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"I know that you traffic in the poor and desperate. I know you make money off their pain and suffering. That you bankrupted Tirone and killed Cino's son-in-law." Rafael couldn't hide the disgust from his voice. "I know exactly what you are."
"Hmm, and listing to all of that is supposed to hurt my feelings, is it? The strong devour the weak. It is the way of nature and the world," Rita said and ate a mouthful of her pasta. "What I really am is someone who will stop at nothing to get what I want. I want you. We would do great things together, Rafael. Stop thinking so small for once and look at the reality of the situation. I'm the most powerful woman in Rome and Sicily. I will take the rest of Italy with you by my side. We could rule it all together."
Rafael laughed softly. "Trust me, Rita. You are not the most powerful woman in Rome. I would know because I love her."
"You mean that blonde mercenary? Please. She has been lucky to survive so long, and I've hardly sent my best against her," Rita said, dabbing her lips with a napkin. "She'll be dead by dawn, so you might as well accept your new reality and position by my side."
"She isn't a normal mercenary. She is the goddess Bellona. The goddess of war, Rita. Do you understand? She will not be dead by dawn, but I can assure you that you will be."
Rita shook her head with a tinkling laugh. "A goddess? Oh, please. The Greeks might be dumb enough to believe Hades is who he styles himself to be. I'm not so stupid."
Rita got up and pushed Rafael's chair back from the table. "I don't care who she is or if you love her. I will have you." Rita straddled him, and Rafael grabbed her around the throat to stop her from kissing him. "That's fine with me, Rafael. I'm into choking."
Rafael squeezed. "Don't fucking push me, Rita."
"I know you won't kill an unarmed woman, Rafael. You don't have it in you," Rita hissed, grinding herself against him. "Your body will give you away, or I will give you something to make you hard. I will fuck you over and over until you love me. Until you crave me as much as I crave you."
Rafael tried to shove her off, but Rita suddenly had a knife at his throat. "Stop fighting me, or I will cut your throat."
Rafael released his hand from her neck. His whole body was shaking in fury and disgust. "Don't do this, Rita. You can rape and torture me, but you won't win this fight. Your only hope is to run away while you still have a chance."
"Why, because your goddess is coming?" she snarled in his face.
Golden light flickered outside of the windows, just in the corner of his eye. Rafael's heart began to race, and he smiled. "No, because she's already here."
Rafael turned his head away and shut his eyes just as a body smashed through the windows, showering the room in glass. There was another flash of gold, and Bellona stood in the shattered hole. Her armor glowed like the sun, her blonde hair loose and wild and streaked with blood. Rafael's heart burned with so much love and desire, he thought it would break him.
Rita was scrambling for the door on the opposite side of the room and shouted for her guards. Bellona's eyes glowed with divine fury and crossed the room in a flash. She cut Rafael free and kissed him once.
"I'm sorry I'm late, my love. Are you okay?" she asked, checking the small cut on his neck.
"I am now that you are here," he replied and kissed her again.
Her shield appeared, and Bellona passed it to him along with a holster with two handguns. "You know the drill—watch my back, and don't get killed."
"I'm sorry you've had to rescue me again," Rafael replied, pulling off the suit jacket and sliding on the holster.
"I'll take it out on your ass later," Bellona said with a wicked grin that shot straight to his dick. "Now, let's get these fucks once and for all."
Rafael grinned. "I'm looking forward to it, mia bella dea."
26
Bellona could see that Rafael was safe and sound beside her, but her body refused to believe what her eyes were seeing. Her only conscious thoughts were to get him out of that horrible place and to kill anyone who tried to stop her.
Medusa had managed to track Rita from the restaurant days before, finding her personal car and driver and then locating it at a warehouse and the private port near Civitavecchia. Bellona didn't know how she had managed to work her wonders so fast, but Medusa had followed through. So had Romulus.
"If you see any men in black tactical gear with a red wolf patch on their arms, don't shoot them," Bellona called to Rafael over her shoulder. She dodged around a baton that a man was swinging at her, and she stabbed him through the chest with her sword. Rita should've spent some money on getting her men decent body armor.
"Romulus's guys?" Rafael guessed, coming up behind her with her shield to protect their backs.
"He had more hiding about than I expected. He's hitting Rita's other businesses as we speak. He loves a hostile takeover."
Bellona fell into an easy rhythm, fighting their way down the wide metal stairs from the apartment and out into the lower levels of the warehouse. Bellona grabbed Rafael and pushed him back just as a shimmering khopesh sword spun through the air and cut a man in half.
"Show off!" Bellona shouted, and Set leaped from the top of a shipping container. He was carrying an arsenal of weapons and, so far, didn't have a single scratch on him. Unlike Bellona, who had summoned her divine armor, Set wore his usual combat boots, cargo pants, and T-shirt. He had always claimed seeing him look so normal was a special kind of psychological warfare against the enemy.
"You don't need to show off when you have skill and technique," Set said, ripping the sword free from what remained of the man's torso. "You okay, Rafael? Not bleeding anywhere? All your bits intact?"
