Page 61 of Fortress of the King

“Fine. I’ll work something out.”

“Sounds good. Well, have a good day, and say hello to Rayne for me.”

I don’t know why but the hackles on my neck stand up. “I have to go, Allegra.”

“Ciao, Angelo.”

“Ciao,” I say, hanging up. I don’t have time for this shit.

I don’t mind talking to her if she has something interesting to say, but I’m not here to be her cabana boy and answer her fucking questions.

I may have a million things to do tonight as I’m needed at Fortress. Marco has the permits finally approved for the apartment block and we need to lock the builders in asap.

I head straight to the Gallery, annoyed I have to skip out on dinner and make this quick but at least I get to see her pretty face again.

I meet her down in the cellar where I’m collecting the wine from the auction. I smirk to myself as I hold a bottle of the Chateau Margot in my hand. It’ll be an excellent addition to my private collection. Perhaps I’ll get to have her in there too.

I can’t understand why she seems more timid tonight when I kiss her on both cheeks and ask her how her day has been. I know we fucked, and I’ve seen every inch of her, but now isn’t the time to play hard to get.

“Hello, Angelo. I’m fine, how are you?”

Fuck she’s beautiful. She looks like a naughty secretary dressed in a creamy white skirt suit with a floaty gray blouse. Her hair is pushed up into a neatly packaged bun, one I want to reach up and undo so her blonde tresses cascade down her back.

“I’m fine. It’s been a long week already.”

She nods, then bites her lip.

“Is there something wrong?”

She looks worried for the first time since I’ve met her. This should be good.

“Did you have something to do with my ex-husband accepting the divorce settlement?”

Oh. That.

Not what I was expecting, but I guess she’s figured out what I’ve been up to the last twenty-four hours.

“It’s probable,” I say airily. “Or maybe he wants to keep his other arm from being broken before I move onto his neck.”

I can’t help the smile that creeps across my face when I think about breaking his arm and how fucking good that felt. He was hanging upside down in the warehouse a fair while. Nothing like a little scare from a bunch of hooligans to get him to stay away from my girl.

The fucker deserves it. Gus found out he’s been taken in for battery just a few short months ago; assaulted a young woman in a nightclub. He will be put out of his misery if he’s not careful.

I might be a bastard, but I’m no fucking woman beater.

Rocco let him go eventually; we just wanted to scare him a bit. There’s nothing quite like the simple act of coercion to get people to comply with what you want them to do.

She turns on me, with fire in her eyes, and my cock springs to attention.Oh, give me some of that fire, Rayne Michaelson, I fucking dare you…

“Angelo, what did you do?”

I ponder for a moment. I mean, how much do I want to reveal? Given the fact she’s onmyturf, inmybuilding, onmytime, and really, who gives a fuck? The guy had it coming. If anything, I’ve simply sped up her settlement process.

“That’s a question tinged with possibilities.”

She stares at me. “Is he…is he…still breathing?” Alarm taints her pretty features.

I chuckle. “What kind of man do you think I am?”

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