Page 77 of Devil Mine

“That’s…completely irrational. You hurt her, you threatened my brother a couple hours ago, who knows what else you’re capable of? How am I supposed to ever trust you with them, let alone with myself?”

Arguing with a bed separating us is a special kind of irony. It’s doubly infuriating because it keeps me from being able to reach for her when I’m desperate to grip her throat in my fist. My hand tightens at my side instead.

“Nobody and nothing else mattered to me except finding you,” I growl. “It’s simple; never run from me again, never push me to that limit again, and your friends and family will be safe. I don’t give a fuck about any of them if I have you.”

Reaching out a hand towards her, I motion for her to take it and join me on this side of the bed.

“Now come take a picture, otherwise I’ll use the one I took of you face down and ass up on my lap.”

Tess blushes furiously, but places her hand in mine and walks across the bed towards me. When she’s at the edge, I clasp her waist and bring her down, pulling her against me so my chest is to her back. I place a hand low on her hip, hovering dangerously close to her pussy, and brush her hair off her shoulder and behind her ear.

Bending my head, I bring my mouth level with hers and whisper. “Embrace the way I made you feel in the car, the way I made your body sing.” Goosebumps break out over the slope of her neck, the fine fairs standing to attention at my every word. “I could be sweet to you,amor,”I breathe into her hair,“if you let me.”

She turns her head towards me, lips brushing against mine. Her breaths skate against my mouth, her eyes lifting to meet mine and—

“Done,” Arturo clips harshly.

One curt syllable and the spell is broken. Tess walks out of my arms and turns her back to me.

???

The gates to my property open and the car ambles down the private drive. Tess’s eyes widen when she sees my home for the first time. It’s a sprawling mansion, an impressive structure with a massive greenhouse off to the side. I needed something big that could house the comings and goings of my team, and something off the street to avoid suspicious eyes.

“This is where you live?” she asks as we exit the car and walk up the front steps. “Clearly the murdering business is a lucrative one.”

“Very,” I confirm.

Marco calls for me as we approach the front door. “Jefe.” I turn and he walks up to me, whispering in my ear so Tess can’t hear him, “we have Augusto Leone.”

Adrenaline shoots through my veins, immediately pulling my attention from my new bride to my lieutenant. He nods when my gaze flies up to meet his, a large grin spreading over his face.

I grab Marco’s arm and walk back down to the bottom of the steps. Tess pauses and turns to watch us both, a suspicious look stamped on her features.

“Alive?”

“Yes.”

“Joder. How?”

“You know the Italians pride themselves on their traditional marriages. Let’s just say it’s pretty frowned upon for anybody, let alone thecapo, to be fucking around on their wife. Turns out Augusto has a bit of a vice; he likes them young. The falcons have been watching him for weeks and every other Friday he visits a certain Lolita at Madame Marceline’s. It’s an escort house if you couldn’t tell. Anyway, he only brings two men with him since he doesn’t want Mrs. Leone to find out about it.” He outright laughs. “I caught him with his pants around his ankles and his flaccid dick in his hand. You should have seen the look on his face,jefe. Priceless.”

While I’d been focused on finding Tess, Marco had traveled back and forth to London a few times to be my eyes and ears on the ground and to help lead the capture of Augusto Leone. Leone is a paranoid motherfucker and thus heavily guarded at all times. I hadn’t expected my men to be able to catch him this quickly.

I clap him on the shoulder. “Well done, Marco. That’s exactly the kind of good fucking news I wanted on return to London.”

A relieved look crosses his face. He’s been on edge since the idiotic remarks he made on the plane.

“Where is he?”

“He’s being held in one of the bomb shelters.”

During the Second World War, an intricate maze of underground bomb shelters were built under the heart of the city to protect civilians from German shellings. We bought a number of them when we came to London, seeing them as an easy way to transport drugs across the city while avoiding detection. They’ve also been useful in other ways, namely for detaining prisoners we don’t want traced back to us.

I look up at Tess who’s watching me suspiciously.

“Wait for me in the car,” I instruct Marco and Turo, before jogging back up the stairs to her.

When I’m level with her, I bend and scoop her up into my arms.

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