Page 57 of Wicked Games of Desire

The lighting in this part of the club is low and moody, casting a shadow over our table. It’s only just past eleven, but I have seen more drug use tonight than in my entire life. I can’t understand how it’s so readily available to every person in the place. Or that’s what it seems like, anyway, but the boys steer clear of the stuff, and I’m grateful.

Marco’s taken the seat beside Maddox. He’s on edge, scanning us like he has something to say, but then he stops. I’m worried about him. Knowing he’s living with the Morettis and working so closely with the cruel leader makes me fear for his life. He drums his fingers on the table as he sips whiskey from a crystal tumbler. It could just be that Alessandro’s possessive behavior is making him uncomfortable.

I know it’s making me uncomfortable. I’m sandwiched in between him and Ricky, with nowhere to go.

“Enzo’s up to something,” he finally spits out, like the words have been on the tip of his tongue all night.

Alessandro’s body stiffens. “What makes you think that?” he snaps.

I give Marco my full attention, surprised he’s willing to talk business in front of me. From the moment I met him, I knew their papawas a shifty motherfucker, but I just assumed that came with the position of don. And the brothers were all privy to whatever shit he was up to, being Alessandro is his heir.

“He had a meeting today, one he didn’t want me to attend. He showed up on the other side of town. The D’Amico side.”

Maddox’s face hardens, creases forming on his forehead. “He went alone?”

“Valentina went with him, and from what I could gather, she lined it up.”

The tension in the air thickens, and I know even though they’re not saying as much in front of me, the boys aren’t happy about this fresh development. “Maybe you should start tracking him,” I throw out there for shits and giggles.

Ricky stifles a snicker, and I know he thinks I’m funny, but the others all glare at me. I know my role is to be seen and not heard, but that never stopped me.

“What?” I shrug. “Isn’t that what you do?”

“Lana,” Marco chastises in a disappointed tone.

I just smile sweetly back at him. He thought it was okay to put a tracking device in his little sister. Why not Enzo? If they can’t trust him, they need to do something.

I hear Dani’s high-pitched squeal before I see her. She struts through the crowd toward us, donning a gold sequined mini dress that beautifully showcases her curves, with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on her face. “Hey, girl. This place is hectic, right?”

As I try to rise out of my seat so I can give her a hug, Alessandro quickly seizes my wrist. I give him a sharp look, silently telling him to leave me the hell alone if he doesn’t want me to cause a scene right here in his club. I’m not up for his bullshit tonight.

“Your friend can join us,” he growls out like he thought I was about to take off with her. How stupid do I look?

With an eye roll, I effortlessly break free from his hold and make a beeline toward my friend, flinging my arms around her. “You look super cute,” I compliment her, realizing I’ve never seen her out of her uniform.

“Fun change from our shitty uniform, hey?” She looks me over and forces me to do a spin in her arms, then whistles. “Look at yourself, girl. You’re hot. No wonder you’re surrounded by a harem of gorgeous men.”

I laugh at her dramatics. “Not quite.” I smirk cheekily, still wondering how this is my life now. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” I take her hand and guide her back over to our table.

“Boys, this is Dani. Dani, this is Alessandro, Maddox, Ricky,” I point them out. “And my big brother, Marco.”

Marco, being the gentleman he is, stands up and extends his hand to her, and she willingly takes hold of it, becoming flushed under his attention. My brother is a handsome man, so I’m not all that surprised by her reaction. I’ve seen girls like her have it hundreds of times before.

“What will you ladies have to drink? I’ll take care of it,” offers Ricky, running his hands up my arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. Even with Alessandro being a possessive dickhead tonight, he’s still touching me whenever he can. It’s like he can’t help himself.

“Umm, a cocktail.” She shrugs shyly under all their attention, and I get it; the four of them would be intimidating as hell to meet all at once. “What are you drinking, Lana?”

Alessandro pulls me back down next to him, glowering at my friend. Marco offers her the seat beside him with a kind smile. She happily accepts it.

I glance at the cocktail glass on the table in front of me. It’s still full. Ricky got it for me earlier, but I’m not in the mood to drink. Plus, I feel like I need to keep my wits about me tonight. There’s a tension in the air between the boys that I don’t like. Something’s about to go down, I just know it. “Apple martini,” I suggest.

Her eyes light up with excitement. “Yeah, I’ll have two of those. I need to catch up.”

Alessandro studies her with an intensity I don’t appreciate. I can already tell he doesn’t like her. But tough luck, he doesn’t get to pick my friends. “Dani, how do you know my fiancée?”

She smiles at him cautiously. “We used to work together at the diner. How do you know her?” she throws right back at him, forgetting who she’s addressing and finding her usual confidence.

I feel him straighten, not liking the way she spoke to him, but he doesn’t say as much. He has to know how sus this looks. I was working alongside this girl a month ago, and now I’m shacked up with him. “We dated a few summers back and just recently reconnected.”

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