More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Ten floors, alone, in an enclosed space with the creep.
Thoughts of Luca were almost distracting enough to make me forget about my lecherous boss. Almost. Each step I took closer toward our adjoining offices brought back a renewed sense of doom. Not to mention a healthy dose of anger.
Roger’s advances had started out small—telling me how lovely I looked or commenting on my hair or eyes.
“Enzo, this girl of yours is going to run you out of a job soon!” he joked with a warm smile. “We shall see—she has a way to go yet,” he said coolly. My dad had remained seated behind his desk, not including himself in our exchange.
I never got around to filing the complaint but swore I’d do it by the end of the week. The emotional toll of dealing with the incident itself had been enough for one day. I’d save the drama of dealing with HR for another day.
She seemed to possess the unusual combination of backbone with a natural inclination to submit.
I needed an in, and while I could have chosen someone a little frumpier and less appealing, I’d convinced myself the moment I’d seen Alessia that she was the one. She would make the job far more enjoyable—where was the harm in that? Two birds, one stone. I was all about efficiency.
The veins in his temples had pulsed with anger. He’d berated me for acting like a baby and suggested I returned to wearing diapers. He never raised a hand to me or punished me unfairly, but his disappointment and anger had been enough. I’d only been seven, but I remembered that day like it was yesterday.
“Nothing so exciting as that, I’m afraid.” “What bank do you work for?” “You probably wouldn’t know it—we’re a relatively small-scale operation.” “Do you like what you do?” He peered at me for long seconds, seemingly weighing his answer. “It’s my life; it’s who I am.”
“How did you know which direction?” I asked curiously. He glanced at me wryly. “Lucky guess—I had a fifty-fifty shot.”
“I’m not like other people; surely, you’ve figured that out. No lies and no omissions, not with me. Understand?”
It made me livid to think about what might have happened if I hadn’t been following her.
If so, the right thing to do would be to keep things aboveboard—get my information and get out. She would be better off not tangled up in my world.
However, chances were slim to none the gorgeous career girl was as pure as she seemed. I had discovered a crucial bit of information when I’d gone in search of Alessia at her office. What I found indicated she likely didn’t have an innocent bone in her body. What I found changed everything.
I was looking for someone, and now I knew Alessia could likely give me the answers I needed. That was far more important than anything else.
Hypocrisy is a tricky thing. It parades itself around like rationale and reason, deceiving you into believing your thoughts are sound and just when they are anything but. I had demanded honesty from Alessia but was attempting to pull the wool over my own eyes. I could tell myself all day long one taste of her would be enough, but I knew deep down inside, I had no intention of letting her go. Consequences be damned—she was mine.
“I can’t really explain, but I’ve heard things about him. Bad things. I’d hate for you to get hurt.”
“After my mother died, I was adopted into a new family. They instilled a work ethic and taught me how to survive.”
“I like to be on my game, yes, but there’s still plenty I don’t know about you.” “Like what?” “Like whether you scream when you come,” Luca offered in a lust-filled rumble.
You are the only one who dictates the parameters of your world. If you say you can’t do something, then you can’t, but if you believe you can, you’ll find a way.
He went straight for the shooting game, perfectly picking off each target like a practiced marksman and earning me a large stuffed bear. “How in the world did you learn to shoot so well?” I gawked at him over the head of my new furry companion. “Lots of practice at the range,” he explained matter-of-factly.
“You’ll learn quickly, Alessia, that I only care about myself … and what’s mine.”
“The other thing you’ll learn about me is I’m a selfish man. The way I see it, giving you a ride is purely self-serving—it means I get to lay eyes on those sexy fucking legs. The only way starting my day would be better is if I was naked between them.”
“When I offer to do something for you,” he continued, “rest assured, I’m not being put out. I’m doing it because I want to—you may not be clear on my motivations, but that doesn’t mean I’m not getting something from my actions. Got it?”
“My gut tells me it’s him, but I need more time to be certain … Well, tell them to calm the fuck down—nothing’s going to change in the matter of a week … That’s what I thought.”
Venturi is demanding blood for blood.
“I will never hurt you, Alessia. I know you’re scared, and you have every right to be, but I don’t want you to run from me. If you have a problem, you come to me, and we’ll work through it together.”
He was too low-level to give orders, not that I was particularly high up.
I hadn’t targeted her only for her luscious body and intriguing mind; I needed information from her. I’d been telling the truth when I said I hadn’t planned to want her. She had likely given her own meaning to the words, but the truth was, I had initiated our little elevator encounter for a purpose, which had nothing to do with my dick.
I had needed a contact inside Triton, and Alessia had seemed perfect for the job.
When she discovered I had ulterior motives, and she undoubtedly would, I’d have a fight on my hands. I was going to have to find a way to get what I needed without losing her in the process. Just like I’d said, she complicated everything.
I tried so hard all the time to be who my parents wanted me to be. There was no such thing as perfect, but by God, I had tried, and I felt like I’d come up unforgivably short. I didn’t know who I was supposed to be.
“I’m the only one who gets to mark you,” he ground out as his thrusts picked up speed. “Anyone else fucking touches you, and I will bury them.”
When I see something I want, I go after it, whether that means an unexpected elevator mishap or coincidental meetings on the street. I’m that way in all aspects of my life. If there is a business venture I want to take part in, I ensure it happens. I will never sit by and simply hope good fortune falls into my lap.”
I had misled him by insinuating I had filed a complaint, but I was going to at the earliest opportunity, so a small white lie wouldn’t matter.
“Does the stalking mean you consider me a winning hand?” I asked coyly. “Baby, you’re a royal flush.” He gave me a rakish grin that was so delectable on him, I jumped onto his lap and pressed my lips to his. There was no longer any doubt. I was in way over my head.
“My name is Michael Abbatelli, and you and I are going to become very good friends.”
“That man is in the mafia—you need to stay away from him.” He stared at me, pleading earnestly with his eyes, but I just stared back blankly. “That’s absurd. Just because he’s Italian doesn’t mean he’s in the mafia.
That man is part of The Five Families.” “What’s that?” I asked hesitantly. “The five ruling families of the New York Mafia—Russo, Lucciano, Giordano, Gallo, and Moretti. They run the city.”
That man you’re seeing, he’s a made man—a mafioso.
“He’s not a banker, Alessia, he’s a loan shark. That’s like saying a stay at Guantanamo prison is a beach vacation. I’m a banker—I don’t charge people 150% interest, then break their kneecaps if they can’t pay.”
“One night she was upset about something—she never would tell me what.
“I’m so sorry to break this to you, dear, but Mr. Coleman was killed on Saturday. It was on all the local news stations; I’m surprised you didn’t see.”
“You think I’m a monster, but you live with the biggest bad of them all,” Luca sneered. “Stop playing games and just tell me what you’re talking about!” “Your father, the boss of the Lucciano crime family.” “Don’t be absurd! My family isn’t in the mafia—I would know.” I stepped forward, pointing my finger at him angrily. He met my advance head-on, closing the small distance between us. “You think you would have had any idea what I did if I didn’t want you to? I told you I would never lie to you, and I haven’t. I didn’t lie then, and I’m not lying now. Your Uncle Sal is your father’s underboss
...more
“I did it to keep you and your sisters safe. After Marco was killed, I wasn’t going to put you all at risk.” Then it clicked—Marco’s killing wasn’t a random mugging. His death had been a byproduct of my father’s mafia dealings. “It was you. You’re the reason he died,” I breathed the words more to myself than him.
“You’ve lived all your life in the dark; there’s no reason this has to change anything. Find a nice young man to marry, have children, and join the PTA.”
“And Mom, does she know?” I asked, ignoring his last comment. “Of course, she knows.”
“Why did he tell you and not us?” My question was rife with hurt, and I hated myself for showing her that vulnerability. “You and Sof were always too good for the life. Dad wanted to give you two the chance to be free of the family.” “And you?” “I was a different story. Surely you remember what a terror I was as a kid. Dad knew I would get myself into trouble if he didn’t guide me and give me an outlet for all my raging emotions. Hell, I broke Billie Tomlinson’s nose when I was only ten—I wasn’t like you two. Never was, never will be.”
Wiping my sweaty palms on my slacks, I exited the car to confront Don Genovese about his corrupt underboss.
I found my Uncle Sal waiting for me outside my apartment.
