Page 30 of Caruso (Vegas Mafia #3)
Chapter Thirty
Giorgio
T hat guy is fucking lucky I didn’t toss him out of the window—the unopened window.
Silence follows us as we leave the restaurant, and as I stride back through the club, it’s as if the crowd parts to let us through.
My temper is well known in Vegas. This wasn’t the first time I’ve beaten a man half to death, and it is never called in. Nobody ever makes a complaint or an accusation because it would be like signing their death warrant.
“Giorgio.” Taylor’s soft gasp invades my rage as we spill out into the alleyway, and as the door slams behind us, she says softly, “Thank you.”
I turn and note her worried expression, which stops me dead in my tracks. She appears so small, so fragile even, and as if I am the only man who can keep the world away.
I’m aware she can defend herself, but it doesn’t make me stop trying. If anything, I am already way too protective of her, and yet even her gentle touch can’t still the beast inside me.
I slam her against the wall and get up in her face and hiss, “Did you?”
Her eyes widen, and rather than fear, anger sparks in them.
“Fuck you, Giorgio. Do you really think a fucking virgin turns tricks at Damian’s clubs?”
It settles my rage a little, but the jerk in me growls, “You have more than one hole, sweetheart.”
A swift knee in my groin is my reward, and as I loosen my grip, she twists out of my arms and lands a resounding slap across my face.
I take the pain because I probably deserve that and this time she spins me around so my back is to the wall and hisses, “The reason I left is that that creep instructed the manager to educate me in the way it works in that bar. He considered it was his right and attacked me in his office one night.”
Her face is the picture of a warrior as she growls, “He soon learned I wasn’t interested—the hard way—and so I left.
I didn’t look back, and I had lasted exactly two days.
They hired me as a bartender, nothing more, but for some reason they believed I could earn them more money by screwing their punters in a different way.
I turned down their kind offer as I destroyed the guy’s balls, and then I ran and never looked back. ”
Despite myself, I begin to laugh at the thought of the creep discovering this slip of a girl is more of a ninja that the heaviest doorman he employs.
I would have paid to see that, and Taylor huffs, “So thanks for the show, but I can defend myself. Now you can see why I had exhausted my options before I came to you and became your whore. If I can’t beat them, I may as well join them—isn’t that what creeps like Damian think? ”
She wipes a tear away as she spouts anger, and I swear that sight will live with me to my dying day.
I want to react. To kill, to maim, to burn down the bars with Damian and his managers inside.
I do none of those things. Instead, I wrap my arms around my woman and hold her close. Stroking her hair as I make a promise.
“Your past is not part of your future. Your life begins now, and whatever happened back then isn’t worth talking about.
We have all done things we’re not proud of.
Been in survival situations to live and the fact you arrived here without compromising your integrity is more valuable than any of the riches we own. ”
I squeeze her tightly and kiss her softly on her head and whisper, “You’re a Caruso now, angel, and God help anyone who attempts to mess with that.”
For the longest time we stand huddled against the wall, the sounds of the city a mere stone’s throw away. We are safe here, away from the madness, locked in our world of depravity and demons, us against the world.
After a while, Taylor whispers, “I want to go home now.”
“Anything you say, angel.”
The fact she thinks of The Artemis as home lifts my heart and as we walk slowly down the alley, my arm drapes over her shoulders and a sense of calm settles over me as I face the fact that Taylor is going nowhere without us—ever.
We will never set her free. She belongs to us now, and as it turns out, we belong to her.
When we reach the apartment, my heart sinks. They’re home already.
Taylor makes straight for Matteo, and as his arms fold around her, it’s like a spear in my heart.
Tommaso scowls as she smiles at him, and Matteo’s eyes burn a hole in me as he searches for anything to use against me.
I touched her. He will not be happy with that.
I fucked her relentlessly and not in a gentle way.
I took her to a fight and allowed her to watch me beat two men almost to death. Then I tortured a man and allowed her to join in the fun.
It was hardly the stuff of romance novels, but she loved every second of it. He would hate it though, so I return his glare with defiance and chuck my body on the couch.
“I wasn’t expecting you back tonight.”
“Our business was done early, so we left.”
Matteo tears off his jacket and carefully rests his gun on the side table before pulling Taylor onto his lap, nuzzling her hair, breathing in with a relieved sigh to find her still in one piece.
I hate every second of it. This was my time. I haven’t finished with her yet .
Tommaso is filling his glass with bourbon and then hands me one along with the others.
As we sit around in a circle, the fire pit before us is a modern detail I have always loved. It creates a cozy atmosphere in an otherwise modern monstrosity. I love this penthouse, but I kind of adore our ranch in the mountains more.
“So, what’s the plan?”
I address my question to Matteo, and he understands my meaning because he scowls.
“Bed, then business as usual.”
To make a point, he rests his hand on Taylor’s hip and says softly,“Are you ready for bed, baby girl?”
Her gaze finds me, and I note the uncertainty in her expression. She doesn’t know what the right answer is, and I hate my brother for placing her in this predicament.
I won’t play his game, so I yawn loudly.
“I’m beat. We’ve had a challenging day, isn’t that right, angel?”
She smiles her gratitude, understanding what I’ve done, and I wink, causing a soft smile to pass between us, intimacy that doesn’t go unnoticed by either of my brothers.
I down the bourbon in one long gulp and say with a wicked smile, “Until tomorrow, angel. While Matteo does business shit I’ll take you to the mountains.”
He makes to speak but Tommaso surprises us all by saying roughly, “Taylor is coming with me tomorrow.”
Taylor glances up with a startled expression as Matteo smirks in my direction .
Tommaso leans back on the couch, his drink in one hand, the other tapping on the edge of the seat as he stares into my eyes with a hard expression.
I know that look. He has perfected it over the years.
He’s a closed book most of the time, but the turbulent waters run deep inside him.
There is a reason he wants Taylor, but none of us will get to learn what that is.
I catch Matteo’s eyes and he merely appears interested. Taylor, however, looks fucking terrified.
I don’t blame her either. Tommaso hardly says two words to her, and yet his eyes drag after her like a lost puppy. He is struggling, and I’m aware of the reasons why, and I wonder if it’s too soon.
Matteo stands, gripping Taylor’s hand tightly, and as he tugs her from the room, my mind switches off.
I can’t dwell on what this is. Matteo made it perfectly clear from the beginning that he gets her nights.
I get her days, and Tommaso must take what’s left.
It suits us, but he is already eating into my time with her, so I stop by him on the way out of the room and whisper, “You get tomorrow, but if you want your share, we must figure out a better way.”
“I told you.” He fixes me with a dark glare. “I’m not interested, but I do have business only she can help me with.”
I sit on the seat beside him and raise my eyes. “What business?”
“The guy, Jason.”
My skin actually crawls as I sense our perfect woman leaving before the ink has dried on the NDA Matteo expected her to sign.
“What about him?”
“We know where he is.”
“Fuck!”
I run my fingers through what hair I have on my head, and he shrugs. “Turns out he’s in Vegas after all.”
“Vegas?”
My heart drops like a stone. “Is he fighting?”
I’m aware the club where I fight isn’t the only joint in town, and he shakes his head.
“No, stag weekend.”
“He’s getting married?” I hope I’m right so that Taylor gets her dream come true.
“Yes.”
Thank fuck for that, but something in Tommaso’s expression makes me ask, “What’s the story?”
“That’s what we’re about to find out.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Tommaso’s eyes flash as he shakes his head. “If I only get one day with Taylor, I’m getting it over with tomorrow. Then maybe I can get back to business without the distraction.”
“Good luck with that.” I chuckle softly because if Tommaso thinks that one day with Taylor will ever be enough, he’s dumber than he looks.