Page 13 of Throne of Sin

The thick accented man snickers. “He’s the meanest one here, girl.” The two men laugh at whatever inside joke they have going on.

Actually, the whole room chuckles. They’re laughing at me.

The meanest one. My adrenaline spikes and I try to get a glimpse of the man who bought me.

“Sold!” The announcer officially sells me to the shadow man.

I stand tall for the first time tonight. I will not allow these men to laugh at me. There’s a quick pinch to my neck, and my hand flies to the area. My head swivels to see a man walking away with a needle in his hand. My feet stumble as I try to stay standing. The lights are so bright they hurt my eyes.

Each muscle becomes heavy. My feet stumble again and I crash into the stool, we both go down and my vision goes black.

Chapter 6

Dante

“Charlotte,canthiswait?”I ask Savio’s wife, who’s just barged into my house like she owns it. She has the audacity to look refreshed while I’m still feeling the effects of my hangover. “Shouldn’t you still be hungover from your birthday party?”

“It’s been three days. My hangovers don’t last days on end because I’m not old like you.” I’d hardly call myselfoldat barely thirty, but I don’t correct her.

She makes herself at home and pours a cup of coffee.

“Feel free to take my favorite mug as a to-go cup and leave.” I try to wave her off but nope, she sits down and makes herself more comfortable.

My eyes glance toward the hallway then back at her. She immediately picks up on it. “What are you hiding back there?” She smiles over her steaming coffee.

“You said you had a reason to be here, right?” I cross my arms, pretending to be annoyed, but Charlotte has a way of making people like her and I’m far from immune to her charm. As a matter of fact, I find her rather amusing.

“Fine, fine. I think you could have a traitor at your club.”

I grunt. Charlotte was held at gunpoint a while back and since then, she’s adamant someone from the Italian mafia was in cahoots with her ex-best friend. She has been completely wrapped up with this conspiracy theory.

“Why are we beating a dead horse?” I ask, not understanding why this is still an issue. “Klaus is dead, why does this matter?” The problem is solved, end of story.

“Because it means we have an enemy in your club.” She stands back up, jabbing me with her pointy finger. If she wasn’t married to my brother, I would have broken the offending digit.

I glance back at the hallway. I really do have better things to do with my time today. A smirk forms on my lips as I remember what a great day it is.

“No,youhave an enemy,” I correct. I get her point, and I’ll look into it, but I don’t want her to think I’ll just get up and do everything she wants. I’m not my brother.

“Dante!” she pleads.

I hold my hands up, placating. “I’ll look into it. I promise.”

“Where were you last night? You normally come over for dinner on Sundays.” Charlotte and I have grown close since she got together with my brother, so I let her question slide, but her eyes keep sliding to the hallway every time I glance over there. She’s way too nosey for her own good.

“You need to leave.” I hold on to her arm and drag her a few steps toward the door.

“Why?” She smiles, enjoying herself way too much.

“I’m dealing with business. Last I checked, you had your own business that should take up your time.”

A throat clears and both our heads swivel to the hallway. Demi is standing there in one of my old shirts I’d dressed her in while she slept. It doesn’t even make it to her mid-thigh, and my mouth instantly dries at her image.

“Business, huh?” Charlotte mumbles under her breath with a chuckle. “I’ll be going then, but I’m taking this mug with me.”

Charlotte knows how to see herself out. I ignore her, my eyes locking on the woman I once knew as I walk toward her. “How are you feeling?”

She rubs her head and my shirt rises, giving me a glimpse of her shaven pussy before I avert my eyes back to hers.

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