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“Yet some of the men you are scaring are innocent.”
“Yes. Lucky for them.”
“I’m not sure they are feeling so lucky at the moment.”
Nico rose from his chair, his stance aggressive as he leaned slightly forward. “They should. Because when I find who did this, the man responsible will experience agonizing pain before I send him to Hell.”
“Jesus Christ.” Bennett dragged a hand down his face. “You can’t kill a high-profile professional hockey player, Marzano.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you fucking can’t. The world will notice.”
The edge of Nico’s mouth curled derisively. “You say this as if I am not in charge of this city, as if I am new at this. But I have been doing this a long time, Verreault, and I know how to hide my tracks. It would be wise of you not to stand in my way.”
“You, you, you. There are other people involved in this. Tell me, what does your cousin think of the revenge you have planned? Have you asked her what she wants?”
Nico bristled at these questions, like he couldn’t believe someone had the gall to ask them. “I am the head of the family and I make the decisions. Not her, not you. And you should not question me, ever.”
“I thought we were past threats.”
“Apparently not, considering you are standing here and trying to reprimand me. After I very deliberately ignored you for twenty-one hours.”
So Nico was aware of what he’d been doing and exactly how long he’d been doing it. “You should know that I like being ignored about as much as you do.”
“Am I supposed to care?”
This wasn’t worth dignifying with a response. “Do not break into any more houses.”
“You suck a mean dick, Verreault, but I don’t take orders from you.”
So much for professionalism.
And god, the image those words conjured in Bennett’s mind was obscene. It also wasn’t helped by the fact that Nico, hands shoved into his trouser pockets, standing behind the desk, was looking powerful and hot. A ruthless CEO in a perfectly tailored dark suit running his empire. Combined with Nico’s tousled hair and late-afternoon scruff, Bennett was ready to drop to his knees again.
Get it together, Bennett. This was an important conversation and he was pissed at Nico. He couldn’t let the other man’s appearance distract him.
“Finished looking?” Nico asked casually, though Bennett could hear the smirk in his tone.
“Fuck you. Tell me what you found in the break-ins. I heard you took two safes.”
“No.” He lifted one arrogant brow. “Now, if that is all, you may go.”
Bennett’s mouth dropped open and his muscles locked in outraged surprise. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what you found. I want to know who is guilty before you do anything about it.”
“Your efforts to protect this pezzo di merda are disgusting.”
“I’m not trying to protect him. I just don’t want you killing one of my teammates. I want the authorities to handle it. I’m trying to let justice be served while keeping a man from being murdered.”
With a shake of his head, Nico pulled his hands from his pockets and came around his desk. He stalked toward Bennett, long legs eating up the distance between them, while his demeanor turned frightening in a way Bennett hadn’t seen before. It was like Nico’s fury had transformed him into someone cruel and cold, utterly devoid of feeling. For a beat, Bennett worried he’d pushed the Italian too far.
Except Bennett wasn’t backing down. He locked his knees, even the sore one, and waited to see what Nico was going to do. If he thought to intimidate Bennett into conceding, then he didn’t know Bennett was more stubborn than anyone else in Toronto. He was a competitor, a captain. A Cup winner. A gold-medal-winning Olympian. He would die before conceding a goddamn thing.
When they stood toe-to-toe, something shifted. The anger transformed as their gazes locked, their chests almost touching, and suddenly Bennett could feel the heat coming off the other man’s body, smell the expensive cologne. He could catalogue each eyelash and every whisker. They were both about the same height, so if Bennett leaned in, even the slightest bit, their lips would meet. Bennett could almost taste the anger, the hunger—this thing neither of them wanted but couldn’t escape.
His skin buzzed with the need to submit, to do whatever Nico asked, even if it was to crawl inside him and never leave. And the fact that it crossed his mind was so fucked up that Bennett could no longer meet Nico’s eyes. He transferred his gaze to the windows. “Stop.”
“And what am I doing?”
