Page 41 of Phantom Mine

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There’s the smart things I know I should do, and then there’s the dumb shit I actually do.

Ishouldfire Melody immediately. Failing that, Ishouldat the very least stay the fuck away to avoid bringing more unwanted attention to her. Ishouldfocus on continuing to weaken theFamigliafrom the inside. Ishouldset up an introduction with the woman who’s going to be my fiancée.

I should do a half dozen other things except seek Melody out, which is why when I settle in one of the private VIP rooms the next day and ask Enzo to send for her, he gives me a dark look.

“Just say it,” I sigh. “You look like you might explode if you don’t get the words out.”

“You’re playing with fire.” He, more than anyone, knows the weight that analogy carries with me.

“I’m going to question her about why she was in Rocco’s office yesterday.”

“Cool,” he retorts, dropping into the chair next to mine. “I’ll stay and help.”

“No.”

He shakes his head, laughing humorlessly. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you do.”

I grit my teeth. “I’m not engaged yet,cugino.”

The look he gives me is beyond unimpressed. “This is about much more than just the engagement. It’s a lifetime’s worth of patience spent waiting for the right moment, and you’re finally poised to get everything you’ve ever wanted.” His words are heated, passionate. “I wouldn’t stand in your way if I thought this was just fun and nothing more, but I don’t think that’s what this is.”

“It is.” Melody is an itch that needs scratching. Once I have her writhing under me—and up against the wall, and riding me, and on her hands and knees, and about a dozen other positions I’ve dreamed of putting her in—then I’ll be able to forget about her and focus on our future.

“You forget I’ve been at your side every day since the night you met her.”

The next part goes unsaid. He’s witnessed enough of my actions since to doubt that I could easily give her up.

“You have my word.”

“Make sure she knows what this is too then,” he grunts. “She’s not half bad, I'd hate to see her get hurt in all this.”

“Are you developing a soft spot for her?”

“Relax.” Enzo rolls his eyes at the tension in my words. “She’s stronger than she looks. You know I respect a fighter.”

“She’s absolutely a fighter.” I rub my jaw and smile, remembering the way she punched me. “Question is, what is she fighting for?”

“If she’s willing to risk her life for it, then it must be as important to her as yours is to you.”

I hum in acknowledgment and he leaves.

When I left London, I moved in with Enzo and his family in Rome. We’d been close since childhood after I’d saved his life during a botched kidnapping attempt. He’s been unfailingly loyal to me since.

A month into my stay, with some time and reflection behind me, I sat him down and told him I wanted revenge. That I wanted Rocco and my father dead, the latter’s bloody crown ripped from his dead fingers and placed on my head.

Enzo had simply nodded and smiled.

“I’ve been waiting for this day,” he’d told me. “I’m with you until the end.”

And he has been. Every step of the way.

Melody won’t make me lose sight of our objective. Nothing will get in the way of my revenge or my ascension to Don.

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