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I didn’t know why I was surprised by his tardiness. But I knew I was sick of waiting.
The doorknob taunted me, demanding I pick it. My hand pressed against the handle, and I swore I wasn’t going to do anything stupid. Like barging into L’Oscurità while it was closed.
But I couldn’t resist the temptation. I twisted it slowly, testing the lock, and was startled when the knob turned all the way.
My legs stuttered to a stop at the sight of some of the most influential mafia figures in the country gathered at a table together.
Giovanni Romano, Vincent Romano, Bastiano Romano, and Asher Black sat in one of the four-seat booths on the opposite side of the bar.
A young girl, who I recognized from my files as Bastian’s little sister Contessa “Tessie” Romano, ran around the bar, weaving between tables, bumping into chairs and sending them flying different ways.
She laughed when one of the chairs she bumped into slid toward Vince, and he made a show of pretending to fall forward into the table’s edge.
I wasn’t surprised when Bastian was the first to notice me, his eyes connecting with mine as soon as I stepped into the bar.
His lips curled upward in a sneer, an ugly twist of the mouth that only served to make him more devastatingly handsome.
I steeled myself, forcing my body to hide my apprehension. He wasn’t going to be nice to me today. I had no disillusions, but I needed him to know I wasn’t backing down.
We were already at war, and I was prepared to win. No matter the cost. That brief moment of vulnerability I had felt after watching him touch himself was just that—brief.
I took a defiant step forward.
His eyes narrowed, and he stared me down like a race car driver gunning for the finish line.
“You’re late.”
Four sets of eyes turned my way, including Tessie’s. She took off in a run toward me, her eager legs pounding on the floor with each step.
My jaw set, and despite the normal volume of my voice, it boomed in the empty bar. “I was outside.”
Waiting.
Always waiting.
His sneer hid thinly-veiled amusement, and I knew he’d had me waiting outside on purpose.
“Why?” He drew out the syllable. “The door’s been unlocked the whole time.”
Simple words, but they made me feel foolish, even though I knew why I hadn’t checked the door—I wasn’t supposed to draw unnecessary attention to myself.
Like entering without being let in.
I’d knocked, no one had answered, and that should have been that.
Still, my neck flushed red, and the unwelcome heat of embarrassment traveled up and down my body.
I hated the way he made me feel. The way he could have me loathing him one second and lusting after him the next.
Or worse—at the same time.
I ignored his question, praying he’d spare me his onslaught given his present company.
“Are we training or not?”
I was dressed like he had demanded me to.
I had arrived when he had ordered me to.
