Page 70 of Taboo Flames

“We don’t want to destroy someone’s property now, do we?” I say coldly. “Why don’t we take this outside then?”

The smug look on his face has been wiped clean, now replaced by terror.

“Look, my man.” He raises his hand in surrender, chuckling nervously. “I don’t want any trouble. We weren’t harming anybody, but even if we were, we didn’t mean to.”

“I’m not your man, Salvador,” I say with a humorless smile.

“I don’t even know who the fuck you are,” he responds exasperatedly.

“I’ll make you remember,” I tell him. I see the intent to run in his eyes a second before he bolts, but I’m two steps ahead of him and faster.

I leap for him, catching him by his collar. Then, I drag him out of the restaurant to the back parking lot as he screams and pleads.

I toss him on the ground, and he lands with a thud. He’s a sniveling, pathetic piece of shit, and something in me patches back together with an audible snap at the sudden sight of this phantom from my past being reduced to nothing.

“Please, just let me go,” he begs. “I won’t breathe a word of this to the cops. It’ll be like it never happened. I’m not loyal to those guys in there. They can fuck off for all I care.”

“As if a weasel like you knows the meaning of loyalty,” I say coldly.

Right on time, one of my men materializes by my side and hands me my brass knuckle dusters. At any point in time, about four men are on my trail. It’s a matter of security, but they are also useful for carrying necessary gear.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” I gloat with a dark smile.

“Wait, wait!” he grovels, crawling backward. “Do you work for Antonio? I swear I don’t have the money, I?—”

“Shut the fuck up, Salvador,” I snarl.

I unwind the chaplet from my wrist and hold it up to him. I watch him blink in confusion, and then, finally, recognition flashes in his eyes.

“Giovanni,” he gasps.

“Pleasure to meet you again, Salvador.”

CHAPTER 19

Aurora

“Let go of me,” I snap at Carlos, shrugging his grip off me. “I can walk on my own.”

“My ins?—”

I cut him off right away and snap, “Your instructions were to get me home, and you can do that without ripping my arm clean off.”

“Sorry, Miss Vitale,” he says immediately.

I stomp past him, angry at Gio’s rude dismissal. He should have just let those guys go, or we could have gone elsewhere.

I can’t believe he’s going to go pick a fight just because some assholes were being assholes. As far as I’m concerned, they aren’t the ones who just ruined our dinner. It was Gio and his overbearing attitude.

I’m a few paces away from Carlos’s black Jaguar when I hear four distinct bangs. I flinch in horror, spinning around in an instant.

Carlos immediately nudges me forward toward his car.

“What? What are you doing?” I scream at him. “That could have been Gio.”

“It wasn’t him, miss. The boss is fine,” Carlos says with confidence.

I glare at him furiously. “How do you know?”

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