Page 36 of Vengeful Mates
Bastet’s avatar blew smoke in my face and the fire in me responded, burning in every cell. “Isn’t this his territory?”
I needed answers. The woman was tighter than a fish’s fucking asshole. I had to play my cards right to extract information. Battle her. Conquer her. Get the location of my enemy. Unleash my army to hunt the cunt down. Only Faline was my equal in all ways, and winning a fight against her not so easy, and the War god in me demanded I bring her to heel.
She chewed on a piece of tobacco and pulled it from her tongue with long, elegant fingers, nails painted a classy ruby. “It used to be. We took it over. A recent acquisition.” Faline spoke like she was made of money. I’d bet my life savings that she belonged to one of the other Egyptian mafia syndicates. That explained why the other families moved in on Raine’s turf.
Castor was right. Things had gone to shit with Raine. No wonder he sought revenge. He couldn’t fight a war with us and the other mafia families. A deep part of me considered giving up the battle, sitting back and watching the mafia families tear his empire to shreds. But I was born to defeat cunts like this, and I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to annihilate an enemy who almost broke my club.
“War’s coming your way.” Alliances could be forged, especially between two war gods, and that was the game I played. “You’ll need friends when it comes to your door.”
“I work alone.” Typical of a cat goddess avatar.
“Your funeral.” I shrugged. “Colton will bury you.”
Apply some pressure. Get her to talk. Force an alliance.
“I can handle Colton.” Faline blew out an angry plume, indicative of some history between the two. “I know his weaknesses.” She set her glass down on her desk.
I switched tactics from condescending to flirty. “I bet you do, kitten.”
With the speed of a fucking lion, she hooked my neck and swung herself onto my back, choking me with her elbow, my cigarette dangling from her damn lips. “Don’t ever call me that.”
Fiery temper, just like me. My god and I loved a fight. Reciprocating, I grabbed her shoulders and flung her over my head onto the desk.
Quick reflexes aided her in rebalancing herself. Fuck me. Woman knew how to move. I never saw anyone move like that. Agile, controlled, and fucking swift as she slid off the desk.
Zethan went to defend me, my raised palm stopping him. This was my fight, and he wasn’t ending it before it go interesting.
Sensing where she was headed, I lifted my thigh to protect the old jewels, her fist colliding with my knee.
I caught her wrists and gripped them both in one of my massive hands. “I’d love to stay here all night and fight, believe me, kitten. I haven’t met a worthy opponent like you before.”
Grinning, I swiped my cigarette back, shoving it between my lips, tasting her coconut lipstick. I sucked down the smoke and flame into my lungs, fueling my War god.
“But I need to find Raine.” I let her go as a sign of mercy and to get her cooperation.
Boring of me, she went to her desk, removing a cigarette from a gold box and lighting it with an equally expensive lighter. “What did he do?”
“Why do you care?” I accepted the cigarette she offered. A truce. I sniffed it for poison then drew down the nicotine. “What’s Raine to you?”
“He stole something that belongs to me.” The way she said it, burning with resentment, indicated it wasn’t physical. He stole her heart. Broke it by smashing it into a thousand pieces.
Now Faline sought revenge by stealing his territory.
I had to find a way to get her to align with us. Colton proved himself clever and diabolical, and we needed all the allies we could get. “He fucked with our club, so we have that in common.”
“Colton is nothing more than a dying flame choking on the last molecules of air.” She didn’t want to partner with us. Worked alone, like a cat.
Probably for the best that we didn’t align with the fucking mob again. Once was enough. We got burned and lost our mate because of it. If I risked our mate a second time, I was a dead man at the hands of Aaliyah’s three other beaus.
Here came the kicker to really get Faline going. “You know a lot about Colton. I’m detecting some kind of past between you two, kitten.” I smiled, goading. “Romantic? Fuck buddies? His mate?”
The last one told me I struck gold when she hissed at me, showing her perfect straight, white teeth. “I’m not his mate.”
The lady protested too much. Definitely history there. She had a vengeful heart like me. I’d help her get her retribution once I was done peeling the first layer of skin back to reveal the pain she hid so well.
I linked my fingers. “Hit a sore spot, Faline?”
Her manicured finger flew to the door. “Get out.”
