Page 242 of Anti-Heroes in Love Duet

Immediately, I strode across the hall to the bay I spotted Dennis behind, recognizable for his thick brown hair and customary blue suit even in his protective earwear and glasses.

I rang the doorbell and waited.

He turned, frowning, his mouth already open to reprimand whoever was bothering him, but his eyes widened when he saw me through the small, square window in the door.

After a moment of deliberation, he took off his earmuffs and opened the door for us.

“Hello, Dennis,” I said coolly as Frankie followed me and lingered near the closed door.

“Ms. Lombardi,” he returned smoothly, as if we met here all the time. “You’re looking remarkably well, given your client is behind bars.”

I laughed lightly as I surveyed the four guns he had laid out on the table. Three handguns and a pistol. I picked up the smallest, a 9mm Glock, and tested the weight in my hands.

“He’s no longer my client.”

Dennis’s eyebrows raised into his thick hairline. “Oh? Have you finally realized the error of your ways? Don’t tell me you’ve come to beg for my forgiveness.”

“Dante Salvatore isn’t my client anymore because he is now my husband,” I explained calmly as I raised the gun and aimed at the target down the range. “And I didn’t come to beg forgiveness from a hypocriticalstronzo. I came to warn you.”

I sucked in a quiet breath and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

“…If you keep coming for my husband…”

Bang!

“…I’ll come for you…”

Bang! Bang!

“…And if you thought my father could be cruel, you should see what kind of monster he made of his daughter.”

Bang!

The paper outline of a human was riddled with puncture wounds, most of them concentrated around the head because I’d become a shockingly good shot. The gun smoked lightly in my hands as I emptied the chamber and clicked the safety.

When I turned to Dennis, he was oddly bemused, his expression torn between disbelief, anger, and not a little arousal.

“You think you can come in here and threaten me?” he asked with an incredulous huff of laughter. “Sweetheart, I’m the man around here. There is nothing I’m not protected from. You think I’m scared of little Red playing at being the Big Bad Wolf?”

“I think you’re underestimating me because I’m a woman, and you’re an entitled, greedy, lazy sinner who thinks he deserves to win simply because he’s a man.” I stepped closer, the gun still in my hand.

I could see in Dennis’s eyes that he wanted to move away from me—something in my feral eyes scared him—but he resisted. My heels made me slightly taller than him, so I leaned down and in until my red lips were almost pressed to the corner of his mouth.

“I could have been civilized, O’Malley. I could have played fair, but if you want to fight dirty, I’m more than happy to comply. I’m going to beat you at your own game. I hope your loss is so difficult to swallow you choke on it and save me the trouble of killing you myself.”

I pulled away smoothly, turning and adjusting my large purse on my shoulder as I moved toward the door. Frankie followed, more shadow than man.

“This accomplished nothing but tipping your hat, Ms. Lombardi,” Dennis called to me as Frankie opened the door, and I made to follow him out. “You should watch yourself before you end up dead just like your father. Did you know they found him in a house in Brooklyn, shot to death like the criminal he was?”

I laughed lightly, pausing for a moment to say, “You are the company you keep, Dennis. I’d be careful you don’t end up just like your childhood best friend.”

Frankie closed the door quickly behind me and moved swiftly down the hall before the guide could come back and potentially get interrogated by Dennis. We intercepted her at the reception and politely declined the practice bay before collecting our things and leaving.

It was only when we were safely ensconced in Dante’s Ferrari that I let out a triumph, angst-edged laugh.

When I turned my head against the seat to look at Frankie, he was smiling.