Page 12 of Sinister Intentions

I only half-listened until Fee filled them in on my confrontation with Vince.

“He had her backed against a shelf in the library, their noses almost touching. The vibe was really weird,” she said.

Which zoomed my focus right back in. “Weird? What do you mean weird?”

Fee gave me a sideways glance but stayed silent as if she had to gather her thoughts. “If I wouldn’t have known better, I would’ve thought there’s more going on between the two of you.”

“More than mutual disdain?”

Fee nodded. “Matt and Alex sensed it, too.”

“Sensed what?”

Fee hesitated.

“Sensed what? What happened?” Cara asked.

I sighed. “Nothing happened. Just Vincenzo Salvini trying to bully me.”

“Fee?” Sophie asked.

I rolled my eyes at Fee’s insinuation. “There was no ‘vibe’ between Vince and me other than mutual loathing. The man is an insufferable bully who thinks he can get his way through intimidation tactics.”

My fists clenched at the memory of him backing me against that shelf, as he breathed his hot, whiskey-laced breath in my face. The way his eyes bored into me as if he could see straight through to my soul. I shuddered despite the warmth spreading through me. “He’s vile. Repulsive. I won’t let that egomaniac get within ten feet of me if I can help it.”

Fee arched one perfectly sculpted brow. “If you say so, Sis. I’m just calling it like I saw it.” She turned her attention back to the phone. “Even Matt said there was some serious chemistry crackling between them. Like…sexually charged chemistry.”

“What?” I sputtered, heat flooding my cheeks. “That’s absolutely ridiculous. Vince Salvini couldn’t be less sexually attractive to me if he tried.”

Lie,a tiny voice whispered in the back of my mind.

I immediately shoved that thought back down. Vince’s rugged handsomeness and magnetic presence meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. I refused to be just another girl stupidly fawning over a bad boy who obviously didn’t deserve the attention.

“Jemma backed him off with an uppercut,” Fee went on, a teasing lilt in her voice. “So maybe the attraction wasn’t exactly…mutual.”

“You hit him?” Sophie’s voice was laced with disbelief.

“After he whispered something in her ear,” Fee said, nodding like a maniac.

“What did he say?” Cara asked.

I sighed. “He told me he didn’t approve of my behavior.”

Fee stared at me for a full three seconds before she exhaled and forehead-slapped herself. “I can’t believe these guys can survive with their level of sheer stupidity.”

Sophie and Cara’s laughter filled the room. “So you punched him? Good for you,” Sophie said.

I nodded.

Vince Salvini got what he deserved, not that it did me any good or changed anything. Violence didn’t faze a man like Salvini.

If I’d found a weakness I could exploit, though. That would be a plan.

Find something harmful enough to blackmail him with and get him to back down.

I could always run if that didn’t work out.

Sophie’s voice broke through my thoughts. “You know, Gabe told me Vince hasn’t always been like that. As a kid, he was really nice, and soft.”

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