The hand that was on my back is now wound around my waist so that my back is pressed against her chest. “It’s not gonna work this time,” I grumble, peeling her arm off of me and pushing myself away from her.
But Via’s not the type to take no for an answer. At least, not the first few times. She’s relentless as fuck, and if she wants something, she’s gonna do everything in her power to get it.
The thing is, she already had it. But it wasn’t enough for her to keep her legs closed. Bitch always has an angle. It’s usually a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree one when she’s lying flat on her back, though. She thinks she can flash her pussy around and get any damn thing from any dumb schmuck.
Sadly, I was one of the dumb schmucks.
I was in a bad place, and I made a lot of shit choices.
Ones that almost got me killed.
“I want another shot, Diego. I miss you. You can’t tell me you don’t miss what we had.” She smiles, closing the space between us.
Miss what we had.
In my mind, missing what we had would be like missing the occasional flare up of genital herpes.
Thanks, but I’ll pass on that walk down Memory Lane.
Her long blonde hair falls over one bare shoulder, her tits barely covered by her dress. I narrow my eyes. I used to like her in that dress, the one that wraps around her so tight, she looks like a mummy. But now, it just pisses me off because I know she’s not wearing it for any reason other than the fact that she wants something from me.
Yes, it’s partly about sex. There’s no question about that. She knows exactly what she’s been missing and she wants it back — the explosive, mind-numbing, heart-pounding type of sex that she won’t get from anyone else.
But there’s more.
Always more.
Because Via cares about Via. If she tells you otherwise, she’s a goddamn liar.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that when she told me she loved me.
I fell for her words, fell for her.
It wasn’t until the night that she literally threw me to a pack of wolves headed up by her father that I realized how low I’d sunk into the murk that had become my life.
I thought being with Via would pull me out of it.
But she only plunged me deeper.
And since then, the explosive, mind-blowing, heart-stopping sex has been on permanent reserve.
Six long months.
I’m practically a virgin again, for Christ’s sake.
But at least my head is clear, for the first time in a long time.
I don’t need to have my dick sucked to get clarity.
Being on my own has given me plenty of it.
It’s taken me a while to figure out what I want, but now I know, and it sure as hell ain’t her.
The Fortunatos are toxic and the farther away I stay from them, the longer my life will be.
“You don’t get a do-over, Via, because you opted for the screw-over.” I push past her, anxious to put as much distance between us as humanly possible. But she grabs my arm and pulls me back.
“You can’t tell me that you’re actually interested in her, Diego,” Via scoffs, raising a jeweled hand to her neck. “Little Miss Humanitarian? Really? Come on, she’s got to be doing this all as a publicity stunt for her father. It’s ridiculous to think that the Vitale family is really trying to shut down one of the biggest money-making businesses in the world!”
I shake off her hand. “What’s the matter, Via? Are you intimidated by the woman who gives more of a shit about the world than she does about herself?”
Via lets out a snort. “When did you turn into such a do-gooder, Diego? I remember a time when the only thing you cared about was revenge. You let your hate rule you, and if memory serves, you enjoyed the suffering you caused a lot of people.”
My spine stiffens.
That darkness. I tried for so long to escape it and finally thought I’d buried it for good. But I guess that’s what happens when Satan comes up for a visit. She brings the darkness back, ready to smother you with it.
You can’t escape who you really are.
I know who I am, and I live with it every day. But I still want to be different. Better. That’s why I started my event production company in the first place. I needed to create a different identity for myself. I needed to let the hate go. My father was no angel. He’d had plenty of death threats in his lifetime, and he’d escaped plenty of attempts on his life. My rational mind tells me if the hit hadn’t gone down as planned, someone would have pulled the plug on him at some point later.
There was no shortage of hate where my father was concerned.
He’d always been the one to hammer me for missing steps that could get me killed.
In the end, I missed a pretty fucking big one that got him iced instead.
And for almost two years afterward, I searched for ways to replace the guilt that plagued me on a daily basis.
It took a hell of a lot of bullets and an assortment of other weapons to accomplish that goal.
It’s how I ended up on Via’s radar in the first place.
She smiles, tracing a finger down the front of my shirt. “I liked you better before, when you were so full of rage. You fucked me so good back then. I want that guy back.” Via’s voice drops. “You can’t hide from me, Diego. Your little business may be making you money, but is it making you happy? Is it exciting you every day? Is it really helping your family? Or is it just something you do to pass the time, to make yourself feel legitimate?”
Legitimate. That’s a good one. Does she even know what the hell my business is? Sure, on the surface, I produce events for big money organizations. But underneath the glitz and glam of it, I’m funneling money in every direction, taking it in from my clients and scrubbing it clean before I pump it into our other family businesses. People pay me to get them anything they need, and I always deliver. High-end cars, drugs, booze, luxury goods — I have access to everything and anything. For a price, I can provide it all. My network spans across countries around the world, and for as many enemies as I have, there are more allies who realize what I can do for them. And they pay my hefty price tags because they know it’s only a small investment in what they stand to make when they work with me.
My ‘events’ bring in enormous sums of cash, and like I always say, everyone wants to collect.
It may not have been the role I was groomed to play in the family, but it helps control my anger and the rage. I can focus on creative ways of growing our family empire instead of obsessively plotting and executing the massacres of our enemies.
It was satisfying work for a little while, until the hate poisoning me almost caused my own demise.
My pulse throbs against my neck.
All because of Via.
She’s lethal in every way, and the fact that she’s back after all this time, trying to wiggle her ass under my skin yet again after everything that happened months ago, makes me wonder one thing…
Why?
Knowing Via, it’s not going to be good. At least, not for anyone other than her.
“It’s over, Via. It’s been over for a long fucking time.” I push away her hand. I swallow hard, my heart thumping against my chest when the memories start to bubble under the surface. Goddammit! She’s like a fucking cancer that unleashes its deadly power with an unparalleled vengeance.
Its sole purpose?
To kill.
But I’m not interested. She helped me once, and it was the start of a bender I almost didn’t survive. I don’t care what she or her father offer this time. It’ll never make up for what I lost, what I’m desperate to get back.
Myself.
“So quick to push me away,” she says with an edge to her voice. “Have you forgotten what I did for you? How I helped you, Diego?” Her long red fingernail stabs me in the chest, and I have the sudden urge to break off her finger and fling it at her overly made-up face.
If she were a guy, there would b
e no hesitation on my part.
But I can be a fucking gentleman when I need to.
An icy sensation slithers down my back. I know exactly what she did. I also know it served her just as well as it did me. “Don’t make it seem like you didn’t get anything out of it, Via. We both know that’s bullshit.”
“Yeah, but…” She presses her tits against me. Fuck yeah, they’re pretty damn impressive. So’s the rest of the package. But it’s not nearly enough to lure me back. That pussy is deadly. “It doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. We had a deal.”
“No deal. I told you after the last time. It’s over. You set me up and almost got me killed. Or did you forget?”
“Papa isn’t happy that you turned down his offer. You’ve been looking for a way to build your family back up again. It would be stupid to walk away now. And he doesn’t ever ask a question twice. Do you really want to put everything at risk, Diego?” Her lips curl into an evil smile. “Tell me you’re not that stupid.”
I grip her wrists, a chill snaking through my insides. “Fuck you, Via,” I seethe.
“I know you used to like that. A lot.” Via smirks. “But now you’re turning into a pussy, huh? Trying to find meaning in your life? Sniffing out worthy causes to ease the guilt over your father?” Her throaty laugh floats into the air. “That’s why you’ve got such a hard-on for Serena Vitale, huh? You think she can redeem you.” Her innuendo hangs in the air between us and the lump in my throat gets bigger and more constricting with each passing second. “Or do you just want to fuck her? I bet she’s the on her back kind of girl. She’d never do the things to you that I will. I bet she doesn’t even suck cock. It’s too dirty for her. She’d never put her mouth on you and drink in every last drop of your hot cum the way I used to do.” She puts her hands on my hips and swings her body closer, rubbing herself against my dick. “Remember how much you loved that?” She pokes her tongue out of her mouth and drags it over my ear. “You can have it again, Diego. All of it. You just need to finish what we started.”
Her thinly veiled threat hangs between us.
Or I’ll finish you.
“Diego!”
I swivel around and see Vince stalking toward me. He eyes Via like she’s a cockroach he’s about to crush with his shoe.
“Vince,” Via says in a syrupy-sweet voice that is a hundred and fifty percent as fake as her perky tits. “It’s so great to see you again.” She rubs a hand down the side of his arm and he gives her a look that stalls it in mid-stroke.
“I wish I could say the same, but before those words could even make it out of my mouth, I’d choke to death on them.”
I stifle a snicker. Vince can be smooth as fucking silk when he wants to be, but if you screw with his family? You’re permanently on his “seek and destroy” list, at least until he snuffs you out.
And he always does.
It’s one of the things I like best about him.
He never fucking forgets.
He’s a lethal tool that comes in handy every now and again.
“Tell me how you really feel.” Via rolls her eyes.
Vince folds his arms over his chest. “Oh, my death wish didn’t translate for you? That’s too bad. I’ll work harder to make sure it comes over loud and clear next time.”
“So, you’re saying there will be a next time.” Via snickers. “That’s promising.” Her eyes flit over to me. “At least Vince is a man of his word. Too bad you fall short in that area, Diego.” With a flip of her blonde hair, she gives me one last once-over. “I guess I’ll be seeing you soon. And trust me, you won’t want to miss out on what comes next.” Her lips curl up into an evil smile and she sways her hips, slowly making her way back to the party.
Speaking of the party…
I furrow my brow as I watch Via disappear into the ballroom and get swallowed up by what can only be described as mass chaos. People are running left and right, grabbing each other and ducking down as they flee the area.
Jesus Christ, what the hell did I miss while I was being ram-rodded by Via?
“What the hell is going on in there?”
Vince’s eyebrows knit together. “That’s what I came out to tell you. Someone put a hit on the Vitales.”
I strain my ears to make out any clear sounds, and a chill settles deep into my bones. Sirens wail in the distance, and my mouth tries to form the questions that my mind is afraid to ask.
“Fuck,” I whisper. “What happened? Are they—?
Vince’s shoulders slump forward. “Whoever it was waited for them to leave and plowed into their car before shooting it up.” His jaw twitches. “It was only a matter of time, Diego. And it’s pretty damn clear that none of us are safe.”
Chapter Five
Diego
Two Months Later
I stab the Stop button over and over on my damn phone, but the alarm continues to pierce my brain with its shrillness. Finally, I hit the button just right, and I’m plunged back into silence. My head drops onto the pillow, the throbbing between my temples taking over once again.
Too much Jack Daniel’s leads to bad fucking decisions.
Like Via Fortunato, whose naked body is plastered against me, long blonde hair splashed across my chest. I silence a groan as the assault on my head continues. Via was never supposed to end up in my bed. Hell, she was never supposed to end up back in Sicily. Not ever again, especially after—
Fuck! What the hell have I done, letting myself fall into her goddamn trap again?
Via and I had an on-again off-again thing for about a year before her father, Nic, became big into the sex trade. He had all kinds of plans to unite himself with my family, to expand his reach to Sicily and throughout Europe and Asia by taking advantage of our shipping business. If you wanna run things in and out of countries along the Mediterranean coastline, you need the Marcone family to do it. And if you happen to marry into it, well, shit. It’s better than printing your own money.
Let’s just say things didn’t go according to Nic Fortunato’s plan. And I figured I’d seen the last of Via when we broke things off months ago.
I was wrong. She caught me off-guard.
Via knew exactly what she was doing when she came to find me last night. She brought a bullshit story about hiring my event production company to cover one of the parties she’s so famous for hosting. We toasted to whatever the hell cause she wanted to celebrate, and I threw her a fuck to clinch the deal.
Then she blindsided me with the truth. Told me it was really an event for her father and his associates, a bunch of bottom-dwelling scumbags from all over the world who would come together to bid on women who’d been kidnapped, drugged, and smuggled into the country.
I should have known. Nic doesn’t forget. Ever. Especially since I cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars on the night when I’d mistakenly ambushed one of his ‘events’.
Via sent me on a quest to take out the last of the low-life motherfuckers who’d had a hand in my father’s murder, even though she knew there was a sale being made at the same location.
Salvatore Chiaza had been my target. He’d also been the one supplying the kidnapped women.
Nic Fortunato had been his buyer, a tiny fact she’d omitted when she gave me Salvatore’s location.
He and Via planned the whole damn thing. They knew I’d show up, guns blazing, and that I’d get rid of Chiaza for them.
The Fortunatos had always wanted to use my business connections for their sex trafficking operation, so after I blew the whistle on his plans that night, Nic made me an offer of partnership. For a thick slice of the proverbial pie, I’d supply him with more women and do my part to help my family rebuild its crumbling empire at the same time.
I told him to go and fuck himself, which I figured would get me shot between the eyes.
Miraculously, it didn’t.
But the Fortunatos don’t take no for an answer. After Nic let me go to consider his proposal, Via thought I’d need her special brand of
convincing. So she spread her legs and I dove in, not seeing the trap that was about to clamp down on my cock.
I let it happen, and if I take a stand against them again, I’ll officially be in their way.
A barrier to their success.
Like electrified barbed wire keeping them away from piles of money they’d stand to make from the sex trade in Europe.
Big fucking oversight on my part. I guess I should be glad she downed a bottle of champagne herself, otherwise I might have signed the contract before I knew what I was getting myself and my company into.
I never fucking learn!
And now I need to cut her loose, once and for all.
Because my family doesn’t play their insidious game. We have plenty of illicit businesses and rake in boatloads of dirty money, but none of it comes from the sex trade.
And it never will.
“Diego,” Via murmurs, slowly throwing one toned leg over my torso and sliding her pussy against my cock. Of course he springs to life again, fucking traitor.
“Yeah?” I mutter, my voice thick. I need water. And a shower. And to get the fuck away from Via.
Too bad my cock is a little slow on the uptake.
“You know what this means, don’t you?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Yes, I fucking know what it means! It means I’m screwed, literally and figuratively once Vince finds out. I waded into forbidden waters and got a noose caught around my neck. If I pull away suddenly, guess what’s gonna happen to the noose?
And my life?
But I can’t tell her any of that. I need to play my hand right this time.
“It doesn’t mean a damn thing, Via,” I grumble. “I didn’t agree to any of it.”
At least, I don’t think I did.
Fucking Jack Daniel’s.
“That’s not going to make Daddy happy,” Via murmurs, lowering her body onto mine and swiveling her hips over me. I grip her hips tight, and she lets out a seductive squeal.
“Ooohh, I think I just might be able to change your mind,” she purrs, teasing the head of my cock with her pussy.
“Stop,” I growl, sliding her off of me. I rake a hand through my hair and swallow a groan as I stagger to my feet.
Wanted: A Dark Italian Mafia Romance (Men Of Mayhem Book 1) Page 4