Page 35 of Empire of Temptation

“Luca, what are you doing? Put me down.” She contrasted this order by resting her head in the crook of my neck. “Mmmm, you smell so good.”

Some of the women laughed—and I’d heard enough. We didn’t need an audience any longer.

Roberto was hurrying across the dining room. We began a rapid exchange of Italian, with me telling him to hire cars to see the other women home. He apologized for calling me, but I reassured him it had been the right thing to do. I promised to talk to him tomorrow.

While this was going on, Valentina passed out in my arms.

I carried her outside and went to my car. Aldo opened the doorfor me and I placed Valentina in the back. When I straightened, Aldo closed the door and gestured toward the parking lot. “We have a problem.”

I looked over. Pinky and Collarbone were standing beside a shit truck, the only two remaining schoolboys after I dismissed the class. Pinky was slowly slapping a stick into his palm, in a futile attempt to look menacing. Astick. I nearly laughed.

“Want me to send them home?” asked Aldo.

I looked at Valentina once more to be sure she was okay. She was still asleep, somehow as sexy as ever, even after too much wine. “No, I’ll handle this myself. I’m in the mood.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? It might not be a good idea to attract too much attention—especially in front of her restaurant.”

“Stay here,” I said, ignoring Aldo’s warning. I walked over to my two new friends but said nothing.

“Who do you think you are, asshole?” said Collarbone. “You come into our town and cockblock us? Then threaten us like you’re some bullshit dago mobster? You’re about to learn how we deal with outsiders here.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I was going to enjoy this. “What makes you think it’s bullshit?”

Collarbone smirked and looked at Pinky. “Bro, can you believe this asshole?”

Before he could even look again in my direction, I punched him in the face with everything I had. It felt good. Collarbone’s head rocked back and struck his truck with as much force as my fist applied to his face, and he crumpled into a heap on the pavement.

I knelt over him as he struggled to breathe and asked him one question. “Dago?”

Looking at me through his rapidly swelling eye, he appeared confused. No doubt because my question may not have been specific enough for him to understand.

I grabbed him by the hair and pulled him closer to me, so I was sure he could see me. I spoke to him quietly, but did nothing to hidethe fury that I felt. “You think you are powerful,coglione? You don’t know the first thing about real power.”

I hit him in his other eye because I like symmetry, and then a few more times simply because it pleased me. I needed the exercise. His nose snapped and his skin split open with the force of my punches. I finally stopped when I realized that I might get blood on my clothes.

I glanced over at Pinky who was wide-eyed and pale and holding his arms up in a show of surrender, yet he still had that ridiculous stick in his hand. Following my gaze, he seemed surprised to see the stick and dropped it as if it was on fire.

“Take this piece of shit home,” I said, “and don’t come back. And if you mention this to anyone, I’m finishing what I started. Withbothof you.”

Returning to the car, I found Valentina sleeping peacefully and my anger drained away. As I got into the back seat and laid her head in my lap, Aldo got in behind the wheel. “Where to?”

“Let’s take her to the house.”

Chapter Ten

Valentina

As I came awake, I instantly regretted all my life choices. Fuck, my head hurt.

And my stomach . . . Oh, no. No, no, no.

I rolled into a ball, hoping to prevent myself from puking. Why did I drink so much wine at book club?

My stomach twisted and I had to do some deep breathing.Ugh. Stop thinking about wine.

I must’ve fallen back asleep for a few minutes. When I came to, I felt slightly better. At least the nausea had passed. The headache had eased slightly, too.

I rubbed my feet into my sheets. The soft fabric felt amazing on my skin. Too amazing. Wait, were these my?—

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