AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I never cry.
The grief that I feel for my loss doesn’t overwhelm me. It just makes me angry. Furious, in fact. I won’t let that emotion stop me from thinking straight. No emotion ever stopped me from thinking straight.
I head out of the city, cursing Piper for what he’s done to us. They never deserved this. I was the one in charge of the family since my father retired. I was the one responsible for saying no to Piper. The anger should have fallen on me, not them.
My father tried to warn me that Piper wouldn’t take no for an answer. Alessandro too. I wouldn’t listen. I thought my strength could keep him at bay.
Bastard took out the foundations of my family from under me, force me to say yes.
A dangerous game he’s been playing.
I’ve nothing to lose anymore.
I don’t care what it takes, or how long it takes. I will get justice for what was done to them. I’ll find everyone connected with his plan and I’ll make them pay for their parts in it.
From the cop who put his knee on my neck to that woman he hired to bring me out of the bar. I’ll get them all. Then when I’m done, I’ll get him. If the last thing I ever see is the life draining from Tony Piper’s eyes, I will die a contented man.
This is what I live for now. This is my sole purpose in life. It’s all I care about. All I will ever think about.
Revenge on the man who killed my family.
Six
Anna
* * *
Iwake up with a hangover. That’s not surprising. I drank way too much yesterday. A hangover was bound to happen.
What is surprising is my location.
I’m in a hotel room.
Not just any hotel room. This is the most luxurious one I could have imagined. Penthouse suite. Four rooms, by the looks of things. Have I got the entire floor to myself? Huge bed, the size of my room at Marie’s. Empty bottles from the minibar litter the floor. Through the windows, I can see the entire city spread out far below me.
It’s late morning. The sun’s up. How long did I sleep? Better question, how did I get here?
It comes back to me a moment later. Marco. The head of a crime family. Also, the guy who makes butterflies take over my stomach when he talks to me. Also, the guy who carried me out of the bar and physically put me into the cab. Well, almost.
He sure looked like he might hurl me into it when he yelled at me to get out of there. I was about to yell back at him, tell him to go to hell. Then I saw the look in his eyes. Something had spooked him. If he could get spooked by it, whatever it was must be bad.
So, I got out of there. I looked back in time to see him just standing there, watching me go. I hoped whatever it was, he wouldn’t get hurt. I barely knew him, but I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
I was brought here. I drank. I fell asleep. Then I woke up. That’s what happened.
I lay back in bed and close my eyes.
I remember the dream I had about him last night. He brought me back here, not the cabbie. Told me I’d saved his life from whatever spooked him, that he was so grateful he would do anything for me. Told me he’d reward me. Do the thing I’ve never done before. Do lots of things I’ve never done before.
The dream made me wake up in a hot flush in the middle of the night. It took a long time to get back to sleep. Every time I shut my eyes, I pictured him naked above me, holding my arms in place, not letting me escape, owning me, dominating me.
I’ve never had a dream like that about anyone before. I’ve never thought about anyone that way before. I don’t want to think about him like that. I don’t want to think about him at all. He was arrogant, aggressive, and rude.
What I want to do is work out what the hell I’m going to do with myself. No one’s listened to me so far. The driver wouldn’t let me out until I got to the hotel. The concierge carried my case all the way to my room personally. Told me the check had been paid in advance. I was to have their best room. All comped.
I climbed into the elevator, still protesting that I wasn’t staying. Then I saw the room. I couldn’t resist climbing into the bath. A choice between that and the streets was an easy one to make.
I took a bath in the deepest widest tub I’ve ever seen. I could have swum across it if I got bored. Spent long enough in there to turn me into a prune until I had to get out.
