Page 12 of Wrong Pawn. Right Capo.

I need to get the hell away from him now. Heck, I need him gone—something valuable I can hand over to Enzo to reveal his incompetence.

“I’m a mafia princess, you psycho!” I scowl, slapping his chest when he doesn’t budge. “I wasn’t exactly asking for permission.”

There’s silence for a while as he watches me struggle against him. Something flashes in his eyes, and I swear I feel the air between us shift.

“Then run, little Princess,” he smiles darkly. “But when I catch you, I’ll turn every scream of rebellion into a prayer with my name on it.”

His voice is primal and raw, making a gasp catch in my throat. I don’t know if I imagine it, but he leans in ever so slightly.

I try to talk, but my tongue feels tied. Heat rises up my neck, spreading across my cheeks. His gaze narrows on my reddened face briefly before he straightens, releasing me from his arm cage.

“Go back to your room, Elena.”

He says it with a tone of finality that I’m compelled to oblige.

“And what are you going to do? Report me?”

His dry chuckle pinches my chest as he stares at me as if he knows something I don’t.

“You’ll learn that I don’t need permission to keep you alive.” Then he returns his attention to his cigar as if I don’t exist.

“Screw you.”

“Already did,” he rasps, eyes glinting in the smoke that he puffs. “Keep running that mouth, and I’ll ruin it with something other than my fist.”

Chapter four

Adriano

A loud crack of thunder booms across the sky, followed by slashes of lightning. My eyes snap open, beads of perspiration trailing down my neck, down to my spine.

Fucking nightmare.

They’ve been a part of my nightly routine since the massacre. The shots always echo first, then I wake up with my jaw locked, teeth aching, and heart beating like it wants out of my chest.

My nightmares always start the same way. My mother is welcoming me home from my business trip in New York. And then gunshots. Followed by screams.

My chest tightens as I remember how the life left her eyes when the bastard shot her right between them. Mother was beautiful, full of life. She was the only reason I strived to keep the shred of morality I had left in this godforsaken world.

Now that she’s gone… It’s gone.

I’ve always known peace isn’t for men like me. But fuck do I crave even a semblance of it when I finally have my revenge. Shooting a glance at the calendar on my nightstand, I release a deep breath. It’s almost time.

Four years ago, I began laying the foundations to rebuild my father’s mafia with the few brethren who weren’t present during the attack. By the time I’d gathered enough intel, I had infiltrated the Rossi territory as a low-level guard.

Then, when I became part of Enzo’s security detail two years ago, I began gathering whatever info I could to cripple the Rossis financially. Who they had bad blood with, their major suppliers, routes…anything valuable.

I gathered enough to ease the job for when the time comes. Except for one piece. The offshore accounts. Dean had been smart enough to only let two people in on sensitive details about the offshore accounts. Enzo… and the family’s consigliere (consultant)—the anonymous consigliere.

Enzo, of course, would die before he reveals that knowledge, but if I can find this consigliere… with some leverage, they might be willing to talk.

Either way, siphoning the Rossis’ funds will be the last move I’ll make… after I’ve ruined them all.

And now, to top it all, I have exclusive access to the Don’s most cherished item. Perhaps I could repay him in the exact same coin that he paid my mother.

***

We’re outside tonight for one of Elena’s functions, some social class parade disguised as a charity gala. Everything’s going on at once around us. The hushed whispers of expensive gossip, cocktails clinking, and cameras flashing.