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I swallowed thickly as he tore his gaze from me and signaled to the other two before addressing the table again. “Please, enjoy your dinner. Unfortunately, we have somewhere else we need to be,” Caleb announced, pushing me into Kenji’s waiting grasp.

Across the table, Enzo’s and my uncle’s eyes burned with anger, but neither of them said a word. It would look bad for them if they revealed that they didn’t know what the fuck was happening.

“Yes, they have somewhere else to be tonight,” my uncle spat. “Please, enjoy the food. I’ll be right back after I see them out.”

The threat in his words caused me to wince.

Fuck, I was in for some bodily pain when he got to me.

CHAPTER 11

KENJI

I WOULDN’T REFUSE A FUCK IF SHE WANTED ONE

She was pissed with a capital P.

I mean, I understood. Up until we created the Syndicate, my entire life had been dictated by others, and I hated every second of it. Countless times, I’d considered taking the heads of my family members and the other Yakuza bosses. But they were like fucking rodents. More would just replace the ones I’d eliminate.

The solution to that problem required a different approach.

I watched the way Scarletta’s body posture changed when her uncle mentioned walking us out. She reminded me of a predator ready to strike, but I swore I saw a flash of fear when he looked over at her.

“Want to explain to me what the fuck is going on, Callahan?” he spewed when we’d moved far enough away from the party. Dominick ran a hand over his trimmed facial hair, a typical tell for feeling out of control. “And you.” His attention shifted to Scar. “Fucking slut of a girl,” he growled as he moved to strike her.

Before it could land, Niko’s giant hand wrapped around his wrist. “I suggest you don’t touch her. Ever,” Niko said, his words vibrating with barely contained rage, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Niko’s grip was so tight that Dominick’s hand was nearly white. The idiot was lucky he still had a hand. He’d been seconds away from learning to live with a stump. I was normally fast with my weapon, but the speed at which I’d removed my katana from its sheath when he went to slap her surprised even me. The way her body braced for impact told me everything I needed to know. This wasn’t a first-time thing.

“Scarletta, come stand by Kenji so Nikolay can release your uncle,” Caleb stated in a bored tone, as if he were calm and indifferent. But I knew better. The ticking in his jaw and flush of color at the back of his neck said he was teetering on the edge of losing his shit.

Scar’s nostrils flared at the command, but she followed the instruction, discreetly flipping him off as she moved toward me. I chuckled at her antics. She didn’t enjoy being ordered around. She might’ve been quiet and obedient during the dinner, but she was like a panther lying in wait.

It was hard to imagine something as beautiful as her being violent. Her thick hair was the color of caramel and hung in soft waves barely past her shoulders. She looked prim and proper in her satin dress and heels. But her eyes? I recognized the hard edge they held. Violence shone in her irises, like an ice storm of rage every time she looked at any of us.

God, watching her and Caleb battle was going to be fun. Because they would. I’d heard about how she made him lie on the floor while she hogtied him—barrel of a gun pointed at his balls. I thought I pulled a muscle I laughed so hard, and I hadn’t stopped giving him shit for it since.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he returned the favor to his new wife. Asshole claimed he wanted nothing to do with the woman romantically.

Hell, I didn’t either, but I wouldn’t refuse a fuck if she wanted one.

My musings were interrupted by Caleb’s harsh tone. “Dominick, you speak to my wife like that again, and I’ll take it as a personal slight.” He stalked closer to the don, pressing in on his chest. Caleb had a good six inches on the man. “And if you ever raise a hand to her, you’ll be fed through a tube for the rest of your life.”

He couldn’t threaten to kill him, not yet anyway. So the promise of irreparable damage would have to do.

I didn’t bother paying attention to Dominick’s response. No, I was too entranced by the beauty whose body radiated nervous energy during the exchange. I glanced down at her heeled feet.

She can’t be comfortable in those.

Or maybe I was just a selfish bastard and wanted her close. A leather bench spanned the entry wall behind us, and without a second thought, I plopped down, yanking her onto my lap and smirking at the yelp that slipped from her plump lips. Her eyes were blazing with irritation.

I leaned forward and practically purred in her ear.

“Now, now. Be a good girl. Didn’t you hear? We own you now, Scar Romano.”

Her breath hitched right before she called me a motherfucker under her breath, causing my smile to widen and my cock to stiffen. Caleb cleared his throat from where he stood in front of us. We’d been brothers long enough that I could hear all his unspoken words.

They were something like: Quit acting like a fucking child, Kenji. Why do you have her in your lap? I’m about as fun as a cactus in an asshole.