Page 6 of Fortress of the King

She shakes her head. “Trust me when I say I’m not. He’s bad news. Fucking gorgeous, of course, and a friend of a friend told me he goes all night and likes all kinds of kinky shit in bed.” She practically swoons right there on the pavement. “Can you imagine him dominating you in the sack? I mean, it’d be too much. I’d never recover. God, I really need to get laid.”

I bite my lip and smile, though envisioning him kinky in the sack shoots a pulse to my very core, not that it should. I’ve no interest in the enemy other than to do my job.

Claire isn’t a bad person. She’s a little clicky, but she seems harmless enough, and she might even give me some useful intel on the Medicis.

I frown at her comment. “Well, he is kind of cute, but I’d be way too nervous about being in his presence alone,” I admit. “He has that whole dark and dangerous vibe going on.”

She gapes at me. “Cute?” She actually slaps her forehead. “Oh my God, Rayne. Do you need glasses?”

I stare at her with wide eyes.

“No offense,” she adds.

“What else do you know about him?” I press. It seems gossip girl may be able to give me something valuable after all.

“Well. It would not be cool to piss him off. I mean, if he really was serious and wants a one-on-one tour, then you do it. If he insists that you doanything,then do it. He isn’t just called the king of Boston for no reason.” She leans in to whisper. “I shouldn’t say this, but you’re best off hearing it from me. He’s got links to the underworld…he’s mafia. Some say he even owns the police.”

Holy shit.

I think about the file on my desk in my apartment and what I already know so far.

He’s the head of Boston; what else is there to know? This ishisterritory, and when he’s not feuding with the Russians and other people of power, he’s taking over every single thing in this city.

Angelo Medici.

Thirty-eight years old.

A self-made billionaire.

Former heir to the Medici Fortress fortune, now the ruler of the underworld and all the crime figures in it, good and bad but primarily treacherous.

I expected a snake.

I expected the devil incarnate.

Instead, I was met with a man who exudes effortless power, one where it would not be possible to pass him in the street without taking notice.

While I should follow the warning bells going off in my head, that isn’t an option. The only choice is to step with open arms into the fire and welcome the flames.

“Jesus, Claire! I’m starting to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into here,” I whisper-shout back. “The underworld?” I leave the word hanging, and we continue walking.

“It’s best you know,” she goes on, like it needs further explanation. “Angelo Medici is not a man to be trusted.”

I stare at her strangely. “I don’t intend on sleeping with my boss,” I choke out. “I mean, he’s attractive and all, but that is unethical, not to mention downright creepy.”

She just shakes her head like I’m a lost cause.

Good, forget about me Claire Holdwright, that’s exactly what I need you to do because you’ll only get in my way, and getting in my way could be a mistake. I don’t need her getting caught in the crossfire.

That burden is mine, and mine alone.

* * *

It’s the next afternoon, and I’m sitting at my computer when a message pops up on my screen from Angelo Medici.

I stare at the text as relief floods through me.Finally.

I did get his attention.

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