Page 49 of Ruthless Mafia Boss 3: Vino and Claire

“Vino, I’m not.”

“Even if you weren’t my woman, I’d still kill that motherfucker,” he declared, his blue eyes now icy pools of wrath. “Your ex, Ivan, is holed up at his compound in Russia.”

A hesitant relief washed over me; the weight of his promise steadied my shaking shoulders. My breath caught. Vino was really hunting down my ex, the man who had haunted my every nightmare.

“He killed innocent people because he couldn’t let me go. I see their faces every night in my dreams,” I whispered, my lower lip quivering with both fear and grief.

As I recalled the dorm attendant who had vanished after I fled. Deep down, I knew he killed her too.

I longed for a swig of liquor to dull the memory. Instead, Vino pulled me into his arms. “I will bring that bastard to his knees, Claire,” he vowed.

He held me, allowing the flood of my sobs to wrack my body with raw emotion. I hadn’t given anyone a play-by-play of the horrors that happened in my past until now.

“Come on, let’s clean your face. We’re almost at the safe house.”

Climbing into the SUV, I joked to his bodyguards, “You guys probably think I’m crazy.”

“They don’t,” Vino interjected firmly. “No man who works for me would ever think it’s excusable to beat or rape a woman. My men will lay down their lives to protect you and they want Ivan dead as much as I do.”

“That’s the fucking truth,” Xavier snarled as he barreled down the expressway.

Hearing that, my heart warmed. They would protect me, and they shared my thirst for vengeance. At that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder who was I becoming

CHAPTER TEN

VINO

Ivan Sokolov would soon face consequences for what he did to my woman. He’d tormented Claire, breaking her spirit, and even killed innocents just to get to her. Thankfully, her friend Gia stepped in to help her escape and adopt a new identity. I wondered if Gia was the younger sister of Eon Agresta, a mafia family that was untouchable no one, least of all Ivan, could dare cross them.

Stepping through the massive wooden front door of the safe house, I watched as Claire staggered toward the full bar, its shelves gleaming with top-shelf alcohol. Her stilettos tapped a steady beat on the polished hardwood. I kept a watchful eye on her as I set her bags on the oversized black sofa.

The safe house exuded a rustic, woodsy ambiance with wooden beams across the high ceilings. Shutters could descend from above to cover the expansive bay windows, featuring built-in holes for rifles to peer through and spot threats. Next to the front door sat a decorative gold box containing AR-15’s, AK-47s, and grenades, with similar boxes located throughout the house, near the back door and at the top of the stairs leading to the four bedrooms. This was a gated property, and with state-of-the-art surveillance, my men would be alerted if anyone approached. The garage was packed with off-road vehicles and weaponry, making this place feel like a compound. We were ready for war.

“The house is secure, Vino,” Glacier reported.

Claire laughed as she poured the amber liquid into her glass. “Mr. Mafia Boss Vino Romano, not Mr. Ruthless businessman Vino Romano.”

I nodded at Glacier. “Thanks. That’ll be all.”

“Good night, boss,” he said, leaving the room.

Claire staggered toward me, sipping a whiskey, clutching the whiskey bottle in her other hand. “I’m a broken doll, Vino.”

Her big brown eyes held mine. Palming her face, I inched close to her lips. “You’re not broken. In due time, I’ll show you just how strong you are.”

Her eyes squeezed shut. “Vino, I just want to design beautiful clothes.”

“You’ll do that and be the Donna of the Romano family.”

“Fuck me, Vino.”

She ignored my words about her high-ranking position in my family.

Claire reached for my belt. “Fill my pussy with your big dick. I want to forget about everything in my life.”

“Including me?” I asked.

“No, not you.” Her beautiful face brightened. “We are about to have a good time.”

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