Page 35 of All's Fair In Love & War

“You need to worry less about me and my soft ass and focus on not getting your dick bit off, so you can stop hating,” Bats replied proudly, making me laugh.

“I’ve never been a hater in my life,” I replied quickly, making Bats laugh with his whole belly. “But for real, though. You got a good one. I commend yo’ big ugly ass.”

“Fuck you.”

“Nah. I’m good on that,” I shot back. “But fuck that soft ass shit. You ready to handle business or what?”

“Always,” Bats replied with a nod. “How is it going with our Cane Corso?”

“Our who?” I asked, frowning as I glanced at Bats in the passenger seat.

“Our little biter, Felicity,” he replied with a chuckle, reminding me of the bullshit she’d done to me.

“Fuck you,” I spat, phantom aches making me rub my dick and silently pray that never happens to me again. “I don’tknow. I’ve been at the penthouse or Tandy’s spot since she tried to bite my dick off. I can’t even look at her right now.”

“Speaking of Tandy, how did she take the news of your marriage?”

A grin tugged at my mouth before I could stop it, and my hand tightened around the steering wheel as I replayed the conversation in my head.

“She said she doesn’t care as long as we at least remain friends after I tie the knot. Tandy never wanted shit from me besides dick and a few coins. She never wanted to be part of this life anyway. Said it’s too dangerous, and not the life she wants to live when she gets ready to settle down.”

“I respect that.” Bats nodded thoughtfully, letting me know he was lying. “So it just leaves you to deal with Cane Corso. Damn, I hate that for you,” he said with a chuckle.

I flipped him off. “Fuck you. No, you don’t.”

“I don’t.” He outright laughed in my face. “But at least you got Tandy to offset the stress. I could tell she got you right. Your uptight ass bopped out of that building like a brand-new man.”

“I don’t bop shit. I G-walk, muthafucka,” I spat, shooting him a glare before returning my eyes to the road.

“If you say so.” He shook his head with a grin. “What do you plan to do with Cane Corso?”

“I don’t know. The staff don’t even want to deal with her. She tried to bite one of the guards’ ears off, and now the maids won’t even look her in the eye. I might have to bring her to the club with me tonight. I’m not Naeem. Keeping her locked in that bedroom is starting to mess with my conscience.”

“Nah. That’s a bad idea. Your patience is thin. She’ll piss you off, and you’ll end up putting her out of the club again.” Bats chuckled, shaking his head when I shrugged.

“That won’t happen because marrying her is my duty. She was tryna sniff cocaine off the bar the first night I met her.Now, she doesn’t have access to it, so that won’t be a problem,” I recounted, reminiscing about the night I encountered the elusive Felicity Veneto. “I’ll chain her ass to my desk if I have to.”

“I hear you,” Bats replied before grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

Everything in my life started to unravel the day the mafia princess, Tatum, ran out of her wedding, leaving the former underboss, Dallas Veneto, humiliated at the altar—and boarded a private jet out of the city with my brother, Naeem. I told him helping her would blow up in our faces. She wasn’t worth the risk, let alone a war, but he didn’t care. He never does when it comes to her.

One look at him and I knew he was already gone. Naeem had fallen for Tatum the second their eyes met. The man who usually thought five moves ahead didn’t think at all when it came to her.

The moment they got married, everything shifted. Lines were crossed, enemies made, and any chance of peace went out the window. Dallas Veneto, with his oversized ego, wasn’t the type of man who bowed out gracefully, least of all to a Bulgari. Tatum’s betrayal wasn’t just personal. I was a public humiliation and an execution of his pride that Dallas couldn’t let stand.

Our families had been at odds for as long as I could remember. The hate was planted long before any of us were born. My grandfather once told me the Venetos went to war over everything: drug routes, blocks, extortion rings, all because we owned damn near every piece of power this city had to offer.

Naeem and Tatum’s union only poured fuel on that fire because Dallas not only lost his bride, he also lost face. In our world, there was no greater sin than that.

“Did she piss you off because she tried to snort coke off the bar, or was it because she let a random muthafucka fingerfuck her in a dark corner while you watched?” Bats asked, cutting through my despair.

My eyes narrowed as I glanced over at him and was met with a goofy grin. “Don’t ask me that shit because you know I really don’t give a fuck. If she wants to let a nobody slut her out, that’s her business. I ordered her to leave for disrespecting me and my establishment, and what I say goes. End of story.” I sneered, trying not to get angry, though I partially lied.

I was bothered.

For reasons unknown.

She was an addict, and mouthing, and everything else I despised in a woman. So, why did she have my attention the entire night? I had no idea, but Felicity didn’t know who she was dealing with. I was the one pulling the strings, and if she thought for a second that she could flaunt herself in front of me and not face the consequences, she was sorely mistaken.

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