Page 31 of Tempt Me (Dark Odyssey 4)

“I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Salvatore tilts his head to the side as he lights up his cigar. I light mine too and take a draw.

“Keep an eye? And what of the offer, Capo Bastone?”

I hesitate to confirm that I’ve accepted, but he looks at me and knows. To my credit, I gave her several chances to leave. Sure, the price would have possibly been very hefty had she done so, but this is her choice.

She offered herself to me, and I accepted. It’s not like the women who throw themselves at me daily. There’s something forbidden and tempting about it that entices me. She’d be the youngest woman I’ve ever been with. I’m nearly twice her age. She’s twenty-six, and I’m forty-four, eighteen years older than her. I know many who do worse. It’s common in our world.

Salvatore chuckles deep and edgy. “Fucking hell, Vin, you exchange all that shit Mark did for a piece of ass. A fuck toy.”

“Fuck, Salvatore, don’t fucking say that to me.” I straighten up. I’m not letting him take the moral high ground with me again. “I’ll have a fuck toy if I want to.”

“Vin, you know what I’m saying. I’ll be the last guy to tell you what to do in that respect. It’s just that Mark could have ruined us, and we don’t know what more we could discover. He fucked around with drugs, so who knows what more we could find.”

“I get it, and I agree. I just…” I’m thinking of the best answer. “The situation’s in check for the moment. It’s not resolved, and there’s a lot to do, but we’re doing it this way.”

“Taking pussy as payment for two million dollars and counting?” He narrows his eyes.

I chuckle. “Hey, since that two million was mine and came out of my pocket, I think I’m allowed to take whatever form of repayment I choose. Everything else is shit that we have to deal with as it comes, and currently, I got the cops and feds in a corner.”Those fuckers. I’m still pissed from the meeting this morning.

He laughs at that. “Alright, Vin… I hope the repayment will be to your liking. Does that mean my club won’t be seeing you there for a while? You’re going to break a few hearts with the news of your departure.”

The Dark Odyssey… I’ll take her there. I can just imagine how horrified she’ll be heading into a sex club. I’ll make sure she enjoys herself though.

“We’ll see. There’s something else we got to deal with,” I state. Pa told me about the Bratva guys. Now it’s for me to decide who to involve in my plans.

“What’s that?”

Quickly, I fill him in, and when I’m done, he leans back in the chair and stares at me with suspicion in his eyes.

“That’s real interesting, Vin. What’s your take on it?”

“Far be it from me to raise the alarm of suspicion when this could make us even richer bastards than we are. We’ll set up a meeting with them. You and Christian will come with me.” I know what I’m doing, but Salvatore looks confused at the mention of Christian.

“Why not Gabe or Nick?”

“It’s too much. Four brothers of power going into a meeting with powerful men is too much. Christian is like Gabe, good at reading people. And you…” I pause. There’s a lot about Salvatore. This new structure will leave a job opening for the most trusted advisor. My father chose my mother, and now I will choose my brother. “I’m going to need my consigliere with me.”

His eyes widen, and I’m not real sure why this would surprise him.

“Me? You’re going to choose me?”

I nod. “Yeah. I’m choosing you. You’ll see through bullshit.” He’ll be my eyes and ears. I need the two of them because I can’t think straight, so I’m doing the next best thing.

My eyes return to the window, and I can just about see Ava looking down through the frosted glass.

Beautiful and scared.

I take a draw on my cigar and blow it out slow and purposefully as I continue to stare back, allowing her to see that I see her.

We’re far away, but I can sense that fear and want.

It’s still interesting.

Chapter Seven

Vincent

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