Page 34

Rocco
“You animal!” Max claps me on the back. “I saw you guys out there on the dance floor attacking each other. You need to close the deal? I can find you a place.”
I rub the back of my neck. “I don’t need a place. Nothing happened. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“Why the hell would you say that? She was all over you, man. She wants the Italian sausage. What are you waiting for?”
“Look, it was a stupid thing to do. I can’t…” I let out a frustrated sigh. I want to, so badly. But how can I? If she knew what I do…what I’m keeping from her, she’d slice my jugular and leave me for dead.
And if she didn’t finish the job, her father would.
There’s really no shortage of people who’d love to butcher me.
But Max doesn’t know about any of it, other than I was a mole for the Salesi family. He has no clue about Kat’s family. She never once offered an explanation about why it was just her and her dad showing up here in New Jersey, and people in this life know better than to ask questions.
“Before the Cinques come knocking, I think you should tap that. Don’t waste any time. Let’s face it, you don’t know how much you have left.” He nudges me and lets out a loud chuckle. “Don’t shit your pants or anything, bro. You know I’ve got your back. I won’t let anything happen to you. If those cocksuckers show up in our territory, I’ll take out every last one.”
“Easy. You’ve got a girlfriend now, remember? Big shot club owner? You’ve got shit to take care of.”
“Hey.” He shoves me backward so I have no choice but to look him straight in the eye. “You’re part of the shit I need to take care of. I will never forget everything you did for me, Rocco. Never.”
I nod and crack a smile. “So I guess I’m forgiven, huh?” I say, referring to our fallout…the one that changed my life forever…the one that sent me into the pits of hell, to witness shit I’d never in my life imagined, to find the other half of a woman who has me questioning a lot of shit about my life right now.
I screwed Max over, yeah. Hell, I’ve screwed a lot of people over in my life. Sometimes it was to carry out an order, and sometimes it was just the lesser of two evils. Max doesn’t care why he got fucked over anymore. I think he’s just happy that he’s free from all of the shit that was weighing him down. He’s calm…er, anyway. He used to be a crazed motherfucker who’d fly off the handle if you so much as rolled your eyes at him. Beware the baseball bat.
But he’s a different person now, one I know I can count on, and one I thank God really does have my back.
Because when the Cinques do come calling, I know he’ll be all over them like flies on shit. You can put a suit on the guy, but you can’t cover the crazy forever. And I’m gonna need that crazy sometime soon.
I stare at my phone while Max keeps talking about…Christ, I don’t even know. I stopped listening a few minutes ago. At least he’s off the topic of Kat.
I still can’t get her face out of my head…the shock, the anger, the rejection. I saw it all, and to be honest, it shocked the shit out of me. The girl has a better poker face than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s how she manages to rape us every time we dare to play cards with her. She can’t lose. She never shows any signs of defeat, even when she’s holding a complete crap hand.
And shame on us assholes for not having learned her tricks.
But tonight, she showed me something I never in a million years expected…vulnerability. It’s just too much. First, those moments at the shelter and now this.
La Femme Nikita doesn’t have feelings. She doesn’t have emotions, so how the fuck can she show them?
Right?
She’s a killer and fucking fierce as they come.
Calculating, ruthless, cold…is it all a façade?
Because what I saw earlier…what I felt earlier…makes me think there’s a hell of a lot more to this woman than I thought.
I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to fall for her…especially after seeing her gouge out some guy’s eyeball with a stiletto. Yeah, it turned me on, but it should have scared me even more.
I knew from the very beginning that I could never have her, that all of the lies would eventually crush me. And if they didn’t, she definitely would.
Katarina Ivanov is dangerous, but her deadly wrath doesn’t scare me nearly enough as the feelings she’s stirred up inside of me.
That fury swirls around her like a toxic aura. It has the power to choke anyone who gets too close to her.
At least that’s how she plays her role.
But I’ve seen another side…not once, but twice.