Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
But I take a long drink and force myself to calm down.
I’m not going to ruin years of planning for some random fucking waitress.
“No, thanks,” I tell Tommy and he shrugs like I can always change my mind.
“You hear about what happened to Paulie?” The abrupt shift in conversation is a surprise as he leans back and crosses his legs. “Apparently, someone broke into his house, murdered him, and tried to rob his wife, but they got away. Don’t know how, but it’s pretty fucked. Shot him right in the dick. Who the fuck would do that?”
I keep my face straight. “I hadn’t heard. Paulie’s been getting up to some dangerous shit since I went away?”
“Nah, he kept his head down, which is the weird thing. He was trying to go legit, you know? Had that pretty little wife, but I guess she’s all messed up now.” He snorts like it’s funny. “Paulie always was pathetic.”
It takes all my mental effort not to strangle him. I may have murdered the prick, but Paulie was still my friend, and I don’t want to hear anyone talking shit about the dead like this.
He goes back to chatting about all the new bits of Cage like I actually want to hear how this grubby little traitorous fuck is ruining my baby.
And all the while, I’m thinking about the girl. About how Serena looks nothing like her sister—they’re polar opposites, if anything—but mostly about how soft her skin was when I touched her and kept that tray from tipping over.
She comes back for a third time. I do my best not to stare but I still can’t help it. That fucking little bra doesn’t cover much, and I love the way the chains around her middle sparkle in the low light. Her ass is round, but it’s her lips, her eyes, her round cheeks and thick hair that really grab my attention. She’s a little Italian goddess, built like heaven.
“Claudia, girl, your sister was just telling me how you’ve been doing an extra good job,” Tommy says as she passes in front of him to collect an empty glass. He reaches out and pats her hip affectionately and she stiffens like a rabbit staring down a hungry fox. She freezes, jaw clamped tight.
My blood fucking boils. I want to get up and break that wrist. He’s being way too familiar, and Serena doesn’t seem to notice—or if she does, the girl’s way too high to care.
“Thank you, Mr. Fiore,” Claudia says, looking down at the floor, and presses her lips together so tight they turn white.
“I was thinking since you and your sister have a certain, you know, special relationship—” Tommy winks at me, grinning like an idiot. Serena’s smiling and rolling her eyes like she’s heard all this before, and it makes me fucking sick. “You know, I’ve been saying for a while now, if you ever wanted to make some extra money—”
Claudia’s full body flushes pink. Her embarrassment is palpable, and I can tell she’s struggling not to show her anger as she pretends to smile and laugh at the joke. Hilarious, a threesome with her sister, what a great fucking joke. She squirms from Tommy’s grip and steps away, and Tommy’s about to say something else when I cut in, unable to keep my mouth shut.
“Why don’t we let the girl do her job,” I say and stare at my former lieutenant.
It’s a clear challenge to his control here, and he doesn’t even miss a beat.
He stares right back.
In the old days, he would’ve balked. He would’ve looked away. Tommy Fiore was a thug and a killer, but he was obedient and he knew his place.
Now, he’s got a smile on his face, a pretty addict on his arm, an oversized ego, and a club under his belt.
My fucking club.
“Claudia knows I’m just teasing. Right, Claud? I mean, I’d be happy to fuck both you and your sister at the same time—”
I nearly get up and kill him right there. If I still had that revolver, I’d shoot him in the face.
But Claudia cuts him off. “Sure, Mr. Fiore. I know you’re kidding. You love to joke around.”
Tommy keeps right on watching me, a smug little grin on his face, like he knows he’s got something I want and he’s going to fuck with me because of it.
Except as he’s busy pretending like he’s a bigshot, he doesn’t notice the look Claudia gives him.
It’s pure, utter revulsion.
I know what hate feels like. I’ve been steeped in hate for five long years imagining all the ways I can get back at the men that betrayed me and got me locked up. I’ve seen and felt true spite in prison, I’ve seen all the different ways men learn how to hate each other, and I thought I understood how deep it could go.