Page 95 of The Demons We Hide

"Lex," I say again.

My friend turns his head and I can already make out the shadow of a mark on his cheek. My attention snaps back to Savino.Dumbass,I mentally hiss. If he attacked Lex first then he deserves everything Lex will deal out.

"Tell him what you told me," Lex snaps, ignoring my call as he fixes his full attention back on Savino.

Savino kicks at him, the gray at his temples standing out even more as he whips his head back and forth and stiffens in Lex's hold. Savino has never been one of my father's strongest men. In fact, he's practically scrawny in comparison to the general mass of the Vargas gang. My father keeps him around, though, because he's good with money and laundering it.

I stride up to Lex's side and cross my arms. "Go on," I say. "What did you say to him?"

He spits out another curse in Italian. "I don't have to tell you shit," he bites out. "You're not the leader."

Lex yanks Savino away from the wall and deftly spins the much smaller man until he presses his cheek into the spot his back had just been. "Don't insult your fucking betters,Stronzo."

Savino begins to laugh, though the sound is choked as Lex presses the weight of his strength against his neck and back. "You think speaking our tongue makes you one of us?"

I turn my cheek and jerk my chin at Ma-Ri. "Go back into the office," I snap. She hesitates and I bark out a quick "Now" that has her moving. I might respect Ma-Ri, but she should know that when I tell her to do something, I'm not asking. The door slams shut a second later with her on the other side.

"Alright," I say, turning back to Lex and Savino before nodding down the hall. "Let's finish this conversation elsewhere."

"You can't—" Savino begins, but I've had enough from him. I have to deal with my own father's disrespect and the disrespect he shows to my mother, but I do not and will never accept it from his men.

Gripping Lex by his shoulder, I rip him back, and the sudden action surprises him into letting Savino go. Before Savino can scamper away, however, I grab ahold of him and slam my fist into his half-turned face. "Let's get one thing fucking straight," I snap, grabbing him and hauling him down the hallway as Lex follows us. "I can do whatever the fuck I want. Disrespect me again, and I'll cut your fucking tongue out of your mouth and shove it up your ass."

Savino blanches at the threat, but doesn't resist anymore as I half shove, half carry his skinny ass out into the main part of the club. The lights are on, but considering the time, I'm not surprised to see that all of Ma-Ri's other employees are gone. We're likely the only ones left in the building, which suits my purposes just fine.

Directing Savino over to the closest bar top, I push him against it and take a step back. "Now." I cross my arms over my chest. "You want to explain to me what you said to my friend here to piss him off?"

Lex takes up residence at my side and doesn't say a word, choosing instead to glare down at the piece of shit as Savino grimaces and wilts under our combined scowls. Being good at finances and money laundering can only get a man so far.

"The Donovan bitch isn't welcome here anymore," Savino spits, and when Lex growls, he flinches. I want to roll my eyes. One moment he's all bravado, thinking he has some authority, and the next he's wilting under Lex's dark glare. It's a shock that a man like him has made it this far in my father's business.

"Who are you to decide that?" I demand.

Savino blinks and then straightens, turning and pressing his back into the bar as he stares back at us. "You know exactly who I am,Giovanni," he spits my name like it's a curse. Why not? It is to my father. "I relay messages from Darrio when he has something to say. You can't come after me for doing my job."

"I can." Lex's words are matched with his careful step forward.

My hand snaps out, holding on to his shoulder, and he stills but doesn't turn back to face me. I need to be judicious here. If I let Lex slip from his leash, he'll kill Savino for insulting Juliet. Though I wouldn't care if the bottom feeder were to die, it can't happen here. Not in Ma-Ri's club and not when it would be clear who the killers are. We need plausible deniability and alibis if we want to kill Savino.

"Why?" I ask, directing the question to the man who seems to think he's still got some power here.

"Darrio will be slipping his new product through this club before long," Savino says and I have to force my face to remain blank. We know about the new product my father is looking to transport—drugs, far heavier drugs than he's ever gotten his greedy hands on. This information, however, is news to me, and from the stiffening of Lex's shoulders, it's news to him too. If Nolan knew, then he surely would have told us. Which begs more questions—what the fuck is my father planning?

Savino grins as if he can read my mind, and I glower back at him. "And?" I snap. "What does Donovan have to do with it? She's an employee. I doubt Ma-Ri will let her girls be?—"

The man chuckles, cutting me off, and I let my hand drop away from Lex. The second I'm no longer touching him, Lex shoots forward, gripping Savino by the front lapels of his ill-fitting suit jacket. He stops laughing the second Lex's fist connects with his face. He cries out the second time it hits and by the third, I'm actually enjoying myself and contemplating pulling a chair and grabbing a drink. Unfortunately, we're not done with Savino just yet.

"Lex." His next punch halts inches from Savino's already bloody face.

The older man's nose hangs somewhat crooked, and blood drips from one nostril down over his quivering lower lip. I watch Savino with curiosity. He's terrified of Lex—that's no surprise. Many of the Vargas gang are. Lex has done more enforcer work alongside Nolan. It's the work I hate the most, but in this moment—I'm debating asking Lex to step back and let me do this. I'd love nothing more than to take my father's right hand down a peg or two.

In the end, however, I release a slow breath and move on. "I want to know, Savino, why you thought you had the right to have Ma-Ri fire the Donovan girl," I state. "And I want to know what the hell you and my father think you're doing trying to run drugs through this club."

Ma-Ri pays protection money. That's it. That's all it should be.

Savino shuts his bloodied mouth, and I know this is about to get a lot harder if we stay here. I chance a look at Lex who appears more than ready to drag Savino out to his SUV and likely all the way up to the shitty hunting cabin. That's not something we normally do without Nolan, but if he's got Juliet then he won't be able to meet us there.

No.I shake my head at the unwanted thoughts. We need to handle this here and now, and we can't kill the bastard. No matter how much I really fucking want to.

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