Page 16 of Brutal Devil

I sigh. “I’m going to marry her.”

Rocco winces. “You sure you want to do that, boss?”

“We both know I don’t have a choice. The sooner it’s done, the better. We need the Andrianis and the Revellos aligned if we want to keep the Russians and the rest of the families under control.”

“I don’t see why we couldn’t have just taken care of Tomasso,” Rocco says.

“You know why. The old bastard has cancer, and it’s only a matter of time before that crazy son of a bitch Amedeo ‘the Animal’ Revello makes a move to become don in his place. We need Revello territory to fight the brewing turf war. Uniting with blood ties puts an end to the feud. Revello saves his ass, we save his daughter’s, and with the families united, we face the Irish and the Russians.”

Rocco shakes his head. “I don’t like it. Feels like a trap.”

An icy feeling of unease rolls down my spine. Rocco has a sixth sense about shit like this. He always has.

“It’s marriage,” I say. “Of course it’s a fucking trap.”

He scrubs at his jaw, looking amped up. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it, boss. Tomasso Revello giving you his daughter on a silver platter. Doesn’t sit right.”

“He didn’t have a choice, Roc. People do crazy shit when you have a gun to their head.”

Whether it was loaded or not.

Rocco juts his chin toward the monitor where Luna Revello is still yelling and throwing and having the world’s biggest grown-ass woman temper tantrum. It’s kind of like watching a fly buzz around the head of a lion. Amusing, till the lion decides he’s had enough of that shit and swallows the fly whole.

“What if it’s a setup and this is all an act?” Rocco presses. “What if she’s in on it, and the second you go through that door, she shivs you? You check her for weapons?”

I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t think of that. Everything about Luna screams innocence and nerdy genius, right down to the ink stains on her fingers. Who fucking writes with pens these days? Her righteous anger feels all too real. But I didn’t pat her down either, and that was a stupid mistake brought on by my fury over Tomasso laying a hand on her.

“I’ll check her when I go in,” I tell Rocco grimly, turning toward the door to the control room and sauntering out like I don’t have a care in the world. “Oh, and Roc?” I stop and glance over my shoulder. “Turn that fucking monitor off the second I’m inside.”

“But, boss?—”

“The instant I’m inside,” I interrupt, not wanting to be second-guessed here. “A little mouse like Luna Revello can’t hurt me.”

The words fall, an ominous taunt to the universe.

But I don’t believe in shit like that, so the universe can fuck right off. I’ve got an angry wife-to-be to tame.

Chapter 6

LUNA

“Miss me, baby?”

I spin around, the sole of my shoe clattering to the polished hardwood at my feet.

And there he is, hot, dark, and deadly. Priest Andriani. Standing smugly in front of a locked door I didn’t even hear him unlock, let alone open and close again.

“You,” I snarl, bending down to pick up my fallen weapon.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,topolina.”

The warning menace in his voice has me hesitating a second too long. Before I can reach the heel, he’s on me, somehow tackling me with a sudden grace that takes me by complete surprise. Nothing hurts. This isn’t a violent assault. He’s simply outmaneuvered me, pinning me to the floor with his body, his knees on either side of my hips. My wrists are over my head, his fingers encircling them in a grip that’s firm but not painful, holding them to the floor.

His face hovers above mine, starkly beautiful, the dark shadow of stubble lovingly covering his jaw making him look even more dangerous. And sexy as fuck too. He’s ditched the suit and is wearing only black trousers and a white shirt, his blacksilk tie rubbing sinuously between my breasts. His scent curls around me. I want to breathe him in deep and never let go. It should be criminal for a murdering psycho to smell this good.

“Let me go,” I grit out.

His smile is feral. “Not yet.”