“What are you doing?” I gasp.
Bastien smiles against my skin, planting a kiss that makes a line of desire from my breasts all the way between my legs.
I shouldn’t want this. It’s wrong on so many levels. Marc wouldn’t—
A hot seal of his lips yanks my thoughts from the horror of today. His coarse hands stroke my body, warmth rippling from his touch. I gasp into his hair as he slides under my shirt. Fire ripples from his palm. He stops when he reaches my bra, fingers teasing the edge. Then he kisses my jaw, his movements possessive. Even Marc wasn’t this—oh my God.
Bastien grabs my tits, laughing as I groan to the ceiling. I’m a marionette, and he cut my strings. I melt into him, head tipped over his arm.
His eyes are drunk with lust. “I have a few conditions of my own.”
“Does your hand have to be there while you list them?”
“No, but it’s more fun this way.” He pinches my nipple, ecstasy shooting into my body. “When we’re married, you don’t ask questions about where I’ve been or what I’m doing.”
“I haven’t said yes.”
“Second thing,” he continues, unconcerned. “You do what I say when I fucking say it. No argument. No discussion.”
“Yeah, that’ll be a problem.”
“It’s a deal breaker,” he says in a hard voice. “And I will not compromise. You were born in this world, but you don’t know it. There are things I won’t tell you. If there’s an emergency, you’ll do as you’re told.”
My father sheltered me from the wheelings and dealings of the family. That much is true. It doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. “Fine. Anything else?”
“Yeah,” he says, lowering his lips to mine. “I know you just need my cock, but we’re going on dates. I want to show you off.”
My jaw drops open. “I’m not your arm candy.”
“What good is marrying the boss’ daughter if I can’t rub it in their faces?”
“Okay,” I grind out, baited by his stupid smirk. “You need to understand something, though. We’ll never be close. I won’t fall in love with you.” Bastien doesn’t wince at the harshness of my words, but his smile disappears. “There’s no point. So if that’s important, you should find someone else.”
“Eva, I’m not going anywhere.”
“He said that, too.”
A ruthless pinch seizes my nipple, forcing me to meet his smoldering gaze.
His mouth crushes against mine, tongue sweeping across my lips as he takes me in his massive arms. He kisses me hard enough to force me into the cushions. Every flick makes me gasp. The caress of his hands sets my nerves ablaze. I look into his eyes, possessed with a desire to straddle his hips and feel him thrust inside me.
He grabs my jaw. “I’m not him.”
My mouth opens with an apology, stilted by his thumb. It slides away, replaced by his lips. He gives me a lingering kiss. How long has he been waiting for this? It’s as though he rehearsed it many times and finally has me in his arms. I want my heart to steady, not melt.
He breaks from me, both of us gasping. Then he takes my hand, guiding it toward his slacks. His rock-hard length grazes my knuckles, a dark suggestion blazing in his eyes.
A phone rings.
Rage flashes across Bastien’s features as he sits up with a groan, sliding the iPhone from his pocket.
“What?” He looks at me. “Yeah, she’s here. We’re leaving now.”
Then he ends the call.
“Your dad’s in the hospital.”
Chapter Six
Sébastien
The wind howls loud enough to drown a scream. I stand under the same bridge where I watched Adrián dump a body. Happened a few weeks after my initiation.
I was called to help Adrián “remove a package.” The man was already dead when I got there, nothing I could’ve done. We drove at three a.m. to this fucking place, and Adrián dug a hole through the slop, whistling as he worked. The poor bastard he killed was in his fifties. Probably someone’s husband. Next day I reported the crime to Detective Carter while he scrawled notes on a pad. “Arresting him would be a waste of time,” the douchebag said. “We’re here to nail Vito, not hit one of his soldiers with a homicide charge. Use your head.”
Meanwhile that piece of shit murdered three people while Carter and Ritter sat on their asses. And now I’m meeting two degenerate cops here.
It doesn’t give me a good feeling.
Carter’s black hair flattens on his skull as he leaves the car, opening the door for the captain, whose windbreaker jacket zips to his neck. He calls over the noise. “We heard what happened. Vito still alive?”
“Yes.” Unfortunately. “What’s your next move?”
Carter stands behind Ritter, eye-fucking me like an overprotective bulldog. “For what?”
“Pulling me.”
Ritter shakes his head as though shaking off a fly. “That’s out of the question.”
My hair dances in the wind. I palm it, walking toward Carter. “I gave you a pass for the last meeting, but I’m not screwing around anymore. I want out. That’s it. End of story.”
The younger man squares his shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere.”
As if the asshole can stop me. I glance from Ritter to Carter, hoping this is another stress dream. “Fuck you both. This is over.”
I’ll march straight into the department. It was stupid meeting them again.
I turn my back on them, and then Ritter’s voice calls on the wind. “Then I guess you better get used to living on the lam, ’cause we’ll erase your file.”
“Why the fuck are you doing this?” When confronted with my rage, Ritter shrugs, hands in his pockets.
“We need you to do this.”
“You and Carter.” My stomach roils. “Do I even exist to the department?”
“They know I have undercovers, but nothing specific about them. Son, it’s simple. You help us, we’ll get you out.”
“Who are you working for?”
“That’s none of your business,” Carter says.
Of course not. “This is completely fucked.”
Carter tries to block my way to the car. “Don’t be an idiot. A couple more months, and it’ll be over.”
He reeks of desperation. “Right.”
“Nobody here knows you! They won’t believe a word coming out of your mouth.”
That much is true. I took law enforcement classes in college. Applied to the SQ and went through eight weeks of field training, and after I had graduated, Captain Ritter pulled me aside for undercover work. I could find an officer I trained with and explain myself, but if my file’s gone, I’m just another foot soldier for Vito, or a flunky from the academy who got seduced by the mob. And if anyone I talk to finds the circumstances around my story suspicious, no one will go over a captain’s head.
Fuck.
Reporting them to the department right now isn’t an option. I could swallow my rage for a few more weeks, gather evidence, and then approach the police. Considering how fast the family is dying, I might not have long.
I meet Carter’s gaze. He needs to believe I’ll comply or I’ll have worse problems. Whatever they’re mixed up in, I want to stay the hell away from it.
“I will get made,” I begin slowly. “Only a matter of time. Marrying this girl puts my cover under serious jeopardy. How the fuck am I supposed to hide what I am?”
My angry voice bounces off the cliffs, but it makes Carter relax.
“Jesus, listen to you. It’s not that hard wrangling a mob wife. She’ll be used to being kept in the dark.”
I glare at Ritter. “Why is this prick coming to our meetings?”
The wind flips Carter’s jacket. “Fuck off, asshole.”
“Shut up,” Ritter snaps. “Son, we’re going ahead with the wedding. This is an amazing opportunity to get closer to Vito—”
“Who is dying! There is more than enough evidence to charge half his crew. Why are we still fu
cking around?”
“Because it takes time to build a case.”
Bullshit. “Vito is in the hospital. Someone will kill him, and when that happens, they’ll blow off my head for being his son-in-law.”
Carter looks bored. “Won’t happen.”
“Are you a fucking mind reader? Because I’ve been living with these people for six months, and I’ve seen what they’re capable of.” Ignoring Carter’s sneer, I address the captain. “Some of his men want to become boss. I’m a threat to that position. You’re going to get me killed.”
For a moment Captain Ritter looks conflicted, or maybe it’s the gray sky reflected in his eyes. “We’ll have agents at the wedding. It won’t be a real marriage certificate.”
“You’re not listening. I’m out—no more fucking wires. No more spying—done. I don’t want to do this.”
“I’m not giving you a choice. I’ll call you with more details.”
With a taut leer, Carter heads to the Cadillac and yanks open the door. Captain Ritter follows him. I watch them, my limbs paralyzed.
This is insane.
They laid it out for you last visit. Why are you surprised?
Ritter’s paternal voice calls out as he slides into the passenger seat. “We’ll see you soon.” A gentle smile breaks the harsh lines on his face as if he didn’t condemn me to death.
If I let them go, I’ll have to marry her.
I claw the door before he shuts it. “You can threaten me with deleting my file all you want. I’m not doing this. I’ll disappear, right before I pay the precinct a visit.”
Carter leans over, sneering. “You’ll be laughed out of the office, and then your buddies will find out you’re a snitch. Can’t see that going well for you. Then again, who gives a fuck?”
I want to grab his smirking face and shove it through the window. Smash his fucking head in. Grab the gun at my waist. Two bullets in his stomach. A slow death and a watery grave.
Jesus. This isn’t me.
It might as well be. Don’t hurt him. He’ll hold it over you.
“Get back to your fiancée,” Captain Ritter says. “She’s probably wondering where you are.”
The door slams and Carter disappears behind the glass. A roar of the engine and a screech of tires later, they’re gone. The dust kicks up from the wheels, rolling over my body in a giant cloud.
I wish I had the power to rain hellfire on that Cadillac. To impale it with a steel beam, right through Carter’s chest. Maybe run them off the road, drag them out by their hair. Force them to their knees. An empty chamber, clicking against their heads. They’d deserve it. Crooked, lying pieces of shit. They suckered me into this gig, and God knows why. How long has Captain Ritter been dirty?
I’ll find out, and when I do, their lives will be destroyed.
The boss is awake. He sits upright and clasps his daughter’s hand, listening with rapt attention as Eva talks. Occasionally he glances over her shoulder at me.
I’m fake-marrying her. This is happening.
There’s still time for her to hate me and call the whole thing off, but I can’t bring myself to be an asshole, not when she looks at me like that.
Eva gives a bone-cracking sigh as she stands, the sky-blue t-shirt hiking up her creamy stomach as she stretches. She hasn’t left the hospital since I ran my errand, but I brought her a change of clothes. Her face pinches with tiredness, but she’s still gorgeous.
She smiles. My breath stills. Few women do that to me anymore. I want to grab her waist, claim her as mine. The desire is overwhelming, like a buzz working its way through my veins. Making my skin heat.
She touches my arm. “My dad wants to speak to you. I’ll wait downstairs.”
“All right.”
Eva walks toward the elevators, and I admire the view of her skinny jeans clinging to her perfect ass. I can still taste her on my lips. My blood calls out for more. That speech she gave in my apartment about wanting one thing from me made me forget who I was. If her dad hadn’t called, I would’ve fucked her. She needs the essence of me. I won’t lie. That feels pretty damn good.
Babe, it’d be my pleasure to fuck you raw. Consequences be damned.
I stamp on this insane desire I never knew I had. Wasn’t until a beautiful woman told me she needed my cock that I felt this way. Even in my head, it makes little sense. I can’t explain what her words did to me.
Heads turn in the waiting area as she walks among Adrián and the rest of the Romano crew. He seethes with undisguised hatred, and I grin at him.
Back off, asshole.
“Bastien,” Vito croaks behind me.
Fuck, I forgot about the old man. Hitching a smile on my face, I walk into his room and beam. “Hey, boss. You look good.”
It’s a white lie. His color isn’t great, but Vito smiles as if he knows better. “Heard you and my daughter had a talk.”
“She came to my house—alone. In the middle of the night. That can’t happen again.”
He gives a weary sigh. “Eva’s always been headstrong. Especially when it comes to her safety.”
“Good to know what I’m signing up for. If she says yes, of course.”
“She will,” he beams. “Take her away from this place. Get her mind off her sick father.”
“I’ll try.” Recognizing the dismissal, I head out. “Try to rest.”
Tears fill his eyes. “Thank you. I’m in your debt.”
Jesus, he’s crying. Might as well be a meal for the guys waiting outside. I should leave him to the sharks. He deserves whatever the fuck they’ll do to him.
Instead I swing the door, so they can’t glimpse inside. I grab the box on his nightstand and pluck a few tissues. He blinks as I dab his eyes with the balled paper. “I’m sorry,” he gasps through tears. “Sorry.”
He’ll get himself killed. “It’s okay.”
“You’re a good man. Everything will be all right.”
No, it won’t. If he keeps falling to pieces in front of his men, his days are numbered in weeks. Not months. He can’t die yet. If he gets popped, I’m fucked. “Pull it together, boss. They’re out there, watching you.”
“You think I don’t know that?” he says, balling the tissue in his fist. “It’ll happen. There’s no stopping—”
I stoop so my breath hisses over his ruined face. “Don’t let them see you fall apart, goddamn it.” I feel like an asshole for bullying a dying man, but, fuck. I will not die for a fucking mobster. “You want your daughter to live, right?”
His gaze wheels to mine, fearful. “Of course—what kind of a question is that?”
“You need to knock these assholes into their place. You have enforcers. Use them. Otherwise, it’s a matter of time before they take you out.”
And then me.
“Yeah.” He takes a breath, exhaling hard. His face transforms into the boss I recognize. “Send in Adrián.”
I nod, grabbing the tissues from his hands and stuffing them in the trash.
He calls for me when I grasp the door. “If you ever talk to me that way again, I’ll rip off your balls and boil them in motor oil.”
Better.
Smiling, I wave goodbye and gesture inside. “Adrián!”
The little pissant stands from the waiting room chair, looking like I shat over his breakfast. With a swagger that rivals John Wayne, he walks toward me. Too close.
His shoulder cuffs mine, and I want to laugh. “What’s your problem?”
“You’re crawling up Eva’s ass.”
“Speak louder so Vito can hear you.”
“Fuck you,” he says in a hoarse whisper. “I don’t care if you marry that twat and give her a son. That doesn’t make you boss.”
“I have no interest in taking his position. As for Eva, if you call her that again I’ll rip out your throat.”
His eyes brighten with the challenge until someone calls him back. “Adrián, come on.”
It occurs to me that this puffed-up asshole is the an
swer to my prayers. I could step aside. Tell Vito I changed my mind. Adrián would marry her. I picture him linking arms with her, wearing a satisfied smirk as he walks down the aisle as church bells ring. Eva in a long white dress. She’ll be married to an evil man. There’s no other word for it.
I barely know the girl. A marriage with her puts my safety in jeopardy, but somehow that’s preferable to letting her be with this douchebag. It’s within my power to save her from him. Shouldn’t I? Isn’t that why I joined the force in the first place—to protect the innocent?
Pretend all you like. You want to fuck her.
Adrián walks closer, his aura bleeding malice. I would laugh if I didn’t see what he’s capable of.
“Fucking liar. You don’t give a shit about this family. You’re in this for yourself.”
A smile hitches on my face, even though my guts boil. “Who I fuck is my business. You have a problem with that—take it up with Vito.”
“Oh, I will,” he says. “And if you do anything to get in my way, I’ll strap you to a table and carve out your insides.”
My stomach hardens at the threat, knowing the sick fuck will make do on his promise. He walks into Vito’s room with a cheerful grin. “Hey, boss. They taking care of you?”
Adrián glances at me, smiling, and I turn from the sight.
He’ll be a problem.
I can’t kill him, much as I’d like to see that fucker dead. Can’t commit any felonies. Even if I went to Vito, he might not believe me. That leaves snitching to the police. It’s a bad idea for many reasons. The guys will suspect me, and if I identify myself as an undercover to law enforcement, Captain Ritter will find out. And erase my goddamn file.
Fuck.
“Thanks,” Vito says as he takes the glass of water offered to him. He sits up, beaming at the sharks circling his bed.
The sight of Eva relaxed against my car banishes Adrián from my thoughts. She’d look good draped over my piece-of-shit car. I imagine her naked back kissing the hood, her legs wrapped around me, her bee-stung lips rounding with pleasure.
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