by Snow, Nicole
“What the fuck? Are you okay?” Lev took another bite, his big blue eyes showing brotherly concern.
“I'm fine. Look, I'm telling you she's gonna work with us. If she doesn't, you can take me out to the courtyard and put a fucking bullet in my head. And I'd deserve a whole lot worse for fucking over this family on a gut feeling.”
Daniel held out a hand. “Stop right there. I'm willing to give this crazy shit a chance because we've got no better way to get to the Italian, but you're gonna need more than guts backing this up. I've been wanting to try out my new gear anyway.”
“The bug?” I exhaled slowly. “What good's it gonna do? Yeah, we'll be able to see where she's at and what the fuck she's doing. But really, if she wants to fuck us over as soon as she's outta our grasp, it's not like we can come roaring in to deal with it. Not when she's in family territory.”
Lev folded his arms and Daniel glared at me like I'd flipped my fucking lid. Maybe I truly had. I'd fucked and unloaded in that sweet thing six or seven times last night, mere hours ago, and my cock was already throbbing the more I ate, hungry for more.
“She's not going anywhere unless D does his thing, brother. I'm not gonna fucking allow it. You know I'm right. Papa would start kindling a fire in his fucking grave from the spin if we let that bitch walk home without something on her. You believe your hunch is right. We want to believe it too. Keeping tabs on her will prove everybody's sincere. Maybe we'll even let her go without that friendly talk.”
I swallowed. Fuck, much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right. And this time, the gut feeling about sending Sabrina back had damned well better be right. If she turned tail and fucked us over, betrayed me...
She'd die. And I'd probably die in the process putting her and her twisted uncle down.
No, damn it, this had to work.
“Okay,” I said at last. “I'll slip it on her tonight before I tell her the news. She'll be ready to go tomorrow.”
“Make sure she is,” Lev said, ripping down to his pear's core with his teeth. “We've already taken some serious delays. You know the state's bringing the Feds in to hunt your ass, right?”
Daniel nodded. “It's a small miracle they haven't dropped in on us yet. Keeping the family name off this place will give us shelter for awhile, but it's only a matter of time before some badge comes sniffing here, looking for Anton.”
I didn't say anything. I wasn't a fucking fool. I knew damned well my chances to help end the war with the Italians were ticking away by the second.
Tick-tick-fucking-tock.
The big clock beneath our grandfather's portrait clicked behind me, a real world reminder of everything around me narrowing like a goddamned noose.
I'd make this shit work. Sabrina would waltz in, work with Gioulio to get us his location, and then I'd swoop in and carry her away after putting lead in that fucker. I'd carry her away like a caveman if I had to. No fucking way was I leaving her behind to rot.
And next time, I'd take my girl away from this shit for good. Far, far away. Somewhere we'd be safe from being separated. Anywhere we could both put this dark shit behind us and get down to what really mattered.
She was in the bath when I found her that evening, probably soaking her sore muscles after the night we'd had. I couldn't help but suppress a grin that I'd done that to her.
Her hands sloshed through water when I pushed open the door. “Don't you ever knock?”
“Not necessary, babe. It's not like there's anything in here I haven't seen before – and I'm gonna see it all again up close real fucking soon.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You're very sure of yourself.”
I shrugged. “It's easy to know my odds after the way you screamed on this dick last night. You gonna bathe here all night or have you worked up an appetite yet?”
“I'm starving.”
“Then let's get you dressed and have some dinner. I got the chef to set us up in a special spot. I think we can dine outside tonight. You won't run off.”
I stuck a hand in my pocket and fingered the bug. Fuck, slipping that little black chip into her shit tonight felt wrong. But it was the only sane thing to do before I sent her on her merry way, the only way my brothers were gonna let her go back to Chicago at all.
There was still a damned good chance everything could go wrong once she was outta here too. Who knew when I'd get to run my hands through that soft black hair again? What if it was months before I tasted her sweet cunt, or felt the way it jerked around me when I slammed my cock to the hilt?
Fuck, fuck fuck. I was already missing her, and she wasn't even gone yet.
“Let's go,” I growled, stepping up to the tub and pulling her up with one hand.
She looked so damned delectable I wanted to rip off my clothes, push her back into the water, and fuck her right there. I'd make the water in the tub rain all over the fucking bathroom with how bad I needed to be inside her, raw and desperate, fevered as the way my skin burned a few degrees higher just looking up and down her sleek, naked body.
“Okay, okay! I'm coming,” she said, flopping over the little step against my chest.
I reluctantly let her go and handed her a towel. Then I tugged her back into my grasp while I dried her off. Any excuse to get my rough hands on her was a good one. Something about the bath made her skin smoother than ever, exquisite in a special, feminine way.
My dick wanted to rip right through my trousers and push between her legs. The fiery pull between us was magnetic, pleading, do-or-fucking-die.
Goddamned it. I had to get her dressed now before I forgot all about the shit I had planned in the gardens. If I didn't, my appetite for anything besides serious fucking would be wiped.
“Pick something warm,” I said, dropping the towel and walking her over to the closet. “It's a chilly night out there. There's a little jacket in there if you really need it.”
She disappeared into the big walk-in closet. I waited outside it, re-thinking my dumbass encouragement for dressing in layers. Well, fuck. It's not like whatever she picked would be staying on all night anyway.
We'd all wind up naked, whether it was in the grass or in this bed. I was gonna fuck her like it was our last time tonight – and if God was cruel, it might be. My heart pounded lava through my veins, and it all went straight to my dick, hammering away in my pants 'til she finally stepped out.
Christ. Even when she was dressed in a cool cashmere sweater and a nice thick skirt flowing down to her ankles, she was beautiful. My fingers twitched at my sides, aching to grab her silky black hair and shove her to the wall, rip that shit off, and get inside her right now.
Control yourself, asshole, a voice rumbled in my head. You've done it before and it always pays dividends when you finally get your dick wet.
Yeah, but not like this. Not with anyone like her. I still had a lot to learn about this chick, but she'd become a fucking obsession I couldn't banish from my head. Morning, noon, or night, everything revolved around her, and not just because she was the master key to putting Gioulio Ligiotti in his grave.
“Well? Are we going? I'm anxious to see what this big secret is.”
I swallowed. Fucking idiot. Felt just like a kid again about to go off to prom. Of course, that night I'd discovered I was a natural animal in bed. The little girl who rode my dick must've squirted three times for every load I popped.
I used a condom then, same as ninety percent of the chicks I ever fucked. But not with Sabrina.
I'd never, ever keep rubber between that sweet pussy and me. I'd fill her the fuck up and watch it run outta her pink slit with pride, one of many ways her perfect body smoked when it was done burning, trembling, and screaming on my flesh.
We got outside and headed downstairs, down the fork in the hall leading to the back gardens. Good thing Daniel was drowning his ass in the bar downstairs again. He would've given me shit over spending the night outside, even though the back gardens were totally enclosed.
Fucker worried to
o much about the Feds. Too much about her escaping too. What good was freedom if I couldn't do the shit I wanted because I was too busy looking over my shoulder for bastards eager to drag me back to prison?
No way. No how. I wasn't letting anything get in the way of tonight, and right now I wanted her warmth more than I loved the cool Fall breeze brushing against my skin.
When we stepped through the big glass door leading out back, she stopped and stared. The garden was lit with torches stretching all the way to the gazebo with the table, where dinner and wine waited for us.
I normally preferred something harder to go with my steak, but for her, I'd go classy as fuck. If I was hoping to knock her panties off, I'd done the job too well.
I had to grab her and pull her along the soft lit path to get the girl moving again. She couldn't stop gawking at the display, marveling at all the vines and flowers we passed on our way in. Old Grigor gave a respectful nod as we walked by him.
I nodded back, letting him know he was dismissed. He wanted to make sure everything was cool. Of course it was because the family kept the right man in charge of this shit. And if something was fucked, he'd come roaring back when I called to fix it.
Pulling out a chair next to me for Sabrina, I waved. “Sit down, babe. This is a special night.”
She sat down, and then I took the chair across from her, trying to switch my brain off sex for one micro-second. Dinner helped with that.
Sabrina talked all about her life in the windy city while we ate. After her mom died, her old man got fucked up on all sorts of junk and put her in bastard Gioulio's orbit. The fuck kept her close like a caged dove – without her even realizing it.
“Uncle always wanted me to be a good girl. He saved me from getting in too deep with the family business, steered me into journalism instead,” she said. “I guess he hoped I'd end up growing up and traveling the world for stories. He never counted on a burning interest in the local stuff – especially the roots my family's helped lay down here. Living history, you know.”
I nodded, popping a perfect piece of steak in my mouth. Goddamn, it was good. Not so good it took any attention off fucking her, though.
“Don't you think he was trying to control you? He knew you'd break if you found out what he was into. You'd want no part of it.”
She stared at her plate thoughtfully. “Yeah, I suppose. After what you've showed me...I wonder if I know who he is at all. Uncle Gioulio's not the man I thought he was. I knew bad things were happening in the drug world to keep the money and the lifestyle coming. I just never thought he was trafficking women. I never thought he'd go that far.”
Her angry eyes darted up. If she was pissed at me for ripping back the curtain, fine. It didn't matter as long as most of that rage was directed at her own flesh and blood, the asshole who deserved to be taken out swiftly, ending a decades old cat and mouse game.
“He did,” I reminded her, driving it fucking home. “And you're gonna help us make him fucking pay. Tomorrow. I trust you, Sabrina.”
I reached for her hand. Dinner was just about over as far as I was concerned. I'd waited 'til she'd plowed through most of her food and was onto her second glass of wine.
“What do you mean?”
“Our boy Misha's gonna drive you home to the city tomorrow. Don't know if your uncle's sealed up your place or not, but we'll let you off at his night club, that pear place you're always hanging out at. The sooner he finds you, the sooner we can get this shit over with.”
She tensed up. Her fingers smoothed their way over mine, and I tightened my hold. “I'm not your asshole uncle. I'm being open, frank with you in a way no man's been before. I want your help with offing his ass not just because we've got a blood vendetta. I need you to help me put him down so we can be together, babe. That's what you want, right?”
Her dark eyes met mine. Pale white cheeks flushed red, like she was afraid to admit it. Yeah, the world knew it was wrong to have us coming together. Warring blood wasn't meant to love. And it sure as shit wasn't meant to fuck so good, so natural.
“Don't play shy,” I growled, pushing my chair out and coming over to her. “You wanna see how bright this future burns, don't you?”
“Yeah,” she finally said, breath storming out her soft lips. “It's just happening so fast. I can't kill him myself. I can't be there when –“
I jerked her up and smashed her to my chest. My fingers caught her chin, gently twisted her face to mine, making her look at me. My dick knew damned well what it wanted, but for once my heart overpowered his greedy hunger.
“You won't have to. All you gotta do is figure out where he's gonna be and when. We'll give you a burner phone, and you'll call me as soon as you know. Give us a time, a place, something you'll know with certainty. I'll have you picked up and gone before he shows. My brothers and I'll corner him and finish the shit we should've wrapped up months ago. It'll be over fast. We'll be free to figure out the rest, babe. Everything we're gonna do with the rest of our lives.”
My hands slipped down her back, and then trailed lower. My palm stopped on her ass and my fingers tightened, feeling her, rocking her hips into mine. I wasn't shy about showing her exactly what that future was gonna be.
Honestly, I didn't give two shits about the rest, as long as she was happy.
We'd have to flee the States for awhile, yeah. Maybe she'd finally get that foreign writer career after all, or else she'd learn to bake and paint if she wanted. We had the money to do it all, and with the Ligiotti clan neutered, there was nothing stopping us from making whole continents our bitch.
Even the Feds would get off my trail with time. We could come back to the States, home to Chicago. You'd be amazed what a lotta bribes in the right places plus a few years can do for any crime.
“Is it really that easy, Anton?” She lowered her head, looking strained, conflicted.
“Long as I'm in charge here, fuck yeah, it is. I can't stand you doubting me.” I let my other hand glide down her ass, and when both were firmly there, I squeezed. She gasped.
Perfect. I wasn't gonna let her walk outta here thinking this shit wouldn't work. And if she couldn't get it through her head by words alone, then I'd give her body the best damned distraction in the world.
“Look at me, Sabrina. We're gonna wrap this shit up and get on with our lives. We don't have to spend the best years we've got wrapped up in this twisted underworld. I've already given my family plenty. After this, I'm done. I'm taking a well deserved break. I wanna travel with a girl and figure out all the shit I haven't yet.”
She smiled, and I knew I was speaking to the same needs inside her. Warring blood or not, we were brother and sister in crime and death. We'd been shaped by the roughest edges in life a human being could know.
Could we smooth shit out? I didn't fucking know, but damn if I wasn't gonna try. I'd be the one to set her free, give her what her wicked uncle never could.
“What do I need before you send me out to play secret agent?” She asked.
I almost laughed. Now, she was in such a rush she wanted to get right down to brass tacks. I wasn't having it.
“I'll show you. Walk with me.” I reluctantly pulled my hands off her ass and we moved down the long, winding path plunging deeper into the the gardens, towards a long crop of big trees in the flat Illinois landscape.
“It's beautiful out here,” she said, smiling at the stars. “Almost makes me believe we can really do this.”
“Good. You stay out here and look at this shit as long as it takes for you to know we can.” I stopped by a big row of vines curling up a stone bear statue, pulling her to my chest. “Take a good long fucking look, babe. I can take you razzing me with that sweet tongue or fighting tooth and nail. But I'll never have you doubting shit. Not now. Not ever. Understand?”
She blinked. What the hell was that unease still tugging at her face?
I was starting to get pissed, wondering why my best words were falling deaf. Fuck, if words weren't gonna d
o the job, then I'd tear her clothes off and fuck her right here on the ground. There was another gazebo further out, some shit my old man installed when he brought his girlfriends out here.
“I gave you a chance,” I said, shaking my head. “Looks like you're not gonna believe anything I say.”
“No! No, it's not that. It's just that I'm trying to digest all this. Please, Anton, it's hard. I'm not used to playing these spy games and killing like you are.”
I stopped mid-step and my arm tightened around her neck. “You don't need to get used to it. You only gotta do your job and scope your uncle's shit out once, feed it back to us. I told you to stop doubting me, babe. Now we're done talking.”
Her eyes widened, full of wonder at what I was gonna do. Pushing her up the single step to the gazebo, I walked her inside it, straight to the smooth marble bench near the back. I sat on it, spinning her around, never letting her outta my grasp.
“Anton! It's so cold here...”
She tried to resist as I yanked off her skirt. Cold or not, I wasn't stopping. I was gonna give her one helluva send off 'til we met again. One last wild night to make damned sure she did what I said and came back, to make her forget about her fear, to make her trust and believe me.
I'd make her come so fucking hard it blew her brains out, and then I'd stuff whatever the fuck I wanted in her head. This girl was mine, dammit, and I wanted everything – body, mind, and soul.
She whimpered and stiffened up in the cool night air, bracing her bare legs against me. I'd let her keep the sweater on for this part, long as she buckled up and came for me like a good girl.
Sabrina moaned softly as I reached up her skirt and fisted her panties. They came down her sleek legs in one jerk. She stepped out of them and turned.
However conflicted she'd been a couple of minutes ago, her pussy sure didn't show it. She was swollen, wet, and waiting for me. When I saw the pearly slickness between her legs, my dick thumped hard in my pants, bouncing with thick, hot blood pumping through it.
