Page 120 of Devious Kingpin
“Agreed. We fucking told you,” Basilio said.
Of course, my brother and cousins couldn’t wait to taunt me with those four words.I told you so.
“If Juliette calls Wynter, my wife will go ballistic,” Basilio added. “She’ll demand your balls or she’ll have mine.”
“Then give her your balls,” I remarked dryly. “And please, spare me your shit,” I said.
My words tasted bitter and I hadn’t even started drinking. I was too busy refreshing that fucking tracking app, ensuring she stayed within the city limits. One step outside Chicago and all hell would break loose. She was mine and the only air she would breathe was in my city.
“I don’t understand why you’re so hung up on her,” Basilio mumbled. “The girl barely spares you a glance and you’re chasing her like she’s your salvation.”
I gritted my teeth. “Maybe she is.”
“If she’s your salvation, we’re all fucked,” Basilio noted.
“You are not helpful at all. Why don’t you fuck off and call someone else for your three-way conference call.”
“She’s actually fun,” Priest came to her defense, making me smile. Juliette had inched her way into his heart. “She hides her kindness and fierce convictions under thorns.”
“Well, that sounds familiar,” Basilio retorted dryly. After all, we—DiLustros—were experts at it. “Then I am happy to have her in our family.”
“You better, cousin, because she’s not going anywhere.”
I ended the call, then stood there for several minutes, stunned by the silence and emptiness that remained behind. I always knew Juliette would turn me into a pussy-whipped wimp without even trying.
Everyone thought it was her refusal that made me want more.
It wasn’t.
It was her fire. Her strength that she hid under her reckless behavior. Her fucking glowing smiles. And then her vulnerability. It made an appearance when she thought nobody was looking.
I saw it in the little girl I saved ten years ago. I saw it in the same girl, now grown. My wife.
Juliette didn’t realize it but every time we were together, despite her glaring displeasure at seeing me, she’d helped me heal. Maybe it was the masochist in me but being around her helped me heal from things she didn’t break.
Things that both my brother and I hid from the world.
“Mr. DiLustro.”
The maid’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Yes.”
“You have a visitor. Is it okay to bring him here?”
I frowned. Who would be visiting unannounced? The only people who ever did that were my cousins and my brother. And they never waited for the maid to answer the door.
“Yes.” I unbuttoned my jacket to ensure I had easy access to my gun. Footsteps sounded, approaching closer. The door opened and surprise washed over me. “Kian?”
Of all the potential visitors I could have had, he was the last one I expected. We barely exchanged a few words back in Las Vegas. I usually kept to the Syndicate when it came to business dealings. Once in a while I ventured outside of it like I had with Alessio. But that business relationship made sense. I had my shipments coming from the north through his territory. Correction, no longer his territory, since he’d gotten out of the mafia business.
“I hope you don’t mind the visit,” he said, taking my extended hand.
“Just surprised is more like it.” It wasn’t the best time but I kept that one to myself. “To what do I owe this visit?”
He pulled out a yellow envelope and handed it to me. My eyebrows scrunched.
“What is this?” I questioned.
“Insurance that your wife gets out alive,” he answered. When I gave him a blank look, he shook his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised she hides her extracurricular activities from you.”
