Page 61 of Possess Me

Fallon.

For the first time since I’d lost my world, I’d felt something again. Not just physically, but emotionally, a connection that had caught both of us off guard. How was that even possible? I knew nothing about her, prepared to resort to using another Italian to dig up whatever dirt she was hiding.

Whatever monster was hunting her.

Anger unlike anything I’d ever known lingered in my mind.

Whoever had hurt the beautiful woman would face my wrath. No matter if she refused to allow me to help her.

No matter if the person responsible was someone she was close to.

They would face harsh punishment.

“You need something.” Alessandro Costa had proven himself to be a formidable player in the world of casino kings. Not only because of his business acumen, but also because he was an expert hacker. Yet he was fucking Italian. How long had it taken me not to consider murdering anyone who even appeared Italian?

At least our alliance was strong, which had softened the blow of their heritage.

Italians. As soon as I’d read the character’s name, I’d almost choked. How ironic. Maybe karma really was trying to interfere with my life.

My entire family had teased me that I could no longer eat pizza because of my hatred of the nationality. That wasn’t true. I didn’t hate Italians. I loathed my failure, the weakness that had caused me to let my guard down.

I’d failed her, the one person I’d promised to protect with my life.

That would never happen again.

Now I wanted nothing more than to protect a woman I barely knew. If I allowed Mikhail to know the old anger had resurfaced,he’d cart my ass to some sanitarium or maybe a prison so I could cool down. I almost laughed because I knew I was right.

Our alliance with the Reno Cosa Nostra had proven useful, more so than Mikhail wanted to admit. Not that I’d been a fan of the alliance early on. I’d learned to become cautious over the years, but by combining forces and tricks of the trade, we’d both expanded our wealth.

As well as power and control.

What doing so had left us with were new and old enemies, many already attempting to break our hallowed reign. My resignation about Hoffman continued to increase while the fact Fallon had suddenly dropped into the scenario wasn’t something I could box away.

“Maybe I’m just calling you to invite you to a baseball game.” With the relatively new stadium, additional business had been drawn to Vegas, stretching out to Reno as well. I certainly couldn’t complain about the numbers.

“Right. As if the Bratva and Cosa Nostra can be bosom buddies,” Alessandro huffed.

“Come now. Your brother and my cousin seem to be getting along.”

He groaned. “Don’t go there. If I’m forced to see a single additional picture of my nephew crawling for the first time or in his cute little PJs or the first taste of ice cream, I’m going to puke. Don’t tell Giovanni I said that.”

His words brought another feeling of a sharp blade being driven into my chest. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

“So what account do you need me to hack into?”

I had no idea how the Italian did it, but he could hack into any account no matter the level of security within minutes. We’d timed him. “No hacking required. At least I don’t think so.”

“Then what do you need?”

After checking the rearview mirror, I made a turn toward the location of the meeting, more apprehensive than I’d been before. It was as if Hoffman had been purposely goading me.

“Information that could be considered sensitive.”

“Who is she?”

I laughed. “What makes you think this is about a woman?”

“Let’s just say I can hear it in your voice.”