Page 8 of Fatal Love

There was nothing but silence for a beat of thirty second, when finally, his gruff voice came through the speaker. “Two hours, Rachel.”

The line went dead, leaving me amass of confusion. I tried to search my brain for any possibilities of who would be following me, but I came up short. Since arriving in Vegas, I hadn’t handled any major cases that would put me in the crosshairs of someone seeking vengeance. That left me with only one thought… it had to be related to this case.

After showering at the speed of light, I pulled my golden strands into a tight ponytail, not bothering with the time to dry it. I slipped into a pair of leggings and a T-shirt—my go to Saturday attire. During the week, I always dressed professionally, heels, skirts, the typical attorney look. But today I didn't give a rat's ass what anyone thought. Tying my shoes, I snagged my computer and shoved it into my bag. Once I was downstairs, I made myself some coffee, praying like hell it would alleviate the headache throbbing behind my eyes. I needed something to staunch the pain so I could be on my game if I was going to risk seeing Michael today. If I someone was following me, getting to the address he sent was going to be tricky.

I sat down, coffee in hand, and sifted through the documents I'd brought home. Riley was accused of manslaughter—and the Feds were trying to make an example out of her. But I knew they were really hoping to anger Vincenzo into admitting he was the one who'd killed Donat Ivanov. After all, it made more sense that he'd stabbed the man, not Riley, since everyone believed him to be the notorious La Lama. The odd thing was the evidence I had pointed to Dmitri Ivanov as being the Prizrak and La Lama. Or he that Dmitri at least controlled La Lama. There was no way La Lama was Vincenzo—the bad blood between Dmitri and him proved that.

Maybe Michael could shed some light on the questions I had. Deep down, my gut insisted Riley hadn’t killed him intentionally or at all. And if it was her that wielded the knife, it was self-defense, plain and simple.

But why did they want Vincenzo so badly, they were willing to destroy one of their own? After staring at the useless information, I shoved it into my backpack and headed out.

Meeting with Michael was a risk in more ways than one. But I was willing to take it if it meant getting answers. I stood for justice and truth—no matter which side that fell on.

Four

Antonio

“I should go.” I stood and grabbed my shirt, shoving my arms into the sleeves. “I don’t think I should be here when Rachel arrives.”

Michael walked up behind me and pressed his lips to my shoulder. “Stop running, Antonio. You came here last night for a reason. And just like I told you then, I don’t care that you slept with her. Hell, I wanted to bend her over my desk when she was in my office. She’s fucking gorgeous.”

“Right. Thanks for reminding me I was her second choice. You’re the reason she was wasted when she got home. She drove like that—did I tell you?”

Michael made a soft growling noise in his throat. “Yeah, and we will talk to her about being stupid when she gets here. But for now, we need to figure out who is watching her—because if they are watching her, you bet your ass they're watching Vincenzo and Riley.”

I sighed knowing he was right. We needed answers and me running off every time things got hard had to end. My brother needed me—and I was getting tired of pretending. “Fine. But she’s going to be pissed when she realizes I'm the one she took to bed last night. I should have told her who I was, but my cock drained all the blood from my brain.”

Michael palmed my dick and grinned. “And what a glorious cock it is. But relax. You're assuming she'll realize it was you. If she was as drunk as you say, she might not remember much of last night. Let’s just take it as it comes, okay?" He cupped my cheek. "Trust me, Antonio.”

I wanted to believe him, I did. But nothing ever went our way—ever. Not lately, anyway. I didn't think it was too much to ask for things to settle down. Massimo and Madison deserved to have their wedding, and Riley deserved to give birth without worrying about jail time. I looked over at Michael, who was tugging on a shirt while watching me. He made me feel things I never thought I'd feel and the shame and guilt I held inside was ruining me—ruining our chance. As if he could sense my turmoil, he stepped in front of me and pulled me against his chest.

“Stop. You’re doing it again. You're fighting this because of your false belief your family will flip out. I know them, Antonio, and they will love you no matter what.”

Resting my forehead against his, I sighed. “I’m afraid, Michael. I know you believe they'll be okay with my sexual orientation. But what if they aren't? And what about you? Aren't you the least bit worried they'll fire you as our legal team?" I stepped back and shook my head. "And lets not forget the fact I came here and slept with you after sleeping with Rachel.”

“I told you I can handle it. I like women too, so I understand the needs you have. Perhaps we just need to find one that can love us both."

I laughed at his ridiculous suggestion. Finding a woman who would accept us both was like finding a unicorn in the desert—it didn't exist. And even if we did find someone who wanted us both, she might not go for Michael and I having sex with each other. Then you add in the fact my family was the Mafia, you could bet your ass any sane woman would hightail it far away from this twisted idea of a relationship.

“It doesn’t matter. For now, we need to worry about clearing Riley’s name and making sure Vin doesn’t do something stupid in the meantime."

The sound of the doorbell interrupted our conversation. “She’s here.” Michael smirked at me when my body stiffened. “Relax. We’ll tell her we're friends, so it won't seem unusual for you to be here.”

I followed him down the hallway towards the door. Michael lived off the beaten path of the Vegas strip. His house was like Fort Knox, with a massive brick wall surrounding the property set way off the main road. If someone had followed her here, he would know since there was only one way in and one way out.

Michael opened the door and guided her inside. “Come on in, Rachel.”

“Wow. This is a beautiful place—kind of in the boonies, though.”

He shut the door behind her. “Makes it easy to know if someone follows me home.”

“Paranoid much?” I smiled at her teasing tone.

Michael shrugged his shoulders. “I work for the Anastasi’s" His gaze found mine and he smirked. "The FBI aren’t the only ones who hate them, Rachel. You should know that.”

“Yes. I do.” She stepped around him and skidded to a stop when her eye locked on me. “Antonio Anastasi. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

I forced my expression to remain neutral as I greeted her. “Good morning, Miss Hill.”

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