Page 73 of Masked Seduction

He grins, teeth glinting. “I can get into wherever I need to go. You should keep that in mind.”

I let out a low chuckle as I reach into my pocket. Three of his men tense immediately, hands flying to their weapons. One of them takes half a step forward.

“Jumpy fuckers, aren’t they?” I say, amused, pulling out my keys and jingling them in the air. “Relax. I’ve got plans this morning. So let’s keep this little soap opera moving.”

Nico’s face flushes, rage climbing into his cheeks like he’s about to explode. “You disrespectful prick.”

I grin wider.God, it’s too easy.

I’m in his face before any of them can blink. My pistol presses under Nico’s chin, steel to skin. The little bastard freezes like a rat caught mid-scamper.

“Disrespectful?” I say, voice calm and lethal. “Let me explain something to you, Agosti. You don’t get to show up in my garage with a goddamn entourage, threaten me with your goons, and callmedisrespectful.”

His bodyguards shift uncomfortably, weapons drawn, but they don’t make a move.

They know who and what I am.

I lean in. “Does your father know you pulled this little stunt? That you just accosted the head of the Bratva in his own territory?”

His face pales. He doesn’t answer.

I press the muzzle a little harder. “That’s what I thought. I don’t give a fuck how sick he is, Nico. He’s still the don.Not you.You might be playing dress-up in his shoes, but they don’t fit. And if he dies while you’re pulling this kind of shit…” I smile coldly “...I’ll explain to the Commission why there’s suddenly a power vacuum on the north side.”

He swallows hard.

“Now,” I continue, pulling the gun away but keeping it in my hand, “you’re going to deliver a message for me. You tell Don Agosti I’ll be at his home tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock. We’llsit down like the civilized men we pretend to be and discuss the little boundary issues we’ve been having.”

Nico nods once, eyes still locked on my pistol.

“And if your men so much as breathe in my direction again,” I add, “I’ll kill you first, just to make a point.”

I step away, placing the gun at my back as I pivot toward my car. I don’t look over my shoulder. They won’t follow.

Just before I slide into the driver’s seat, I turn to give him one last look. “Be at the meeting tomorrow, Nico.” My voice is calm, but the warning beneath it cuts like glass. “You won’t want to miss it.”

I get in, shut the door, and drive away.

This city is mine.

And I’m done asking nicely.

CHAPTER 26

JENNA

It’s a quiet Saturday morning, but there’s a buzz beneath my skin that won’t quiet. Even the gentle spring sunshine filtering through the window of the small waiting room can’t soothe the fluttering in my chest. I stare down at my lap, counting the seconds as they tick by.

My hand keeps slipping to my stomach like it might tell me something to make this feel real.

Claire sits beside me, flipping through a celebrity magazine. Her leg bounces impatiently, jiggling the entire row of plastic chairs attached to ours. When I shoot her a glance, she shrugs, an apologetic smile quirking at her lips.

“I feel like I’m waiting for my own results,” she whispers, closing the magazine and setting it on the side table. “This is torture.”

“Imagine how I feel,” I mutter.

She snorts a laugh, earning us a glare from an older woman across the room. We duck our heads simultaneously, and I bite my lip to stop from laughing again. I don’t know how Clairemanaged it, but she got me into her OB/GYN’s office on a Saturday, last minute.

I owe her something spectacular for this—designer shoes, some fancy chocolate, my firstborn child. Well, maybe not that last one.