Page 31 of Dirty Big Sins

“What?” Her question landed at the same time his hand did on her shoulder. Which was my moment to exit. I did so in such a hurry I nearly tripped and fell on my face. Luckily, I caught myself and looked back just in time to catch the molten heat on that man’s face as he said something to her I couldn’t hear.

God that look. It was too much like the one I’d seen more than once on Vincent’s face when he came for me.

Fuck. I had it bad.

I needed to get to my room sooner rather than later before I spontaneously combusted. Or did something stupid like text Vincent.

What exactly would he say or do if he got a booty call message? I kind of wanted to know.

No. You don’t.

That’s right. I didn’t. All I needed was another drink in my room and my vibrator. Then all would be right with the world and I could move on.

Liar.

Chapter Fourteen

VINCENT

Goddammit.I’d been played—again.

“I thought you’d be more surprised to see me.” His words might have been spoken through a heavy Italian accent, but I could still hear and feel the sarcasm dripping from them.

“I am. I’m also fucking pissed and that’s what I have chosen to focus on.”

“Good. Complacency will get you killed in our business. If you don’t question everything you’re told, then you’ll never survive.”

“Our business? What the hell are you talking about, old man? We are not in business together. Last time I checked, I’m still a fighter and you don’t have a dog in any fight that I’m aware of.”

Romeo pushed himself from the wall and crossed over to the bar. “That’s where you’re wrong. It’s been months since you came to seem me and you still can’t see the forest through the fucking trees.” He poured several fingers of scotch into an empty glass and took a long swallow. “This town belongs to me and that’s something you should have figured out by now.”

“Oh really?” I joined him at the bar and poured my own drink. I sure as hell needed one for this conversation. “I’m sure there are some families that actually live here that might disagree with you.”

He shook his head. “Nah. The Cullottas have worked here on my behalf after we came to an agreement some time ago. All the others—they fall in line behind them. If they don’t, well, we have operations in place to ensure things don’t get out of hand. In fact, we had one go rogue not too long ago. Even got the feds involved. Needless to say, the situation was handled. Now we’ve got you.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re becoming a complication instead of an asset, and nobody likes a complication.”

“So what? You’re here to threaten me? Or did you come to kill your own son?”

Romeo laughed, a rough rumble that evolved into a cough. For a few seconds, with his face turning beet red, I thought he was going to choke out and I’d have to decide whether to resuscitate his ass or not. As it turned out, I did not have to make that decision. His cough died and his color and composure returned.

“Don’t flatter yourself to think I would handle something menial like that myself. I’ve got people for that kind of thing. No, son, I don’t need to kill you to make you compliant. Not when I think we can come to a far more reasonable agreement.”

I slammed my glass onto the table, sloshing some of the liquid onto my hand. “What the hell are you talking about? What on earth do we need to agree on? We share nothing in common.Nothing. You made that perfectly clear in Italy.”

“That temper you got from me. It’s both a curse and an asset.”

“I’m not going to stand here and listen to you wax all poetic and shit about how I may or may not be linked to you genetically. That ship sailed when you cut my mother and me loose. I would say I regret coming to you in Italy, but that would be a lie. I needed to know for sure so I could close that chapter of my life. Now it’s time to move on. So tell me. Why are you really here? And what was the point of faking your death, only to show up alive a week later?”

The smirk on Romeo’s face got deeper and I had to tamp down on the building annoyance because of it. I had a feeling the man had come here looking for a specific reaction and that was the last thing I wanted to give him.

“Straight to the point. That’s fine. I get the need for that. In your position I would probably feel the same. As for my exaggerated death. I had a problem that needed a solution and this was the fastest route to getting all the answers I needed.”

“You realize you’re talking in circles without actually giving any answers, right? If this is your plan, let me go ahead and cut you short and end this. I don’t have time for your games. As you saw I have enough BS on my plate without adding yours.”

“You do seem to have an infestation of trouble headed your way. Although your fed problem will soon be over. They definitely won’t be back in the morning.”

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