Page 61 of His Ruthless Obsession

Elliott's fingers fly across the tablet. Within seconds, multiple video feeds appear - different angles of the Mantione compound. The timestamp in the corner shows it's live footage.

"Fine." Nerio straightens his jacket. "One favor. To be determined at a later date. How long will you need?"

"I can come back tomorrow. Set up and work with you directly so you can see what I'm finding in real time."

I see the surprise that Nerio quickly hides. "Tomorrow then."

Elliott heads for the door but pauses with his hand on the handle. "By the way, it took me five minutes to hack your cameras too." His lips quirk up. "If you want that vulnerability fixed, that'll be two favors."

The door clicks shut before Nerio can respond.

Nerio's glare could melt steel as he turns to me. "You brought a hacker into my office without warning?"

I step closer, leaning in to press a quick kiss to his stubbled cheek. His cologne wraps around me - spicy and familiar. "A hacker who just showed us exactly how vulnerable both you and the Mantiones are. Imagine what he could do if he was working for us instead of just showing off."

His hand catches my hip, keeping me close. "You're lucky he proved useful."

"I'm always useful." I trail my fingers down his tie. "And you know it."

The muscle in his jaw jumps. "We'll see how useful your little hacker friend turns out to be." He drags me into his lap. “And now I’m going to have to cancel my next meeting.”

“Why?” I drag my hand along his jaw, tracing down his neck, as my stomach tightens in anticipation.

“Because I’m about to fuck you over this desk.” He leans in, his eyes darkening. “I don’t like seeing you alone with other men.”

“I was with Tony,” I protest as he pushes me chest first onto the desk before him.

“I don’t care.” Nerio shoves the sundress I’m wearing up around my hips, his hands spreading my thighs apart. “I don’t fucking like it, and now I’m going to mark you. Remind you that you belong to me.”

And with the promise of a reward so sweet, I don’t argue with him. Not when I get his mouth and fingers and finally his cock buried into my pussy.

24

NERIO

Ilean back in my chair, gaze flicking between the security feeds and Elliott's hunched form. His fingers fly across the keyboard, face illuminated by the blue glow of his laptop screen.

The sight of him sets my teeth on edge. My mind flicks back to when Jazz walked in with him — and seeing her with another guy made me see red. She brought him in to help with the Mantione situation, but I don't fucking like her around people like him.

I’m still grinding my teeth over her ex, wishing I could bring him back to life and kill himself.

The Costa family might not be direct enemies, but Elliott's involvement with them means he's no innocent tech geek. His carefully crafted persona — the thick-framed glasses, the casual demeanor — it's all smoke and mirrors. I've seen what he can do. He's fucking ruthless, even if he seems…nice.

I watch Elliott's reflection in one of the dark screens. Behind those thick-rimmed glasses and easy smile lies the kind of guy who once encrypted a rival's entire network with ransomware, then systematically deleted their backups while they scrambled to pay. Left them bleeding money for weeks.

"Found anything interesting?" I keep my tone casual, testing.

"Mantiones are sloppy." He doesn't look up from his screen. "Their security's full of holes. Like they want people watching." His lips curl into a predatory smile. "Makes it easy to plant false trails."

I raise an eyebrow. "Speaking from experience?"

"Let's just say the Costas didn't hire me for my winning personality." Elliott stretches, joints cracking. "Two years ago, some dipshit tried muscling in on their territory. I buried him in debt, destroyed his reputation, then leaked evidence of fraud to the feds. By the time they were done with him, guy couldn't even get a library card."

The cold calculation in his voice matches the darkness I've seen in his work. This isn't some keyboard warrior playing at being dangerous. He's carved his own bloody path through the digital underworld.

"You met Jazz through her friend?" He nods, though we both know I already knew that answer. "She doesn't know what you really do, does she?"

His fingers pause on the keys. "She knows enough. That I handle 'tech security' for certain interests." He glances up, expression hardening. "Speaking of — are you planning to tell Jazz about the camera feeds you're watching of her at all times? Or should I?"

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