Page 78 of Naughty Santa Daddy

“You’re leaving me here? I’m bleeding.”

With a smirk, I wet another towel and toss it at him, “Clean up the floor when you’re done bleeding, and if you pass out, I’ll hit you on the other side of your head.”

He groans, “You’re not the nicest brother.”

“I’m the brother who makes sure you get paid; I don’t need to be nice,” I reason and head back to the door.

The broken glass is everywhere, and with the crazy snowstorm, we’ll need to get it taken care of quickly. I can already feel the drop in temperature in this room now that I’ve calmed down a bit, knowing what’s going on. My men will find whoever was attempting to kill or kidnap Emilio, and when theydo, I’ll find out everything I need to know. I make it to the closet, put my AR away, and flip the lights back on so Emilio doesn’t break anything else while he’s down there making a mess. Greta will be pissed. She’ll probably snatch him up by his ear and put him on the porch at this rate. That old woman does not like to be bothered in the middle of the night unless it’sprincipino mio.

I grab the burner phone from the same cubby and dial the gate.

“Gabriel here,” my grounds manager answers.

“It’s me. What are you doing answering the phone?”

“Boss. A few of your men wanted to check the perimeter, so I volunteered to sit in the box with Deondre. I was already out making sure the horses were warm enough in the barn. This night is a rough one, sir. Is Mr. Emilio okay? I offered to walk with him to the cabin, but he refused,” he says, and I overhear Deondre in the back confirming.

“Very well. Watch your back; those men who were after him could still be alive. Emilio made it, but we won’t know much else until they’re brought to me and questioned.”

“Yes, sir,” he responds.

“Did anyone hear me on comms?”

He relays the question, then he and Deondre both confirm they didn’t get any message from me, which means it must’ve died. I’ve had it charged for so long with no use, it could’ve burned up. I’ll need to replace it as soon as possible.

I hang up.

Next, I call the number I have memorized and key in my code. Once I get the confirmation beep, I end the call, delete the history, stuff it back in the cubby, cover it, then close the closet door. I’m the only person in the house who knows about this, and I aim to keep it that way. With a relieved sigh, I press my finger to my son’s doorknob, and it completes the requirements to shut the panic feature off. The call and PIN are an extrameasure I had installed in case someone were to cut my hand or finger off to use it to get inside.

My son is still sleeping soundly, so I briefly update Greta on what happened so she doesn’t freak out when she sees blood downstairs along with a big mess. Heading to my room, it hits me that I left Hadley tied up, and she’ll most likely be pissed. I remove the bulletproof vest and untie my forty-five from my thigh. I’m holding everything as I enter my room. It’s quiet, so hopefully, she passed out and it’ll give me a chance to put this away, let her loose from the Christmas light strand, and check on my brother. The window will need to be covered too, but it can wait a few more minutes.

Pushing the door open, I head straight to the cabinet to stuff my vest back in its spot when I’m attacked from behind. The person leaps onto my back, arm going across my throat to choke me but she’s far too tiny.

“Cazzo!”I curse and bend over. She falls from my back, glaring and kicking at me. She’s a little hellcat, and I’m already fired up from the mess tonight. Snatching her ankle, I yank her to me. Grabbing her biceps, I forcefully pull her up to stand, and she continues to try and fight me.

“You left me tied up, you bastard! I could’ve died, been raped, anything! You fucker,” her words are filled with fury, her gaze on fire as she stares me down.

I can’t help myself. I slam her into the nearest wall, hand wrapping around her throat, grip flexing as I lean in and snarl in her face. “Calm. The. Fuck. Down.” Then my lips are on hers, unable to hold myself back. My tongue tangles with hers, exploring every inch of her mouth, losing myself in her taste, her smell, her heat.

I have to be inside her again. I need her like I need life itself. She’s everything in this moment, and I’m so fucking sick offighting it, even if a woman in my life right now is the last thing I need.

She’s mine.

Chapter 9

Jaime Russell

Jaime Russell

Massimo

Adjusting my tie, I glance at the sleeping lump on my bed. After coming back to the room to being spider monkey attacked by Hadley, I fucked her so hard we both passed out. I walk around to her side of the bed; it’s so weird how my thoughts went there when I’ve been so adamant she is nothing but a place to stick my dick. She’s an anomaly, that’s for sure. Leaningdown, I kiss her forehead, then walk out of the room and head downstairs.

What the fuck is going on with me?

The smell of something cooking hits my nostrils, and my stomach growls. I know Greta’s in the kitchen cooking breakfast, as she knows I’m an early riser. I find my brother sitting there. Greta’s muttering to herself about a mess to clean up first thing in the morning, then she turns to look at Emilio, and I see a tenderness there.

“Breakfast will be ready soon.”