Page 96 of Lust and Honor

With a gentleness I don’t expect, he pries my hand off his arm.

“You should’ve thought about that before teaming up with Leonardo.”

He turns to go again, and this time, in desperation, I drop to my knees at his feet.

“What are you saying? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He bends down and grabs my throat, not hard enough to cut off air, just firm enough to force my eyes to his.

“I’m talking about the secret phone you hid from me,” he growls. “The one you used to talk to that filthy piece of shit, Leo.” His grip tightens the smallest fraction. “I’m talking about the fucking bug he gave you. The one you planted in my house, right under my goddamn nose.”

Panic crashes through me so violently I can barely think. I claw at his wrist, trying to force the words out.

“I bought the phone just to piss you off,” I rasp desperately. “I never used it, Maxim, I swear. I never betrayed you. I don’t know anything about any bug.” Tears blur my vision. “I swear on Aurora’s life—”

“Don’t swear on my daughter’s life. Just one day, Ava. One day. If you’re still here tomorrow, Carlo’s dogs will tear you to pieces… and I’ll be forced to kill every last one of them because I can’t stand the thought of anyone hurting you. Then you know what happens? We both end up dead and Aurora goes to an orphanage. If that’s what you want, stay right here.”

He releases my neck and storms out of the house with long strides, his footsteps echoing through the hall. I push myself off the floor with shaking arms and drag my trembling body up the stairs.

My hands are shaking so badly it takes forever to pull on a pair of jeans and a simple blouse. Even slipping on my shoes feels like a struggle.

I tug them on and head down the stairs when I spot a man standing in the living room. The only thing on my mind is racing to the hotel and scooping up Aurora, so my brain doesn’t flash any red flags about what this stranger is doing in my house.

I make it all the way down, and that’s when I get a clearer look at his face. He’s older, maybe in his fifties, but broad-shouldered and strong for his age, black eyes, salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in black jeans and a gray sweater.

“Who are you?” I ask.

His gaze is sharp and cold, sending a chill down my spine. “I’m one of Maxim’s men. He told me to drive you wherever you need to go.”

“Where’s Alex?”

“Right outside.”

“I want to go to the hotel to pick up my daughter,” I say, giving him another once-over.

The corner of his mouth quirks up. “No problem. Let’s head out.”

Something about this guy just doesn’t sit right. I can feel it already. But when I see Alex standing in the yard by my car, I let out a relieved breath and start toward the back seat, until the stranger’s voice stops me cold.

“Not there, Ava.”

I turn to him, startled. He pops open the trunk and flashes a grin.

“You’ll sleep here until we get to our destination.”

A sharp sting pricks my neck, burning through my skin, and the world starts to tilt. His cruel eyes are the last thing I see before everything fades into darkness.

Nineteen

Maxim

Under the drizzle that started falling in the gray light of dawn, I stare down at the bodies of my men. Five of my best. My most trusted. Slaughtered. And that’s not the only thing that went to hell tonight. They stole the 300 kilos of cocaine we’d stored here too.

When Carlo ordered me to move our stash after the shitstorm with Senator Rosa, I picked this abandoned factory. Only six people knew about it, and five of them are lying dead on the ground right now. No fucking idea what the hell happened here, but I’ll find out soon.

There aren’t many people in this country with the balls to cross the Bruni organization. That son of a bitch who killed my crew and stole the product will have to sell it eventually. And when he does, I’ll find him, and shove his nuts down his goddamn throat.

I close my eyes and massage my temples with my thumb and forefinger. Two long-ass weeks hunting that motherfucker Leonardo, and now this shit on top of it.