AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was done.
I never wavered. Not once in the last year and the one time I did, I made a fool of myself. Well, fuck him. I didn’t need him. I was Illyria fucking Valentinetti. I didn’t need anyone.
I could take care of the problem myself.
Leaning forward in a chair, the front doors opening caught my attention on my security monitor. If that fucker was here to mess with me, I was going to cap his ass immediately.
Instead, the last person I ever imagined entered.
Leaning back, I stared at the woman and shook my head. She had a lot of nerve showing up at my place after the way she treated Montana. I had half a mind... fuck it.
I had nothing better to do, anyway.
Getting to my feet, I headed for the main room when I heard a member of my security team say, “I’m sorry, ma’am. Barney is no longer the owner.”
“What?” she questioned. “What do you mean? Who owns the club now?”
“I do,” I said, smirking as I sauntered over to her. “My name is Illyria Valentinetti. The bitch. Remember?”
Frowning, Tessa replied, “Excuse me?”
“Oh, that’s right,” I grinned, crossing my arms over my chest. “You were drunk that night.”
“I’m sorry. Have we met?”
I laughed. “Fuck me and here I thought I was going to get to have some fun. Look Tess, yes, we’ve met. You accused me of fucking Montana, got in my face and told me to find another fuck. Then shit went to hell.”
And just like I suspected, the sweet, innocent woman had no fucking clue what I was talking about. Instead of cutting and running like she did with my friend, Montana, she owned up to her mistake and apologized. Which I gave her props for, but not much. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember. If I misbehaved, my apologies. I only came to talk to Barney. Since he’s not here, I will leave.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Jesus’ fuck, you are just like he described,” I sighed. “Come with me. We need to talk.”
Turning, I headed back to my office, leaving her no more room for discussion. She could follow or not. I didn’t care.
“Take a seat,” I said, sitting behind my glass desk.
Settling into a seat, Tessa asked, “I didn’t know Barney sold this place. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come.”
I stopped her right then and there. “He didn’t sell it.”
“I don’t understand. You said you were the new owner.”
“I am,” I sighed, then cursed. “Fuck me. I hate being in the middle of shit that has nothing to do with me. Why he thought keeping you out of the loop was safer I will never understand. Men with fucking dicks. Just like my brothers. They think they know best. Well, they don’t know jack shit.”
“What?”
“Look,Tessa. I’m just gonna lay it all out for you, okay? Barney’s dead. Montana killed him because he was using you to get info on him and the club. Barney was working with a man you know by the name of Benson Graves. Graves was the broker for the Soulless Sinners back in the day before he syphoned millions from the club. He also accumulated information. Lots of information, which he handed over to a man named Boris Petrovitch. We all thought Graves was dead, but even I know that unless it’s a bullet to the brain, dead doesn’t really mean dead in this life. Anyway, the Graves you know, started working for the West Coast Bratva, more specifically Boris Petrovitch. The same man your roommate escaped from. He is also the man who shot up the Gala the night we met. He killed eighteen party goers that night, trying to get to you. Montana figured it out and got you out of there before he took a swim in the Hudson. Whatever you think about Montana, you don’t know jack shit about the man or what he will do to keep you alive.”
Tessa shook her head, holding up her hand. “Stop. I don’t need to hear this.”
I growled, leaning forward onto my desk. “Yes, you do because my friend has gone dark, unreachable. For that alone, you are going to sit your ass down and listen to every fucking word I say. When I’m done, then you can fucking leave.”
She didn’t move.
“The man you know as Montana Stone is the most loyal, honest man I’ve ever met. He says something, you can take it to the bank. He will honor his word. Yet for some fucking reason, you think he is a pariah, a danger to you and your kid. Honey, that man is a fucking danger to anyone who dares look at you. You think because you come from some backwoods country that shit doesn’t stink there? Let me enlighten you. You wouldn’t even be alive right now, if it wasn’t for Montana. Since your release, that man has stopped three hits on you. One before you even left the hospital. He’s called in every fucking marker he has to protect your stupid ass. All so you can go on living your shit life in oblivion. Women like you make me sick.”
I watched as she remembered everything that has happened to her since her arrival in the city. Every fucked-up instance she found herself in and how it all played out. I didn’t need to look into her head as she was putting two and two together. I fucking knew the man.
