway. He's running a little late after having dinner with Elena, but he insisted that he be at the game tonight. Probably wants to get a look at Isabella close-up and decide just how much of a mistake he thinks this actually is.

"You think a girl like that is going to fit in at an event like this one?"

"What does that mean?"

"She's a sorority girl, isn't she?" Valentina asks. "She's... she's part of some Greek house."

"That doesn't mean she hasn't grown up as part of the Devereaux family," I point out calmly. "She knows this world just as well as we do. She just doesn't associate herself with it as much."

"So what is she doing with you?" Giovanni cuts in, stepping into the room as he does up the buttons on his jacket. His words, though not loaded, aren't entirely a joke, either.

"I already told you that," I reply, voice sharp. I don't want to get into this with him, not really. I don't want him to start trying to read more into this than he needs to. He's made himself clear, made his stance on what I'm doing obvious, but I'm not going to let him put me off now that the wheels are in motion.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks me, shifting the conversation.

"Is Elena not joining us?" I shoot back. I know bringing up his girlfriend, a relative innocent to all of this, is a low blow, but I don't want him to forget everything that went into the two of them getting together, either.

"Not her scene," Giovanni replies smoothly. "So. Ready?"

"Ready."

We head to the car and drive out to the location of the poker game. I won't be partaking, but I'll be overseeing it, given that it's run by the same group who handle my boxing matches. Every bit of cash that comes and goes through that organization has to go through me first, and I know it's in my best interests to keep watch over everything that happens.

I keep my eyes pinned to the road ahead as we drive, doing my best to still the doubts stirring at the base of my stomach. They've been so against this idea since I first came up with it, and there's a part of me that wonders if I'm making a mistake—the kind of mistake I might not be able to walk back when this is all over.

I'm the one in control here.That's what I have to keep telling myself. I'm the one calling the shots, the one doing everything right. She had to come to me for help. There's no way she would have even considered being seen with me if she hadn't found herself in this mess with her brother. She owes me. And she's been willing to go along with this plan so far. Why do I need to start second-guessing it now?

We arrive at the abandoned factory where the event is taking place. Isabella insisted that she could make her own way there, and sure enough, she's standing outside alongside a handful of the smokers who have been cast out into the night to take care of their filthy habit. She's wearing a long coat, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and I notice her face start slightly as I step out of the car. She moves toward me at once, drawing herself against my side, and I wonder if she's nervous, being here all alone.

"You took your time," she mutters. I cock an eyebrow at her. We're not in her territory any longer, and much as she might want to pretend she can handle herself, her nerves are obvious.

"This is Giovanni and Valentina, my cousins," I explain as the other two get out of the car behind me. Giovanni nods to her in greeting, while Valentina stands there, stone-faced.

"Nice to meet you," she offers, but neither of them returns the sentiment. Are they really going to act like this the whole night?

Before I can snap at them and tell them to pull themselves together, Sean, one of my organizers, steps out of the factory and waves me over.

"I need you to check out the credentials of one of our dealers tonight," he tells me, jerking his head toward the door. "Come on. We need to get started soon."

I put my hand on the small of Isabella's back and steer her into the factory. It's full of people, most of them just here to watch but a handful here to play. One or two of them would probably be recognizable on an international stage, given the enormity of their reputations, but the fair game, the honest one, isn't something that satisfies them. They always look for more, hence why they find themselves at these underground gatherings.

The crowd parts easily for me as I move through it, a few people stepping to the side to let me through, and I can tell that Isabella is impressed. As much as she commands respect in her sorority, I command respect here. The two of us are at the top of our games, just in very different parts of the world.

I reach the dealers and look through the credentials they've presented – each of them has to be vetted carefully if we don't want one of the players who doesn't do as well to turn around and claim that the whole thing was rigged against him. It's happened before, and chances are, it will happen again. We have to cover our asses in any way we can.

"Looks good to me," I remark, and I glance around to see Giovanni and Valentina over by one of the tables. They're looking over in our direction, and Gio leans in to say something to his sister. I'm sure they've got all kinds of shit to say to me about everything that has been going on here, but I'll be damned if I let it get under my skin.

The game begins a few minutes later, with a couple of the highest-rolling players taking their seats at the table. I move to the side to watch them, putting my arm around Isabella's waist. I can tell from the way a few of the people here are looking at her that she's attracting attention—and looking the way she does, that hardly surprises me. There are plenty of men here who would take great pleasure in moving in on a gorgeous young woman like her, but none of them will dare if they know she belongs to me.

"Have you ever played before?" I ask her softly, my lips nearly grazing against her ear as I speak.

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