Page 23 of The Devil's Heir

Jarek

Feelings. What the fuck do they have to do with shit when trying to get something done.

I know I embarrassed my pauper, but she will have to get used to it.

She'll learn quickly that my world has no room for feelings.

She's here to do a job. Liliana should be happy that I've put her above everybody else, even my submissive.

Which I should really think about terminating that contract, but I'll see how it works out with my pauper first.

My guys have seen it all when it comes to me and women. I'm not a shy guy by any means. I've fucked in front of them, and yeah, I've shared my sloppy seconds, but Liliana is different—nobody will ever know how good her cunt feels. At least, not while she's with me.

Fucking her over the conference room desk was her punishment, and if you ask me, I went easy on her. I could have had my men watch. She never should have tried to walk out or argue with me, for that matter—I've killed for less than that.

Leaving her in the conference room while going to meet with Lonzo was more for her than anything. I don't know why, but I figured she could use this time to put herself back together, but then she saw Lucinda pulling her little stunt.

I know what it must have looked like, and I'm pissed at my receptionist for leaning in the way she did just to tell me that she canceled my afternoon appointments. I fucked Lucinda once, months ago, and we both agreed that it would never happen again, so her pulling that shit has me livid .

When my pauper turns her head away, I wrench myself away from my receptionist and go straight to my office.

I'm not going to try to explain shit to Liliana.

It's none of her business who I fuck. The contract never said that I would only fuck her, only that she is not to take on any lovers while she's with me.

Now that my mood has soured, I storm into my office to see both Lonzo's sitting in the chairs in front of my desk. I nod, tight-lipped, when they look at me.

"What's the matter, Falcon? Did your breeder turn you down?" My best friend asks jokingly before his father slaps him upside the head.

"You're lucky you’re my friend, Joey. Otherwise, you'd have a bullet in your head." I sit in my chair and sigh. "But to answer your question, no. Liliana was perfect, as always. My receptionist, on the other hand…"

"Oh, the lovely Lucinda. Would you like me to fuck her into submission for you?" Joey teases, earning him a warning look from me.

"Stay the fuck away from my receptionist. She does a great job, and I don't need you fucking with her head and causing her to slack on her work. That's why I only fucked her once."

"Can we please stop this talk about fucking? You two B uffoni sound like you're an adolescenti !" Joseph chastises me and my friend.

"Did you just call us buffoons?" I ask with a cocked brow.

"And teenagers?" Joey adds.

"I did because that's what you sound like. Now, can we get to the matter at hand?"

I grin at the older man. Even though he's my underboss, I have respect for the guy.

He taught me the ways of this life, and I owe him a lot.

Besides, he's been like a father to me these past four years—more than my shitty uncle ever was.

Technically, he should be the Don until I inherit my uncle's fortune once I knock up Lily, but he doesn't want that power as long as there is a Heir that it rightfully belongs to.

I trust Joseph Lonzo with my life, and for that, I allow him some slack.

"What matter are we talking about?" I ask him.

"Our shipment was hijacked. We got it back, but you may want to have a chat with the little Donnola we caught."

"Why isn't he dead already?" I ask, disturbed that orders weren't followed through .

Anybody who steals from us gets an automatic death sentence. I don't accept any kind of excuses, and my men know that.

"I think you may want to talk to them, Capo. This Donnola mentioned something about your parents." Joseph arches his brow, knowing this will capture my attention.

It does, in fact, capture it, and I straighten up in my chair. "What did he say about them?"

"Nothing. He refuses to talk to anybody but you."

Nodding, I lean back in my chair, bringing my hand up to run my thumb across my lips in thought.

I have Liliana with me. I can have Jackson take her home or bring her with me and let her see what happens when someone crosses me.

The thought of letting her out of my sight for too long has me deciding on the latter.

"Is this why Lucinda felt the need to tell me that she canceled my appointments?" I ask my underboss.

"Sì. I knew you would want to speak to the Donnola, so I told her to do so," Joseph replies.

Again, I nod.

"Alright. I'll collect Liliana and head over there." I stand, buttoning the two buttons on my suit jacket.

"You can't bring that Bellezza with you—she shouldn't witness such a thing." Joseph frowns.

"That may be true, but I don't want her having any notions of me being a good guy. I am not the boy from high school, but the Mafia Don, and I am the boss in everything—including her."

"Be sure this is what you want," Joey states. "I remember how infatuated you were—"

" Were is the key word here," I say, cutting my friend off. "There is no room for such things anymore—it's too dangerous."

My friend raises his hands in a surrendering gesture but doesn't say another word; neither does his father. So, without saying goodbye, I walk out of my office and back down the hall to collect my pauper.

Lily hasn't spoken to me since we got in the car. Only when we're pulling up to one of my warehouses at the wharf does she finally grace me with her words.

"Why are we here, Sir?"

"If I wanted you to know, I would have told you, but since you asked—I've got business to take care of."

"I can stay here then," my pauper replies softly, just as Jackson opens her door.

"No. You will accompany me inside and stand by my side while I take care of it."

Sighing, she nods and then reaches her hand out to let Jackson help her out of the car.

I take her hand as soon as I come around the vehicle and pull her with me.

The warehouse is bustling with cargo coming in and going out.

As soon as the workers see me walking through, they stop and respectfully bow their heads.

I continue to walk through the massive space until we get to the back, where a door leads down to a basement. From there, I twist one of the lamp switches counterclockwise and open the door to a private room where we handle issues that come our way.

Lily gasps as we enter the room, but I ignore her.

Frankie Costello, one of my associates working towards becoming a made man in the family, greets me with a nod and a simple, "Capo."

"Frankie. Who do we have here?" I look at the blonde man, who looks to be in his late twenties, tied to the metal chair in the center of the room.

"His name is Liam. Wouldn't give his last name. In fact, that's all he's given us. He wants to talk to you."

I release my pauper's hand and go to stand before the guy. "So, Liam. I'm here. What is it you want to tell me?"

Liam's eyes lock onto mine, the weight of his words hanging in the air. "I need to know that you will let me go if I tell you," he says, his voice steady, yet pleading.

Grinning, I slowly reach into my suit jacket and pull out my Glock, pressing it to the center of his forehead. "How about you just tell me."

Another sharp intake of breath comes from behind me and I turn to stare at Lily.

"Jarek… "

"What was that, pauper?"

"Sir, please…"

"Lily, you need to harden yourself if you're ever going to make it in my world.

You know who I was and you still signed your life over to me.

Now, you will see the true devil within this man you decided to give yourself to.

Nobody steals from me without losing their life.

Liam, here, is lucky he's even breathing, but it seems he has something to tell me so…

" I return my attention to Liam and order, "Start talking. "

"Okay-okay! I don't know too much, but the word on the street is that the fire that killed your parents wasn't an accident. It was a hit ordered from another crime family."

"What family, and why?"

"I-I don't know which family, but I do know it was because your father and you were the Heirs to the Rushwood Mafia. You were supposed to die in that fire, too."

"If this is true, then why haven't there been any more attempts on my life since then?"

"Well, I don't know." Liam looks back and forth between me and Frankie.

"Don't look at him. He works for me—you look at me, motherfucker. Who do you work for?"

"I-I don't know what you mean?"

I place my gun against his forehead once more. "I mean, who ordered you to hijack my shipment?"

"I-I can't tell you that. They will kill me!"

I lower my arm and chuckle as I look back at my pauper. I can tell by the look on her face that she's nervous, and she should be. Looking at her gorgeous face, I respond to Liam's last words. "Well, that's too bad."

Lifting my gun, I shoot him point-blank in the forehead. Lily screams and slams her lids closed as if that will help take the image away.

"Clean this mess up, Frankie," I order him, my gaze never wavering from my pauper.

I walk over to her, holstering my gun, and then I grip her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes.

I crush my lips against hers, pulling her body into mine and taking what I want.

When I finally pull back, I gaze into her dark eyes and croon, "Now you know what happens to people who fuck around.

They find out the hard way that it's the worst mistake they could ever make. "