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My brows slam together as I regard her. She’s not wrong, but shit, is that what everyone thinks of me?
“Word gets around.” She arches a challenging brow.
I refuse to rise to the baiting, and instead, draw in a steadying breath. “So you got the job?” I ask innocently.
“Yup.” She wraps the towel tighter under her arms, and I find myself praying for it to fall. Images of our heated hook-up rise to the surface. I’d never gotten to see her fully bare form in the rush, and my imagination painted a very vivid picture of what lay beneath that towel. “So are you going to keep eye-fucking me, or are you going to show me where the staff area is?” She smiles sweetly baring her teeth.
Dio, this woman would be my undoing. I’d never met a woman I couldn’t have. That must be what is driving me crazy. Would she seriously stick to her vow?
Clearing my throat, I point to the corridor on the right. “It’s that way. Last door on the left.”
“Thank you.” She saunters past me, the outline of her bubbly, perfect ass swaying beneath the white towel.
“You know,” I call out. “I’ve been thinking about taking up yoga.”
She turns her head over her shoulder and throws me a wicked grin. “I’d twist you into a pretzel, Dante Valentino.”
God, I hope so.
Turning toward the locker room, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. A stupid smile stretches across my face.Dio, what is wrong with me?
* * *
Tony stands outside ofNonna Maria’s scarfing down a cannolo, like he thinks I’m not going to see the powdered sugar all over his lips. I eat up the last few yards down the block as he wipes his mouth with a napkin.
“Really, Tony?”
“What? I was hungry, and you were late.”
I eye my gold wristwatch. Fuck, he’s right. That little interaction with Rose had my head spinning and my dick so hard I’d had to let off some steam in the shower. It was her face I’d seen, her name that had exploded from my lips as I came in my hand.
I needed to fuck her and get her out of my head, or I’d be useless.
I unleash a frustrated breath and turn to Tony. “Well, if you’re done with your snack, we’ve got some Red Dragon assholes to put in their place.”
“Ready when you are,cap—Dante.” Tony hides a sheepish smile beneath the napkin before tossing it in the trash. Then he moves into step beside me, and we march the remaining two blocks to the Red Dragon in silence.
The scent of fried dumplings and sweet and sour sauce assault the air as we cross into China Town. Little Italy has been invaded by the Triad fuckers, and it’s time someone taught them a lesson. My little brother is too diplomatic, too politically inclined. What we need is to break bones and shoot some shit up. That’s the language thesebastardiunderstand.
The cool metal of my gun presses against my torso as I take the steps up to the restaurant that serves as a front for the Chinese Triad. Jianjun, as the eldest, is the leader of the organization that encompasses the entire island of Manhattan and parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn. His Red Dragons prowl lower Manhattan, while Qian Guo and the Four Seas take the Upper East and West Sides, and Hao Wei’s gang covers the outer boroughs.
Jianjun is the head of the snake and if I succeed in cutting it off, the otherswillfall. Then they’ll all be at my mercy, and the Kings will once again reign supreme.
Tony reaches for his revolver, his finger on the trigger as I whip the door open. A hailstorm of bullets pierces the air as we storm in. I squeeze off an entire round, shooting up the empty dining room. The hostess at the entrance screams and ducks behind the podium.
“Don’t even think about it, honey.” I drop to the ground beside the woman reaching for the phone and train my gun at her head. “I don’t think your boss would like it if we got the cops involved. This is between him and me.”
Straightening, I turn to Tony. “Light it up,amico.”
Gunshots reverberate in the air, ricocheting across the golden lanterns hung from the ceiling, ripping holes through the pink tablecloths and piercing the oversized fish tank in the back of the space.
A shit-eating grin curls my lips. It’s about time thisfiglio di puttanaunderstands what happens when you mess with the Kings.
“What the devil is going on out here?” Jianjun appears from the back of the restaurant with half a dozen guards wearing red from head to toe surrounding him.
“Time for retribution, old man.”
CHAPTER9
