Page 62 of Desire and Revenge

She peeks at me and then her lashes lower. “I don’t like guns.”

For some reason, that’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard, and he throws back his head and lets loose a bark of laughter. “Of course you don’t, my dainty, peace loving bride.”

Someone needs to explain to me in the most simple of terms what exactly is going on here. I eye Sofia, wondering if there’s something she hasn’t been telling me. It’s then that I spot the diamond necklace on her throat. It’s so large and sparkly that I’m bemused to just be noticing it.

Her hands brush over it softly. The touch is careful, reverent... dare I say, pleased.

“I hate to see you waste your talents, Castello.” Sebastian’s voice drags my attention back to him. “I would like you to join the ranks. You know, work your way up and start to earn some money and know the ways of things.”

I’m not lacking for money at all, and I’m about to politely decline when he speaks up again.

“Do you know what the best part about being a man in this world is? It’s the sense of family, the brotherhood.” His blue eyes sharpen. “The knowledge that you’d willingly take a bullet for your brother in oath, that you’d never betray him. You’re the most loyal man I know, Castello. You would make a perfect soldier, or you can put that perfect aim to good use helping me take out some rats.”

Carmine’s gaze swings between us, and I can feel the other men watching too.

“I haven’t caught the bastard that set that fire, but I will,” he begins to cut into his meat. “And it’s not a question ofif.WhenI do, I’m going to destroy him. But until then, I want to have you by my side. Keep your friends close, you know the saying.”

And your enemies closer, I think to myself.

“You want him to be your bodyguard?” The older man’s voice is full of surprise. “Isn’t that?—”

Sebastian waves his fork in the air dismissively. “I just want to give him a sense of belonging, and I can’t exactly thrust him into the thick of things. And everyone started from being a soldier.”

“You didn’t,” I point out.

When his eyes meet mine, they are full of something I can’t discern. “It’s different for me. It’s my birthright.”

Anger curdles inside of me at his words, but I keep my gaze in a placid expression.

“What do you say?”

“I’ll be honored to be your soldier,” I tell him.

A slow smile splits his face. What he doesn’t know, of course, is that he’s not going to live long enough to achieve his dream of making me into a mere grunt. He must know how humiliating the discussion is, or maybe he doesn’t. With him, I can never tell if he’s being an ass or his usual, careless self.

“And the shipments?” someone asks from down the table. “We need to conclude on it soon.”

As the men begin to discuss containers of weaponry, I find my focus drifting to the woman pushing her food around her plate. I should be listening to them, trying to glean out important information that can aid my mission, but instead, my eyes track down her frame and stop at the unwanted hand around her shoulders.

As if she can feel the heat of my gaze on her, her head snaps up.

A pretty blush steals up her cheeks, and her teeth come down on her bottom lip. Christ, she shouldn’t look at me like that in public. That look should be flagged as public indecency.

“By Sunday, we should be able to move all the crates into the island and to the docks. You’ll have all the weapons your heart desires by the end of that day,” Carmine assures them.

“No mistakes, Amato,” one of the men says.

The man’s hooded eyes narrow to dangerous slits. “First of all, that’sMr. Amato to you. Second, the next time you try to tell me how to domyjob, you will end the night as brain matter on my wall. Is that clear?”

There is silence in the room for a long while. And then Sebastian finally breaks it by laughing.

“Relax,” he tells the older man. “You’re ruining my appetite, and you’re scaring my wife.”

I hate those words from his mouth. She’s nothis. She’smine. I know it’s a ridiculous thought, because even when she’s gasping and crying beneath me, fingers clawing at my back, I can still feel her wedding ring like a cruel reminder.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have brought her to a business meeting,” Carmine chuckles, but it’s lacking in humor.

I eye him with renewed interest, and wonder if I should try my hand at approaching him again. The problem with him is that he’s comfortable with how things are. He’s making money from his hotels and restaurants, and the gun trade is only getting bigger.

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