Warning: The Complete Series

by Justice, A. D.

  “Tell me what you want, Jillian. I want to hear you say the words.” My lips hovered over the shell of her ear. The low murmurs sent goose bumps across her skin, and her nails dug deeper into my skin.

  “I want your fingers inside me, Damon. Don’t stop.” Her ragged breaths and hooded eyes were sexy as fuck, but hearing her admit what she wanted thoroughly lit my fuse.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  With one swift thrust, I buried two fingers deep inside her pussy. Her wetness coated my hand and nearly brought me to my knees. She never could hide her reactions to me, how much she wanted me, and knowing that only made me want her more. The thought of dropping to my knees held a definite appeal.

  She watched me slide down her body. As I knelt in front of her, we kept our eyes locked. The anticipation of what was to come and the thrill of keeping a heated promise spurred me on. Her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth, her lips were slightly parted, and her eyes burned with desire.

  “Fuck, Jillian, I can’t wait to taste you again.” I leaned closer and flicked my tongue against her clit. Just for a second. Just enough to tease her and build the excitement.

  But she had other plans.

  Her fingers dug into my scalp, gripping my hair with a new ferocity I’d never seen in her. She jerked my head against her pussy, shameless and eager.

  “I said, don’t stop.”

  “Yes, you did. Just remember you asked for this.”

  In one abrupt move, I turned her back to the bed and hoisted her onto it with my free arm. My fingers still pumped in and out of her as I ground the pad of my thumb into her sensitive clit. Her moans filled the room, my fingers filled her pussy, and then my mouth devoured her clit. Like a starving man, I couldn’t get enough. I tried to start out being easy, circling and sucking on her clit to make her crazy for me.

  But I was the one who turned into a madman.

  One taste wasn’t enough. Gentle was never our thing. Waiting was for other people who had more time. While continuing the barrage with my fingers, I added a full-fledged assault with my tongue. Up. Down. Inside. Around. Side to side. Every fucking orgasm she possessed was mine, and I was hell-bent to claim them. Every scratch of her nails, every squeeze of her thighs, and every scream that echoed off the walls was worth it. By the time I finished with her, she was reduced to a quivering pile of beautiful skin…with a gorgeous, thoroughly satisfied expression.

  “Will that hold you over until next time, doll?”

  “Mmm.” As she moved into a full-body stretch, a huge smile split her face in two. “That felt so good, Damon. All my stress just disappeared. Now I’m a useless mess, can’t feel a single bone in my body.”

  “Don’t worry, doll. Next time, you’ll feel a bone all right. You’ll feel a very hard bone all night. Don’t you doubt it for a second.”

  While she lay sprawled out on the bed, high on our own ecstasy, I covered her body with mine and purposely slid the bulge in my pants across her extra-sensitive clit. Her eyes flew open, and her breath halted as she waited for my next move. So, I dipped my head and captured a sensual kiss.

  “Are you ready to come stay with me now? You can have this every night.”

  “Aw, Damon, I think it’s so sweet that you’re trying so hard. I thought you understood after the last time we were together, though. I’m only using you for sex. If you’re uncomfortable with that, I completely understand. Just tell me, and I’ll find someone else who’s okay with it.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable with it at all. You can still use me for sex while living with me. In fact, you’re welcome to use me for a good fucking every day of the week. But if you’re looking for some strange maybe I should too.”

  I knew she was trying to bust my balls. She wasn’t as slick as she liked to think. She expected a very different reaction out of me—like a possessive, caveman, flying off the handle, ranting madman—and under normal circumstances, that was exactly what she would’ve seen out of me. Her crestfallen expression when I turned her own game against her instead was almost comical. But I had to fight fire with fire, make her work as hard to stay away from me as I worked to get to her back. I hated the verbal seesaw, back and forth without any real resolution, but she still wasn’t ready to tap out, and I was nowhere near ready to throw in the towel.

  We were two of a kind, whether she’d admit it or not.

  “You had three months without me. I’m sure you had your fair share of strange anyway.”

  “I don’t usually kiss and tell, doll. But I seem to break a lot of rules for you.” I paused, intentionally, and she perked up, suddenly very interested in what I had to say. “There hasn’t been anyone else for me since the day I met you. You didn’t take my warning to heart. I told you quite a while ago, if you stayed, you and I were in this forever.”

  “How can you be such an asshole one minute, and so sweet and romantic the next?”

  “I’m just talented that way, I guess. Tell me, would you rather I just give up on you? Leave you alone so you can get on with your life without me?”

  “Do you really want to know the answer to that?” A hint of her bluster was in her tone, testing me again.

  “Yes, I do. An honest one.”

  “I don’t know, Damon. I honestly don’t know what I want anymore. Every time I think I’ve figured it out and made a decision, I get lost inside my head and doubt myself again.”

  “Get out of your head and follow your heart. It knows what to do, whether that brings you to me or not.” I lowered my face to hers. “Good night, doll,” I murmured against her lips. Then I poured all my love into my kiss, letting her feel everything I felt.

  “Good night, Damon.”

  Minutes later, I slid into the car where Benny was waiting. I glanced over at him and raised my eyebrows. “Everything go okay?”

  “Yeah. It was just like you said it’d be. Carrie was in a hurry to see who was sneaking around her house, so she didn’t lock her computer before she stepped away from it. I installed the keystroke logger program without a hitch, and I saved it in a system folder she wouldn’t naturally think to look in. And I’ve already confirmed we have remote access into her servers, so we can access any computer she has on her network. The programs are hidden, but we just have to hope she doesn’t run a full system scan and accidentally find them.”

  “I don’t think she’ll give them a second glance even if she does find them. Not with the way we named them. They just look like regular system files. I know those two are up to something. Carrie was too adamant for Jillian to stay with her for them not to be. We just have to figure out what.”

  11

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jillian

  “You look way too happy. Should I be afraid to ask what you’ve done?” I slid into the chair across the table from Carrie with a cup of hot tea.

  Carrie was already at the kitchen table when I got up, a steaming coffee mug in hand and a beaming smile on her face. Her eyes were glued to her laptop screen. Knowing what she was capable of made me more than a little leery to ask why, but curiosity got the better of me. Plus, if it had anything to do with Lorenzo, I definitely wanted in.

  “I’ve been thinking about how to coax the rat out of his hole. Then it just came to me. Everyone hates rats.”

  “Okay.” Admittedly, I didn’t get where she was going at first. Then it hit me. “You’re a genius. How do we make him look like a rat?”

  “I concocted a fake news story with enough real information even his family and his men will question his allegiance. Then I submitted it to all the local news stations and papers. His family name is well-known, so they’ll run with it.”

  “What’s the story?”

  Her grin widened.

  “I’ve written two, actually. The first one puts our game in motion, then the second one seals his fate. The one that’ll become breaking news any minute now is about the money missing from the nurse’s fund at Blaine Financial.

  “I did
a little more digging after we talked about his embezzlement scheme. It’s actually worse than that. He used that money to establish a Ponzi scheme. He paid his first investors a hefty dividend, so they invested more. That also made others want to get in on the action, so they invested heavily in his scheme. When his allies find out what he’s done, they’ll be gunning for him. But since he’s a made man, they can’t kill him without his family retaliating against them.”

  “Okay, so that’s the part that’s true. How will that bring him out of hiding if he knows everyone wants to kill him?”

  “Because the second story will leak soon after, revealing he met with the FBI—as if he’s a rat who turned on his family and allies. Right now, the Sanfratello family is hiding and protecting him. With the first story being true and out there for the world to know their business, they’ll be suspicious enough of him to cut him out. The FBI’s only response will be they can’t comment on what is or isn’t an open investigation.

  “I don’t think his father would allow a hit on him without irrefutable proof, but Geno Sanfratello has to protect his whole family first—not just his loose-cannon son. Until Geno has proof Lorenzo didn’t go to the FBI, Lorenzo will be exiled from the family safe houses. He’ll also be more likely to agree to a meeting if we dangle a carrot in front of him with the promise to help clear his name.”

  “But he won’t know it’s us he’s meeting, right?”

  “Exactly. We’ll make him think it’s an associate or a family friend. I know a few names of the men who are in their circle of trust, but they don’t live in the immediate area. We’ll pick one of those wise guys to come to his aid after I do a little work to ensure the plan can’t backfire on us.”

  “How would it backfire on us?”

  “If the one I pick has moved back to the area and has already been in touch with Lorenzo, or if he’s already dead and the family knows that, things like that. I need to get into Lorenzo’s phone and email accounts to see who he’s talked to already, then go from there.”

  “What can I do to help? You’ve done all the work for my revenge against him.”

  “This is mostly for you, but Lorenzo has screwed my family over too. Once you’re part of the Marchetti family, you don’t have to face anything alone. We all have your back. When he fucked with one of us, he fucked with all of us. All you need to do is prepare yourself for the meeting with him. I’m still not convinced you should do it—especially being pregnant. It’s not like we can arrange a sit-down meeting in a public place if you’re going to kill him.”

  “No, I guess not. He’d expect somewhere private and off the beaten path if his former partners want to kill him, wouldn’t he?”

  “Absolutely. His family owns a garbage transfer station in Brooklyn. He wouldn’t suspect a meeting there as much as he would other places since it’s Sanfratello property. I’d be okay with leaving Geno a little present on the doorstep of his office.”

  “Carrie, what happens to the Marchetti family after I do this?”

  She shrugged and gave me a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’ll be an all-out war. But don’t feel bad about that. A war has been brewing since the day they shot Damon, whether they know it or not. They tried to make it look like they were after you from the start, but we know better. Daddy and Uncle Leo plan every detail of their revenge, and they don’t tell anyone until they’re ready to make a move. They prefer to wait so their enemies let their guards down, and Daddy uses the element of surprise to his advantage.”

  When I lifted my mug for a sip of tea, Carrie’s phone pinged with a news alert. She threw her head back and roared with laughter. “Step one is in play, Jillian. The first news station just released the story.”

  She opened the article and read it aloud to me, exuding pride with her every word. She was right—the article was incredibly damaging to Lorenzo. The details were much too specific and far too knowledgeable about the inner workings of Blaine Financial and the Sanfratello family to be fabricated. Everyone involved in Lorenzo’s scheme, from the ones who helped create the elaborate ruse to the people who were cheated out of millions of dollars, would be furious.

  “Can’t you just hear the collective growls from the Sanfratellos everywhere? They know what this means. Their empire is crumbling around them.” Carrie closed her laptop and stood. “It’s going to be a great day, I can just feel it.”

  She walked to the sink behind me to rinse her cup. I heard her open and close cabinet doors and drawers, but my mind was a million miles away.

  It would be a great day when I was able to put everything behind me and only look forward to the future. I’d never been one to plot an elaborate revenge on anyone, regardless of how I’d been hurt. I’d certainly never even contemplated premeditated murder—I’d never even had a reason to consider it. Before Damon, that was. Since meeting Damon, I’d not only planned it, I almost attempted it.

  With the news article going viral, there was no turning back. I’d face Lorenzo soon enough…and I’d have to face myself in the mirror. One way or another.

  Could I let my mother’s killer live while she was in the ground?

  Could I live with myself after taking a mother’s son away from her?

  How long would the vengeance continue to destroy these two families?

  Would my baby become a casualty of the Marchetti-Sanfratello war?

  “Carrie.” I turned as I called her name, and I found her standing beside me with a bowl of cut fresh fruit. She passed the food to me with an empathetic expression then took her seat across from me with her breakfast.

  “Jillian, let me explain this to you as best I can. Lorenzo will die, one way or another. When he ordered the hit on Damon, you, and your mother, he knew he’d just signed his own death warrant. Even if he’d been successful, he still knew what would come. We’re flexible when it comes to bending and breaking man’s laws. But there are family laws that aren’t broken—they just aren’t—but he broke them.

  “You don’t have to be the one to do it, though. If you want to out of respect for your mother, I want to give you the opportunity. If you can’t or don’t want to, I don’t expect you to do it. No one does. But make no mistake, it will be done. Your mother, you, and Damon will be avenged. He will pay for what he’s done.”

  My decision changed from one minute to the next, alternating back and forth between the person I never wanted to be and the person I might have to be for my mom’s memory. The problem was, I didn’t know if I could live with being either one.

  “What are the unbreakable family laws?”

  “Don’t disrespect the Boss in any way—undermining him, disobeying him, embarrassing him. Don’t kill any made man without approval from the Boss or Underboss. Don’t rat out your family—you must be loyal to a fault.”

  “Lorenzo broke all of those, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, he did. The hit orders disrespected and embarrassed his father. The Ponzi scheme proved he wasn’t loyal to his extended family—he was stealing money from people who trusted him with their lives. He isn’t an honorable man. Look at the Marchetti men in comparison. Everything they do is for the family, for the people they love. Damon threw himself in front of a bullet for you. He even openly defied Daddy—somewhat, anyway. Had others seen that behavior, you may not have ever seen him again. But Mama was on Damon’s side in that argument, so Daddy didn’t stand a chance. Still, Damon loves you, and he’ll do anything and everything just to protect you.”

  Funny, just a few short months ago, I had a completely different definition of an honorable man. A self-professed hit man wouldn’t have been anywhere near the list. Her words made me reconsider how I saw Damon, though.

  “He did take a bullet for me. Then when he was in my house, he shielded me from what felt like machine gun fire blasting through the front windows. He had glass and wood all down his side…because he covered me with his body.

  “Carrie, I have to ask you about something that’s been on my mind. I’m sorr
y to put you on the spot, but my thoughts and feelings are all over the place. I’ve never been so confused about what I should or shouldn’t do before.”

  “Ask me anything. One thing you’ll find out about me is I never lie. Lying is for people who are afraid, and I’m not afraid of anyone.”

  “Is this how my life will always be, whether I’m with Damon or not? Will I always have to watch over my shoulder for the next person who wants to use me to get to Damon? Or use my baby to get to him? Am I looking at a lifetime of being shot at when I walk down the street and having to shoot back at the people who are trying to kill me?”

  She flashed a small smile, and I knew she understood exactly how I felt. “You walked into this scenario at a terrible time, Jillian. Milo, our associate who helped Lorenzo steal from us, had just been relieved of his duties. You showed up at the hospital with Damon the same day, then rotated into Milo’s role in Blaine Financial. Talk about bad timing and circumstantial evidence—but that’s all Lorenzo had to go on. What are the odds that Damon Marchetti’s lover worked for our rival family, in the same role a double-crossing rat had just left?

  “After we settle the score, everything will calm down again. Lorenzo went rogue on his family and ours. That doesn’t happen often. If you marry my brother, you’ll be protected your entire life. Knowing Damon, you’ll be protected the rest of your life even if you don’t marry him. He’ll never stop loving you.”

  We finished our fresh fruit with lighter conversations and a few laughs, sharing stories from our childhoods and growing closer to being the sisters we’d both always dreamed of having. Having someone to talk to who didn’t try to sway me one way or another was refreshing. Her words stayed with me throughout the morning while she wreaked digital havoc in her home computer lab.

  “I’m heading out to my first appointment with the obstetrician up here in a few minutes.” I leaned against the doorframe to her office. “Thanks for getting me in so soon.”