Page 121 of Handsome Devil

“I’ll help. Maybe we can catch an opera in Milan. They tend to have fucked-up stories. It’ll give us inspiration.”

My gaze snapped up to him.

He chuckled. “Oh yeah. Our household is very tolerant when it comes to profanity. You can use it in moderation.”

I drew a deep breath. We reached the building just as Andrin tried to slip out the main door.

Daniel Hastings, my new father, blocked his way with his much larger frame. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said dryly. “Your next stop is the police station.”

And I knew, at last, I was finally safe.

Afew days after my wife asked that I seek help for my numerous conditions, I left Gia with the idiot sandwich that were Enzo and Filippo. It was a necessary evil, since I couldn’t watch her twenty-four seven, but I was still in a foul mood about it.

Enzo was a jokester, a brat, and, on top of all those shortcomings, more fucking attractive than any man had a right to be.

My mood further spoiled when I got a call from an encrypted number. The only people who were able to reach me had to go through a four-step verification and enter two separate codes, so I figured it wasn’t some cold caller trying to talk me into a pyramid scheme.

I swiped my phone’s screen, returning my attention to the road as my gunmetal Lamborghini zipped its way to the Hamptons.

“Heard your wife’s a particularly lovely creature,” a rugged voice with a playful Irish lilt greeted.

Tiernan.

“Long lashes, soft lips…” he mused, sounding both poetic and diabolic. “My, my, my, but I do love me some pretty things.”

“And I heard your sister is almost as pretty. Tierney, right?” I didn’t let the anger bleed into my tone. “Red hair. Big green eyes. Not a hard sell either if you want to make a fast buck.”

The silence on the other end told me Tiernan was no fan of the scenario of his precious twin being smuggled onto a superyacht and sold to the highest bidder.

I was surprised he called. Then again, I’d been told he was unpredictable. A wild card. Totally unhinged.

“If you so much as google my sister again, I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you do with your fingers,” Tiernan said cheerfully.

“Didn’t have to google her. She made herself known by cheating at the craps tables at the Ferrantes’ underground casino a few years back. I think she took one of their lowly soldiers back home that night too. Real classy gal.”

“If you think you’re walking out of this unharmed, I applaud your optimism,” he replied in a low, steady voice that for sure frightened everyone around him. “You killed four of my men.”

“How about you land a paper cut before throwing more empty threats in the air?” I suggested. “So far, I managed to single-handedly deal with everyone you sent my way without even breaking a sweat. I’ve no interest in your sister if you leave my wife alone. This is between us.”

“Up until now, I sent low-grade traffickers to feel you out. If I wanted you dead, I’d have been pissing on your grave daily for a month now. The only reason the NYPD is not collecting your body parts with tweezers and a magnifying glass is because I’d love to blackmail you.”

“Yeah? What’s the holdup?”

“Haven’t decided what I want from you yet.”

“I’m on pins and needles.” I enjoyed the winding green scenery of the Hamptons.

“Won’t keep you long. For now, I’d advise this killing spree stops now while your debt to me is still manageable.”

I appreciated a good, unhinged personality. The fact that he thought he was in a bargaining position was adorable. Truly.

“Sure thing. Right after I kill Nash Moore.” I lit myself a cigarette, rolling down a window. “Who’s in my trunk now, by the way.”

At the sound of his name, Nash, the last man on my hit list, banged the top of the trunk with his cuffed wrists, thrashing and kicking. His screams were muffled by the metal barrier between us. Oh, and the crusty used underwear I shoved into his mouth to shut him up.

“He’s making a lot of noise,” I groused. “You think it’s because I stuffed him in a two-hundred-thirty-liter space in the nose of the car?”

Tiernan offered a harsh chuckle. “I told him to make himself scarce. Can’t fix stupid.”