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“Whatever.” She bristles. “Have fun with your pillow princess.”
“Why are you being so judgmental?”
She averts her gaze to the large window overlooking the back of the house. “She’s not what I imagined for Victor.” She turns her face to me. “I wasn’t expecting her to be so alluring. Even I’m attracted to her.” She purses her lips, and I smirk. “She and I couldn’t be more opposite. She’s light, and I’m dark.”
Leaning forward, I rest my arms on the desk. “In the twelve years I’ve known you, you’ve never compared yourself to another woman. Why now?”
“I just find it hard to believe Victor gave her up for me.”
“If it’s just sex, why does it matter?” I press.
She jerks a shoulder. “I guess it doesn’t.”
“As I said, I gave Victor a choice. He chose dark.”
* * *
“What’sit gonna take to get Desiree back in my bed?” Gio asks.
“You can start by not being a dick,” I advise, scowling at my friend. “Is that all she is to you? A fuck?”
He averts his gaze to the dance floor, jaw clenched. “No.”
That’s what I thought.“She’s seeing someone.”
Gio’s attention snaps back to me, nostrils flared, eyes hard. “Who the fuck is it?” he shouts, slamming his glass down on the table.
I shake my head. “You know I can’t tell you that,” I lie.
Technically, I could because Victor’s no longer a member, but it’s not him I’m protecting. It’s Desiree. No matter how much she pisses me off.
“I’ll find out.” He flashes a wolfish grin to mask the rage. “Then I’ll kill him.”
I hate Victor with a passion, but not enough to want him dead. Maybe just a few punches to the face and a swift kick to the dick.
“Leave the killing to me,” Enzo interjects. “We can’t have our family lawyer behind bars.”
I laugh, but knowing these two, they’re only half joking. “You can’t kill him,” I tell him. “He’s family.”
Gio’s gaze slides to his brother. Enzo holds up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m an asshole, but I’m not stupid.”
Gio doesn’t look convinced, but he lets it go, turning his attention back to me. “It can’t be Sandro or Frankie, because she’s not their type. Is it one of my cousins? Give me a hint.”
I smirk. “It’s not Enzo.”
“Stronzo.” He laughs, calling me an asshole in Italian. “So, what you’re saying is he’s part ofTheFamily. Not my family.”
I nod once. “Yes.”
People assume the mafia only exists in cities like New York, Chicago, or Vegas. However, organized crime in Florida goes back to the 1920s. The syndicate has evolved over the years and is now referred to as The Family. The organization is made up of legitimate businessmen in high-ranking positions who operate beneath a superior under certain rules in exchange for connections and power. While the Cantore men are at the top of the food chain, they, too, have to answer to a higher power and follow the rules. One of those rules is: you cannot kill another member of The Family without just cause. Only the head of The Family gets to decide if another member deserves to be taken out.
Gio lets out a harsh breath and leans back in the booth. “Fuck.”
The Cantore brothers are longtime friends and business partners of mine. Their family owns a majority of the land just east of Heritage Bay, including the port. They also have dozens of businesses—all legit—including a gentlemen’s club. The women we—Desiree and I—hire to work at Veil come through a dummy corporation owned by the Cantores. Everyone is thoroughly screened by Gio or Enzo personally.
“Damn.” Enzo whistles through his teeth. “Never seen her before.”
Turning my head, I follow his line of sight to see my angel on the dance floor, standing almost a head taller than most of the women around her. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a fancy bun, exposing her long neck and slender shoulders. Her extremely revealing, but sexy, black dress shimmers under the flashing lights. Her skirt moves with every sway of her hips, showing off her long legs and tight ass, attracting the attention of several men.
