Page 479 of Hate Mates

A curt nodis all I receive from the seething elder of the Cassone crime family. His daughter has his strength, voluntarily walking past her father and out to the car by my side without a tear.

Georgeo waitsfor us right outside the entrance in the running SUV, while our soldiers line the long drive, all the way past the gates, each turning to follow us as we head past the gatekeepers who have long since seen their demise, as the silent but deadly attack on the Cassone estate occurred.

Sophia settlesinto the plush black leather of the back seat, scooting as far away from me as her seatbelt will allow. She presses her head against the coolness of the glass, watching the life she knows fade in the distance. Soon, she will have a new existence, at least for as long as it takes her father to pay. And knowing mine, a mere exchange of money will not be enough. He is far too sadistic a fuck for that.

My chest tightensas I push the thought away.

Attackingthe Roselli family is something you do not do, no matter who you are, and especially if you are a rival crime family with a wish to continue doing business in the underworld. Everything is about power, and once a couple of Cassone’s soldiers confessed under the blade that her father was behind the heist, she and her sister’s world were never going to be the same.

Now they are merely pawnsin a devil’s game.

The dark-haired beauty sits quietly,her arms crossed, trying to hide the heaving of her peach- sized breasts beneath the molded white t-shirt she wears. She feels my gaze though, and turns to meet me with blazing eyes. “The minute this vehicle left those gates, all of my father’s men and all of the soldiers on thestreet were given an order. They’ll come for me and when they do, they’ll make you pay.”

The younger sistermay be well educated in the world outside of mine, and three years in one of the finest colleges around have probably given her a false sense of security, perhaps even believing she could leave this life. “They’ll find you when I’m ready to give you back. Until then, you’ll be mindful of who you talk to like that, Sophia. You wouldn’t want to get on my bad side.”

Her mouth stayssilent but the fires in her eyes still rage as I watch a myriad of emotions play across the beautiful porcelain skin before she turns to look out the window at the passing traffic.

Sophia looks like her mother,at least from the pictures I’ve seen. She may have her dad’s dark Italian coloring, but her skin is so creamy it’s hard to resist caressing, if just to see how very soft it may be. “How much?” she asks quietly.

It’s nothard to know what she’s asking. “How much money did your father take when he had our trucks hijacked?”

Her eyesslowly find mine as she turns. “It’s not true. I would have known. There are protocols, rules we live by, and you of all people should know that. Papa would never have done something that could be taken as an all-out start of war without preparing and safeguarding his daughters. We mean the world to him. Unlike you and your brothers and father, Papa is not a monster.”

“Yet he did,and now you must pay for his deeds.”

Her golden amber-coloredeyes graze me with their disdain and hate. “You’ll be sorry you ever met me one day, and it will be one day in the very near future, Massimo. You mark my words. I will make you pay for the day you came uninvited into our home and took something that does not belong to you.”

“Your father consented,Sophia. You belong to me now. At least for as long as it takes.”

Her head whipsaround with anger. “I don’t now, nor will I ever, belong to you. You’re nothing but a two-bit hood who has the entire community believing you’re this great person who donates to worthy causes. They don’t know where your money comes from though, do they, Massimo? But I see you, the underground world you live in, I know you. You do not fool me!”

It’simpossible not to lean in, or to stroke a finger down that creamy skin, grazing it over those voluptuous but impudent lips. “Shh. That mouth of yours is going to be your undoing, Sophia.”

She’s notimpervious to the chemistry that runs between us, enemies or not. The pulse on the side of her neck beats stronger and her cheeks heat an erotic shade of pink as her nipples pebble, leaving images of her nude body running through my mind.

Sophia should begrateful that for some innate reason I feel the need to protect her from the wrath of the warehouse, no doubt where my father believes her to be. But, of course, shedoesn’t have a self-preserving bone in her body, only defiance in the face of certain defeat. “My father isn’t a liar. He isn’t a thief and he’s ten times the man you could ever hope to be. Fuck you and the entire Roselli family!”

Georgeo raiseshis eyebrows in the rearview mirror. It will never do to let her get away with that runaway mouth in front of the staff. Especially when we don’t know who is all too eager to whisper in my father’s ear these days. “I’ll deal with you when we get into the house,” I tell her as the sprawling white four column mansion comes into view in the distance.

Sophia’squiet as we drive through the gates, but the erratic rate of her pulse indicates her fear. But she doesn’t let that stop her continued assault. “Fine, now we’ve arrived at the great Roselli estate. I should be shaking in my boots, scared to death of what you may do to me.”

“You should indeed.”

“You’re not goingto do anything to me, because if you do, my father will kill you with his bare hands, and it will be painful and slow.”

My jaw lockstight as Georgeo watches the interaction from the front seat. I get out of the car and walk to the other side. When I pull open the door, she’s already removed her seatbelt, which is going to make picking the mouthy little minx up and tossing her over my shoulder that much easier.

I reachin to grab her, but Sophia’s long toned limb lodges the heel of her foot right into my thigh, narrowly missing my groin, causing my grip on her to loosen, and she makes a run for it across the bright green manicured lawn.

She has a head start,but she’s not going anywhere. Besides, the thrill of a good chase makes my dick harder than it’s ever been.

Chapter Four

SOPHIA CASSONE

The pounding of feet hitting the ground and sounds of breathing behind me tell me I have little to no time. I make one last ditch effort, darting into the surrounding trees, the lushness of the forest giving me a sense of security, if only for a moment.

Until armsof steel close around me, tightening, pulling me against the rigid hardness of his body. Massimo whispers in my ear. “You can run, but you can’t hide. I will always catch you, kitten.”

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