AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The Guidice family has had a hold on New Orleans for far too long. My family was always destined for more and we were never given the chance to make our mark on the city. My father was content with the way things were. I’m not.
Viola is a beautiful woman. I can understand why the family, and now Dante, kept her under wraps and protected for so long. She’s a liability and clearly the family’s weakness.
It’s a damn good thing I excel at exploiting weaknesses.
I’m not so much of a brute that I’ll do something to Viola she’s not begging for. I never planned to kidnap her or anything as sordid as that. Playing with her heart and using her body against her? Now, that’s another matter altogether.
Finding out she’s a member of Club Sin only makes my plan come into focus and allows me an in that I wasn’t anticipating. I’m not often surprised or caught off guard, but this turn of events is not one I was anticipating. For once, I welcome it.
I gather my thoughts as I take a sip of Hammond Whiskey, letting the smokey flavor coat my tongue and remind me to appreciate the finer things. My eyes flick over to Viola again. She will certainly be one of the finer things I’ll have my hands on. Even if it is temporary.
When I’m done with her, I’m not sure what will be left of her. I suppose it depends on how strong she is. If she’s anything like her brother, she won’t like being used, but women aren’t granted much power in my world. She might want to get back at me, at my brothers, but she won’t have the means to do it. Not without exposing herself in ways I can’t imagine she’ll be willing to do.
I take in my brother’s expressions. If they both knew the extent of my plans, they would have two very different reactions. Marco looks giddy and is practically drooling as he periodically glances at our quarry. I’ve never doubted where my middle brother’s loyalties lie. He’s willing to do what needs to be done in our name and if he gets to have some fun while doing it, he’s all the happier.
He’s going to revel in my plan before throwing himself into it without much thought about what happens afterward. He’s always been like that, and I trust him with my life. He’s never seen danger he wasn’t willing to charge into.
Some might think it’s because he lacks the intelligence to think things through, but a lack of smarts isn’t his downfall. It’s trusting that I know the outcome and have weighed all the possibilities while also protecting him. He’s not wrong, I would never put him in a situation I didn’t think he could get out of. However, he sometimes forgets that the only people I really care about are sitting around the table with me right now and everyone else could be collateral damage and I wouldn’t bat an eye at the outcome.
When I glance at Massimo, I know he’s going to be the difficult sell when it comes to my plan. I don’t know how Viola doesn’t feel the way my youngest brother is looking at her. His eyes are filled with heat and longing which has me almost feeling badly about my plan.
Almost.
He has always been the dreamer out of the three of us. He is very much rooted in reality, but he wants to believe that there can be a happy ending for us. The only happy ending we can find involves power and strength. It’ll have nothing to do with love.
Massimo’s desire to love and be loved is his weakness. If he thinks I haven’t noticed how he’s been quiet about using Viola, even if I haven’t shared how I planned to do so exactly, then he has underestimated me. My brother is loyal, but he doesn’t have the same taste for blood I do, nor does he have a twisted sense of fun like Marco.
He is the softest of us. He’ll also be the one who will try and protect Viola as much as possible. Maybe he’ll be successful. Only time will tell.
I set the tumbler in my hand down and lean forward. “Miss Guidice’s presence here doesn’t change the plan, only the approach. I thought for sure we would have to create some sort of meeting between us, but this is even better.” I shrug one shoulder, keeping my voice casual, “We’ll use it by getting her in a room with us and then making her a deal. She won’t want her secret to get back to her brother.”
Massimo narrows his eyes at me which causes me to smirk. He’s already willing to go to battle for her. Too bad he’ll lose.
Marco takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Smells like blackmail,” there’s amusement in his voice along with a hint of the crazy I love so much in my brother.
Massimo is full of suspicion; rightfully so. “What will you be accepting to keep your mouth shut about her,” he pauses, “extracurricular activities here at the club?”
My cock twitches in my pants because I know everyone will enjoy that part of my plan. “One secret for one night,” I toss my words out as if they mean nothing, even as something teases at me in the back of my mind that I may only be fooling myself.
Massimo’s eyes go wide, and Marco’s smile widens before he rubs his hands together. The glee coming off him almost makes me smile. He’s going to enjoy himself. I’m not going to pretend like I won’t enjoy it either. Who wouldn’t want to spend the evening with a gorgeous woman? This is only the first part of my plan though; the first step in using her as a pawn.
She’ll be under our thumb because she’s paying for one secret with another.
“I love the way you think, brother,” Marco crows with glee.
Massimo’s lips thin as he clenches his jaw, but he doesn’t express his displeasure with what I’ve shared of the plan. It’s more than I’ve given them before.
I thought for sure we were dealing with a woman who didn’t have more going on than shopping and superficial beauty. Now, as I notice her eyes take in the room around her, I see something more. Not that I will be admitting that to my brothers.
I figured we would cross paths with her and seduce her, but this is even better. I wonder if she’ll cave to my demands or if there is a fire in her I haven’t seen before. The thought of her not being a meek woman has my cock growing even harder in my slacks.
“Enough about the plan. We have time.” My voice hardens and turns cold, “There is another issue we need to discuss.” My brothers look at me with interest and I push the name out past my gritted teeth, “Juan Martinez.”
Massimo arches an eyebrow and leans back in his chair while Marco gets a glint of violence in his eyes. Martinez wouldn’t be my first choice to do business with. He has no morality and is only about power. The power I can understand, but the business he is involved in leaves a bad taste in even my mouth.
I’m more than willing to get my hands dirty and put a middle finger up to the law, but there are lines I won’t cross. I would never sell a woman, but Martinez makes a lot of his money from dealing in skin. I would prefer not to do business with the man, but we don’t have the luxury of ignoring him. At least not yet.
“The man is scum,” Massimo’s words are laced with venom. “I’m sure you heard about the issues he’s had recently. Some businessman tried to align with Martinez by basically selling his daughter to him. The Guidice family was involved in putting an end to it and the woman in question is now with Tony and Zeno.”
