Page 43 of The Don

His eyes dart to Shae quickly and then back to me. Whatever he was about to say, I’ll never know. Just like he’ll never know how many bullets I can put in his body before the deejay recognize my gun firing over the bass of his music.

“We both know you didn’t come to my establishment by accident. I assume you want me to send The Board a message. If so, let us get this over with.”

I stare at him for a few tense moments. Luca is correct, but I don’t want to make any of this easy on him, so I take a few seconds to indulge my ego.

When I turn to Shae, she’s already shaking her head and grabbing at my shirt frantically.

I smooth my thumb over the high point of her left cheek just to feel her. “Lorenzo is going to take you home.”

“No,” she breathes softly.

“Yes. I will be right behind you.”

Her fingernails dig into my wrist, and I welcome even this pain. Any moment with Shae feels too good to be true.

“You did so well tonight. Let me finish what we started, and then I will berightbehind you. I promise.”

I hear Luca scoff, but it is quickly followed by the sound of Federico’s gun cocking and Luca’s whimpering wail.

I grab Shae’s chin between two fingers and hold her gaze. There are things I want to tell her to soothe her mind, but not here, not now. But I look her deep in the eyes and try to silently communicate that I would never make a promise that I do not intend to keep.

Thankfully, I see the moment Shae understands — or at least acquiesces to my plea. “Fine. But remember what you promised to do when you get home.”

I brush her mouth with mine. “How could I forget when you are always on my mind?”

Before I know what is happening, Shae has thrown herself into my arms and straddled my lap, pulling a surprised peal of laughter from my lips. The taste of her pussy is still on my tongue, and she licks it with relish while grinding her ass against my cock.

“Don’t make me wait too long,” she gasps against my mouth.

“Mai. Never.”

She kisses me quickly and then crawls from my lap with a smile on her face. She wiggles her soft body to right her dress, and I watch her in awe.

“Don’t get undressed,” I command. She nods eagerly. “Lorenzo, take her home.”

“Si, padrino.”

I caress my lips, the taste of her still fresh there, and watch as Lorenzo leads my heart and soul from the building. I hate to be separated from them, but with those vital organs gone, I can do what needs to be done without qualms.

Once they disappear from view, I stand from my chair and lock hard eyes with Luca. “Lead the way.”

18SALVATORE

I takemy gun from my holster in the middle of the dance floor. It would be polite to wait, but no one has ever accused me of being polite. Not even Shae.

There’s a black door at the far end of the club, and it blends in almost seamlessly with the wall. If Luca hadn’t been heading right for it, I would have missed it completely, but there’s no time to panic about all the things I don’t know. This particular danger has come and gone, and there are new worries to occupy my mind. There’s always more danger on the horizon. That’s why I’m here.

Luca takes a keyring from his pocket. I wait impatiently while he unlocks the door in full view of the club and pulls it open. The light from the hallway inside illuminates a patch of the dance floor before spilling onto the sand. I follow that ray of light to see a group of tourists dancing off-beat to the music. The bleakness of this place astounds me and makes me miss the calm of my restaurant more than ever.

Luca turns and gestures for me to go through the door.

Federico doesn’t give me time to react to that foolish notion. His objection is loud and definitive. “Go,” he demands, gesturing for him to walk through the door while he moves to stand between Luca and me.

Luca’s face is tight with anger.

I spare a quick look at the dance floor, spotting some of my men around the perimeter. I know they know what to do if anything should happen to me.

Luca leads us down an unremarkable hallway. We pass some closed doors, and I eye them warily. Luca might have the backbone of an eel, but I would be foolish to think he isn’t dangerous. Anyone can be dangerous if pushed to the brink, and he has always skirted far too close to the edge where Flavia was concerned. Unfortunately for him, he was never willing to make a big move.

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