Page 231 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

So, I took the gun out of my purse and tucked it away in my waistband. Here goes nothing.

16

chiara

Juan García, the man who did the cartel’s dirty work, stepped out of the car with an umbrella and walked into the nearest warehouse. Rain poured down around us, and I shielded my face with my hand as it flew in all sorts of directions. About twenty of his men stood around outside of the building, guarding it from cops.

Alessandro opened the door for me and shook the umbrella out, leaving it by the door. The warehouse smelled like fish and sewer, a disgusting mixture that I would be fine never smelling again. Rain beat down outside of the rusty garage door. I walked into the room, gazing at the dozen more men from the cartel, all equipped with guns and all staring at me … the only woman here.

Juan gazed at me, lips curled into a smirk. “You brought one of the Capitelli whores for me, Alessandro?” He stood about twenty feet away, his fingers locked on to his gun.

“I’m Piero Capitelli’s daughter,” I said, staring blankly at him and trying hard not to get riled up from the mere thought of being associated with our family whores. I wasn’t Kiara or whatever the fuck her name was.

Juan walked around me and looked me up and down like I was a damn prize. “Capitelli’s daughter?” He chuckled menacingly and turned toward Alessandro. “Did the boss make you bring her? Get her out of his hair?”

“We’re here to talk business.” Alessandro paused and glanced briefly at me, gaze lingering on the buttons I had popped open on my shirt. “Not pleasure.”

Juan nodded and stepped toward me, brushing a finger against my cheek. “As long as you and I can talk pleasure later, bonita.”

I slapped his hand away from my face, clenched my jaw, and said, “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not one of the whores. I’m the next Capitelli boss.” Because I would be, whether anyone believed me or not.

Mom had wanted to rule beside Dad, to take a bigger role in this family, before someone killed her ruthlessly and let her bleed to death in the streets.

And on that day, I’d promised her I would follow in her footsteps.

I was up for whatever it took.

“You think your father would let a woman run the family?” Juan let out a laugh and shook his head, muttering something incoherent under his breath. He turned around and nodded to a few men, who threw three black duffel bags in front of us. “If you want to be the boss, you might want to cover your tits, bonita. People won’t take you seriously with them hanging out like that.”

All I wanted to do was tell him that I could dress however I wanted and still mean business, but then I’d look like an emotional mess, as Alessandro had suggested.

Alessandro clenched his jaw and grabbed the bags, handing me one. “Where’s the rest?”

Juan waved the gun in the air. “The deal was fifty now, fifty later.”

“We agreed on seventy now, thirty later, bastardo,” Alessandro said.

Juan stepped forward, trying to intimidate Alessandro, but he didn’t move an inch. Instead, he stood there, staring at Juan with the most sinister look on his face. One that even scared me—just a bit. It was nothing like any expression I had seen Tommy give anyone before. It was fire. It was lethal. It was so damn frightening.

Juan nodded to one of his men again. “Give him ten more.”

“Twenty,” Alessandro said, refusing to back down.

His fingers twitched, and I could tell he was aching to reach for his gun to shoot this stronzo dead right here. But we wouldn’t get out alive. Not with all his men around us.

Juan pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Ten more and some information on Mamacita Capitelli.” His dark gaze lingered on me.

Alessandro didn’t even look at me, but he tensed. “Depends on the information.”

A guard threw Juan another bag of money.

“There’s a hit on her,” Juan said.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my patience running thin. “The Sicilian Mafia,” I said, shaking my head. It had to be. Even though I had changed my plates and junked my car, they knew who I was. I had been digging into their business and hanging out with their former man. “We already know that.”

Juan tilted his head at me, excitement filling his brown eyes. “No. From the Capitelli family.” He paused and looked between us, then at me solely. “Someone wants you dead …” He pulled out his gun, stepped closer to me, then held it right to my head. “Willing to pay two hundred million for your head.”

My heart pounded hard, but I refused to show him my fear.

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