Red Hot Dragons Steamy 10 Book Collection

by Lisa Daniels

  Her mouth fell open and Luca could read her thoughts before she spoke them aloud.

  “At the restaurant where I almost…”

  She couldn’t finish her sentence as she shook her head.

  “August DiFranco is in the equivalent of Siberia right now,” Luca told her softly, reaching for her hands. “You won’t see him again, I swear.”

  She didn’t pull away but he could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she contemplated the offer.

  “The pay is competitive and the clientele is upscale, despite your past experience,” Luca continued as she stared pensively at him in silence. “The tips are great. You can ask Tanya to be sure.”

  He waited a moment before swallowing his disappointment and speaking again.

  “Listen, I understand if you don’t want to take the offer but—” he started to say but she cut him off.

  “No, I’ll do it,” she said quickly and Luca was taken aback by her change of heart. He was sure she was going to refuse.

  “I wouldn’t suggest it if I thought you were in any danger, but you need a job and it’s a stomping ground I know well.”

  The truth was, Luca liked the idea of having her where he could easily find her.

  Whether it was possessiveness or the need to protect her, he wasn’t sure.

  Probably both, he reasoned, but he didn’t think about it much more.

  “Tanya is looking forward to having another woman in the mix. She calls the staff a sausage fest and you made an impression on her.”

  Teresa snorted.

  “Did I? Was it that I caused a scene or ran out on the bill?” she replied dryly.

  “She likes you,” Luca assured her. “And I told you not to worry about the bill. After what happened, the least they could do was comp you.”

  Teresa nodded quickly and forced a smile on her face.

  “Thank you for arranging it,” she told him sincerely. “I do need a job and it will be good to work in a place where I know someone.”

  Luca nodded slowly but he could tell there was something else bothering her.

  Am I making a mistake by allowing this to happen? he wondered. She is going to be in our business now.

  But Luca admitted that was entirely the point.

  He wanted Teresa to be a part of his world and that was the subtlest way he knew how to bring her inside without sitting her down and explaining who he was.

  I wouldn’t even know how that conversation would go. “Hey, baby, I’m a caporegime in the Menotti family. That means I run drugs, launder money, and oftentimes inflict bodily harm. But mostly, I just give the orders, so don’t worry about anything.”

  Luca had a feeling that the words would not go over well with a sweet Southern belle.

  He needed to bring her in gently and the best way he could think of was through the restaurant.

  “You can start on Thursday,” he continued, his emerald eyes fixated on her face. “If you don’t like it, you can bow out any time.”

  An indecipherable expression fell over her eyes and Teresa was quiet for a long moment.

  “Why?” she asked quietly. “Why are you bringing me in?”

  The question sent an inexplicable chill through him, as if his subconscious was warning him about something, but he dismissed it.

  “You need a job—”

  “No, I heard that part,” she said softly. “I mean… why are you doing this?”

  He maintained his hold on her hands but the feeling of alarm grew in his shoulders and he drew back slightly, his mind beginning to race.

  Maybe she already knows more than she’s letting on, he realized.

  “Because I trust you,” he answered simply. “And I want you close to me.”

  Teresa swallowed visibly and nodded slowly. Then, lowering her eyes, she smiled weakly.

  “I trust you too,” she told him earnestly. “And I’ll take the job. Thank you, Luca.”

  He grinned and raised her hands to his lips, kissing them.

  I wonder how mad Giovanni is going to be knowing I hired someone without his approval, Luca thought, but that was a matter for another day. Right now, he was still basking in the aftermath of having made love to his girlfriend.

  “We should order. The waiter is starting to look annoyed,” Luca laughed and Teresa nodded. They both turned their attention to the menu.

  He owes me, Luca reasoned. He had my father set up to be murdered. This is the least he can do.

  But Luca could not help but feel that he was constantly pushing his luck with the don and that eventually, that luck would run out.

  He just didn’t care.

  Chapter Ten

  The Truth About Mara

  “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

  Angela’s head jerked up and she stared sheepishly at Tanya, shaking her head in admission.

  “It’s been a while,” she confessed, but the truth was, she wasn’t paying attention to the drink orders piling up at all. Her mind was on fire as she scoped out the bar, the Rolodex of mobsters making her memory shift into overdrive.

  There were soldiers and associates milling about, night after night, their conversations wrought with innuendo about their criminal enterprise. It was shocking to Ang how little discretion they were using, as if she wasn’t a new face in their world.

  She reasoned that she wouldn’t be there at all if she hadn’t been properly vetted, and not for the first time, she wondered what the hell Duggan had done to give her such a good backstory.

  Or maybe Luca is so well trusted that they didn’t even bother to do a proper screening of me.

  Her ears were honed to all the words she could hear but it was overwhelming.

  Which one of these guys is Duggan’s guy? she wondered, her hands shaking slightly at the idea that she was being carefully monitored by another agent. That was her number one concern, not so much the operation that she’d been sent for. Her main worry was that her relationship with Luca was going to be exposed and Duggan would yank her out of the fold as quickly as he had dropped her inside.

  She had not told Duggan about her new job, despite having been there for three shifts. At some point, she knew she’d have to, but every time she’d had the opportunity, she had made up a mental excuse not to say anything.

  On one hand, she knew it was because she wanted to protect her secret, but on the other, she wasn’t sure how much she trusted Duggan at all.

  As promised, she touched base with the agent every night, but he did not seem to be any wiser to what she was doing than he had been before.

  The more Angela spoke to the FBI man, the more she realized that she was nothing more than a pawn in a game she didn’t understand.

  She had also come to realize that Luca had nothing to do with Val’s disappearance, although how she knew either understanding as fact, she couldn’t say.

  You’re falling for a guy who could be a killer, was the refrain that constantly played in her mind, but Angela knew that it was her instinct which had enabled her to become a detective when others were still earning their pross collars in El Cajon.

  Luca is not deceiving you. Terry Duggan is. But why?

  It didn’t take her long to figure out that the agent knew much more about her cousin’s fate than he had let on. There was a reason he had sought her out and not someone with more experience in undercover work. It was up to Ang to figure out what that reason was exactly.

  On some level, Angela knew she was playing with fire, working both sides of two potentially corrupt organizations.

  At least the mob doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not, she thought bitterly. I know exactly what’s happening here.

  The gig at La Perla was an undercover dream, but Angela didn’t know if she was a cop anymore.

  Her feelings for Luca had likely clouded her judgment, but the need to know the truth about Val still overwhelmed everything.

  I need to step up my game here. But how?

  It also
begged the question what she would do with any knowledge she gained with Duggan possibly being the enemy.

  She knew why Luca had brought her to work at La Perla; he trusted her and wanted her to see him for who he really was.

  That shows he cares about me more than just some one-night stand, she thought and the realization filled her with guilty pleasure, even though she’d already known it. The more time they spent together, the more she realized that the man was her mate. The fact that they were both dragons had never truly surfaced, but Ang was sure he knew about that part of her life.

  It was the UC part that worried her terribly.

  If he ever learned the truth about her, he would feel betrayed—and rightfully so.

  But who says he has to learn the truth?

  “Why did you take this job?”

  Tanya’s voice brought her back to reality and Angela glanced at the blonde nervously.

  “I need it,” she replied honestly but Tanya smirked, not buying the explanation.

  “You don’t need this job,” she countered. “There are hundreds of bartending gigs in Miami. This one is different—as I’m sure you’ve already figured out.”

  Angela didn’t know how to respond to that and instead said nothing, pretending to busy herself as she poured yet another concoction from the never-ending list of chits. Tanya, however, was not letting her question go so easily.

  “Did you accept it because Luca insisted?” Tanya demanded, a slight edge in her voice. The tone surprised Ang and she looked at Tanya blankly, shaking her head.

  “No,” she replied. “He just suggested it and I needed—”

  “Cut the horseshit, Teresa. You know what these guys are and you’re trying to learn more, aren’t you?”

  Her heart began to pound in her chest and she stared at the bartender nervously.

  Oh God. Tanya is onto me. I should have seen that coming. She’s smart and observant. Why wasn’t I more careful around her?

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Ang mumbled, turning back to her drink orders. “I—”

  “Horse shit. You’re coming back to the scene of the crime for a reason.”

  Angela’s back became a steel rod but she kept her gaze averted.

  How does she know?

  Her mind whirled with what she might have said or done to arouse Tanya’s suspicions, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what she’d done.

  “He’s not coming back,” Tanya continued. “DiMarco sent August to Jersey.”

  Angela blinked several times, trying to make sense of what Tanya was thinking.

  “Okay,” she replied evenly, her mind whirling. She willed herself not to say anything more.

  I’m getting better at this, she realized. Keeping my mouth shut. I wonder if it’s going to help me in the long run or if my goose is already cooked.

  “So any thoughts of revenge are not going to happen,” Tanya told her and Angela suddenly understood what she was getting at.

  Oh. She thinks I’ve come back to avenge my attack. Damn. I kind of wish I’d thought of that.

  “No, I wouldn’t even think about that,” Angela replied truthfully. “And I wouldn’t have come to work here if I thought I would see him.”

  “Luca won’t let anything happen to you,” Tanya sighed. “For as much of a dick as he can be, he is very loyal. To a fault, really.”

  Angela’s heart began to pound and she perked up her ears, shooting Tanya a sidelong look.

  I’ve been wasting my time listening to all these conversations going on around me. I should have been focusing my attention on Tanya. She knows where all the skeletons are hidden.

  “What makes you say that?” Ang asked curiously. “Why to a fault?”

  Tanya grimaced, grabbing a freshly printed chit from the machine and Angela took her cue, grabbing for another glass.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she mumbled but Angela could tell she was close to learning something about Luca, something she hadn’t already figured out.

  “You wouldn’t have said anything if it didn’t mean something,” Ang pressed, trying to keep her voice light even though her heart was hammering wildly in her chest. “Come on, Tanya. I’m just trying to learn my way around here… especially with Luca.”

  She hoped there was enough plaintiveness in her voice to win over the skeptical bartender.

  To her relief, Tanya’s face seemed to relax slightly.

  “These guys are tough,” she offered, lowering her voice. “But they can get taken in by a beautiful girl who pays them the proper amount of attention, you know what I mean?”

  Angela’s breath caught in her throat but she only nodded. An unexpected stab of jealousy shot through her as she considered how many other beautiful women had stolen Luca’s heart.

  “Luca is smarter than some of these paesanos,” Tanya continued. “But he got screwed over once too.”

  A fusion of alarm and envy flowed through her but she forced herself to remain composed.

  Is she talking about Val?

  Willing herself to breathe normally, she turned her attention fully on Tanya.

  “He got his heart broken?” she asked innocently and Tanya scoffed.

  “Luca Gallo is not a fool,” she hissed, sliding a tray of drinks toward a waiting server. She waited until he marched off before turning back to Angela.

  “Mara was sexy and she had her charms, but there was something about her which didn’t sit well with anyone. And if Luca wasn’t thinking with the wrong head, he would have seen what she was all about long before shit hit the fan. But he figured it out eventually and dealt with her.”

  Beads of sweat popped along Angela’s hairline. Tanya’s words were an unmistakable warning, one that caused bile to sweep through her body.

  Steady your breaths, she warned herself. Don’t give yourself away.

  “What happened?” Angela whispered while silently praying she did not do anything to arouse suspicion, but her need to know suddenly outweighed the desire to be discreet.

  “No idea,” Tanya replied shortly. “All I know is that one day Mara was here and then she wasn’t. No one really talked about what happened much. But my point is, Luca can be very loyal—until he’s not. I wouldn’t want you doing anything stupid and testing that loyalty.”

  Angela’s eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You know what happened,” she insisted, knowing that she was pushing too hard. “You know everything that goes on around here, don’t you?”

  A faint smile touched Tanya’s full mouth and she shrugged indifferently.

  “I have an idea,” she replied and Angela waited, gulping back her nervousness.

  “Well?”

  Tanya studied Angela through her peripheral vision.

  “I learn things by keeping my mouth shut and not gossiping,” Tanya growled, snatching a dishrag off the sink to wipe down the counter. Ang could tell she was just trying to look busy.

  “Oh, come on,” she pleaded, lowering her tone as she glanced about furtively. “This is my boyfriend we’re talking about. I deserve to know if there’s something shady in his past. I would tell you, Tanya.”

  If Tanya could hear the near desperation in her tone, she didn’t comment and instead gave Angela a speculative look. Angela almost exhaled loudly when Tanya nodded.

  “I think…” she began slowly, also looking about to ensure they weren’t being overheard. Content that they weren’t being paid any mind, she continued, “…when Luca found out that she was trouble, Mara ran off with Sammy.”

  “What?”

  The question flew from her mouth before she could stop herself, but she didn’t understand the sentence which Tanya had just spoken.

  Who the hell is Sammy now?

  “What what?” Tanya grumbled. “When Luca found out about her and Sammy Petrucci, I think she feared for her life.”

  Angela continued to stare at her blankly, wishing that she could decipher the seemingly cryptic words that the
bartender spoke.

  “What?” she asked again, hearing the dumbness of her question in her own ears, but what else could she ask?

  Tanya sighed and shook her head, obviously regretting that she had said anything at all.

  “If Giovanni ever found out Mara was sleeping with Sammy Petrucci, she was as good as dead anyway. The smartest thing she could do was take off before DiMarco got his hands on her.”

  Suddenly, a flood of information assaulted her senses.

  Sammy Petrucci… he’s the underboss of the Vittoro family. Val was cheating on Luca with him?

  That was certainly the story that Tanya was trying to feed her, but somehow, it didn’t ring true and Angela couldn’t say why. So many emotions swept through Angela in that moment, she was unsure of how she felt.

  She was never outed as an undercover agent. She was having an affair with a member of a rival family. What the hell was Val doing while she was under?

  She realized she could ask herself the same thing.

  “She was cheating on Luca…” Angela murmured before she could stop herself. “Any chance he killed her?”

  Angela wanted to stuff the words back into her mouth but they were already out there. Now there was nothing left to do but gauge Tanya’s reaction to them. The bartender smiled mirthlessly.

  “For cheating on him?” Tanya snickered. “Hardly. Luca loves women to a fault. He took care of his mom after his dad was killed while his brothers tried to have her committed. If he found out anything, Luca probably warned Mara to get out of town before DiMarco got to her.”

  “Are you sure?” Angela demanded, her voice rising an octave. “Are you sure that he didn’t do anything to her?”

  Tanya’s brow furrowed and she examined Angela’s face pointedly. Whatever she saw in Angela’s face made her own soften slightly as she sighed and shook her head.

  “I know this is new to you, Teresa, and that Miami is a different place than where you come from, but if you’re gonna roll with these guys, you’re gonna have to learn that sometimes, this shit comes with the territory.”

  Angela closed her eyes, inhaling sharply.

  She seems so sure, but how can she be? How can she know for sure?

  Her instinct told her to drop it, to leave it alone, but she just couldn’t, not so easily when she felt like the truth was directly in her grasp.