Page 82 of Savage Ambition

“Because we had a very interesting discussion in Italian on the way to pick you up. He’s loyal to you and hates Salvatore, so there was no risk. He also confirmed there was no recording equipment in this car, so relax. We’re safe.”

“I haven’t been safe a single day since I became part of the Gennaro family.” Not since the day I witnessed Salvatore kill my birth parents and claim me and Raphael as his “sons” in payment for their lives.

“Wrong. You’re safe whenever you’re with me, tesoro.” Each Italian endearment sank his hooks deeper into my heart, a place where he had no right to claim territory.

Renato leaned forward, his lips meeting mine with unexpected gentleness. His fingers traced my jawline, then slid into my hair, cradling me as if I were breakable. When his tongue sought entrance, I parted my lips, unable to deny him.

I’d been trained to respond to lust, to violence, to pain, but his devoted worship left me floundering. Renato deepened the kiss with a reverence that made my hands tremble where they gripped his sweater.

He drew back just enough to whisper against my lips, “I’ll protect you.”

The worst part was he believed the lie. And for one dangerous moment, as his forehead rested against mine and his breath mingled with my own, I wanted to surrender to the fantasy that someone could shield me from Salvatore’s world, that I could be something other than a weapon or a whore.

I forced steel back into my voice. “You don’t have the power to do that.”

“How can you be so sure?” Renato challenged, his thumb tracing my lower lip. “What do you really know about me? About who I was before coming to Gennaro territory?”

He was right. I knew nothing about his past, his connections, or his capabilities. I didn’t even know his last name.

“I know enough,” I lied.

“There’s more to me than a pretty face and a talented cock. More than Salvatore could ever imagine when he recruited me.” His hand slid down to rest against my throat in a silent claim. “I’ve survived things that would make your Daddy Don piss himself. I’ve built and broken empires you’ve never heard of.”

While I wanted to dismiss his words as empty bravado, I recognized the hardness in his eyes that I only saw in the Mafia world. “Trust doesn’t come easy to me.”

Renato’s voice softened. “Of course. You’ve been betrayed by everyone who should have protected you.” His fingers traced the scar at my collarbone, evidence of one of Salvatore’s early “lessons.”

He pulled back, his expression shifting to something ancient and solemn. His hand moved to his chest, pressing over his heart in the traditional gesture of the old families.

“I swear to you on the blood of my ancestors, on my mother’s sacred grave, on my father’s sword and honor, that I stand with you.” His voice dropped to a murmur that carved itself into my bones. “Your enemies die by my hand. Your pain becomes my vendetta. Your freedom is my obsession. I will burn this world to ash, slaughter every person who’s fouled you with their touch, and bloody my hands to dethrone your keeper before I let anyone cage you again. This oath binds me to you until death claims me or you command me to stop breathing.”

It wasn’t a pretty promise whispered in the heat of passion. It was the ancient oath of fealty, the same one capos demanded of their most trusted. Breaking such an oath meant death.

“You can’t.” My voice cracked. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I’m well aware of my promises to you.” His eyes held mine. “I do not give my loyalty lightly.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I see you, Dante. The real man beneath the scars, whose iron will refuses to break. I would follow you into Hell itself and set the universe ablaze, if that’s what it takes to set you free.”

The earnest conviction in his voice stripped me bare. Nobody had ever looked at me as if I were something worth fighting for, worth dying for. Like I was more than Salvatore’s property or a body to be used.

My throat closed up. “You can’t make those kinds of promises,” I whispered.

His thumb brushed my cheek. “When the time comes to take him down, I’ll fight beside you.”

I turned away, my mind scrambling for safer ground out of desperation to change the subject before I did something stupid like believe him. “That’s you. Why would Massimo be loyal to me?”

“He has strong feelings about the dishonor Salvatore has brought on the Gennaro family by forcing his son to be a sex worker. Apparently, there are a lot of members who feel the same as him. You have more support than you think.”

“Please never take that risk again. I have too much to lose.”

“Raphael?” Renato asked.

My body went rigid. No one outside the Gennaro family ever spoke that name. I could barely form the words to speak. “How the fuck do you know about him?”

Renato’s expression shifted to something gentle I’d never seen before. “As you were leaving after we fucked during my job interview, Salvatore told you that you’d earned your visit with Raphael for pleasing him.”