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“You actually believe Mad Dog versus what you see in front of your face?”
“I believe thatevery man has been made by God in order to acquire knowledge and contemplate.You know who said that,Natasha?” Stefan shakes his head, fully cupping my breast now in a punishing grip. He squeezes again, and this time, it’s hard enough for me to lose my breath, disgust roiling through me.
“Take your hand off me.” The desire to nail him in the balls is strong, but any kind of offensive move will reveal me, so I hold off. Maybe I can still save this. Maybe—
“I’ve figured you out.” Stefan presses his erection against me and jabs it into my stomach. “Now it’s time for you to fucking pay for what you’ve done.”
He slides his hand up to my neck and cuts off my oxygen. Then, he shoves me around and grabbing his gun at the same time.
“I haven’t done anything!”
The gun points to the back of my head, accompanied by the click of a safety being flicked off. “Move.”
Only iron laces Stefan’s voice, and I have no choice. Gun to my head, he pushes me a few steps in front of him, back to the dining room. He clears his throat once we round the corner, and Marco is the first to see us, the first to note the gun pointed at my temple. He jerks out of his seat, going pale.
“How fuckingdareyou.” It takes me a heartbeat to realize his question isn’t being directed at his brother. He’s shouting at Ermilo.
CHAPTER10
Marco
He thinks thecartelhired Lacey.
The cartels, not the cops, but the distinction makes no difference at the carefully disguised terror dancing across her face. My brother won’t hesitate to shoot her out of spite, and if he feels like he’s cornered, he’ll do it without thought, without a care for the repercussions.
Either way, panic rises in a sharp, acid wave and burns every part of my esophagus on its way up. Lacey stares at me, and in her expression, I see fear, yes, but also a calm sort of resignation, as though she always planned to end up in this situation.
Well, damnit, I hadn’t—I expected to be the one who fell under Stefan’s knife, if it ever came to that.
The cartel leader rises from his seat, slower than the others. His men have already moved into position to block him, but with the table in the way, they can’t physically accomplish the task. Any sudden movement to yank him back might result in gunfire.
“Is this some kind of joke, Zicari?” Ermilo Cirone isn’t called the Viper for no reason. He keeps himself tightly composed, a snake coiled and blending in with his surroundings, ready to strike without hesitation. “Let the bitch go so we can return to our dinner.”
Does Stefan not see how close this situation is to exploding?
“You tell me,” he grinds out. “You’re the one who sent a fucking spy into my house. For what? Because you don’t trust me?” He jerks Lacey hard, a punishing move, and if he hadn’t been so large and her so small, it might not have been as brutal as it looks from here. I practically hear her bones grinding together in whiplash.
“Your latest display is shattering any lingering trust I may have had in you and your operation, yes,” Ermilo answers. He smooths a finger over the slick black lines of his thin mustache, thin patience radiating from the gesture.
“Bullshit! Fuck you.” Stefan spits out every word. “You have no goddamn clue what is going on. You come into my house, under my hospitality, and you put a mole in place to undermine me!”
“Stefan, calm down. What are you trying to say?” I ask.
I catch myself stepping forward when he shakes Lacey a second time, pressing the gun hard enough against her skin to leave a mark. She sucks in a breath but keeps silent.
“I’m saying,” Stefan replies through gritted teeth, “that the Cirone clan sent this cunt in to play us for fools, Marco, to spy on us and sell our secrets. Did you think I was stupid enough to fall for it? I see right through the games you’re trying to play, and if you want to get one over on me, you’re going to have to do a whole lot better than some cheap fucking escort to do it.”
“That’s enough,” I bark out.
Lacey opens her mouth to protest, but my expression must say it all. It’s enough to keep her to stay silent. If he’s pressed the wrong way, then he’s going to go into tantrum mode, and there will be no way to salvage this situation.
“She has nothing to do with your delusions, Stefan.” Fury and fear spins through me. “She’s my guest. You’ll treat her with the respect she deserves.”
He turns to me at last, his shoulders sloped forward, his lips thin and bloodless. “She’s not Natasha Moretti!”
Ah, fuck me. “Then you let me handle things.”
“She was outside my office, Marco.” Stefan is insistent. “She’s snooping around, looking for a way inside, trying to sell us out! She’s working for them, and they’re trying to take the business from me.”
