Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 40037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
And they were absolutely untouchable. To kill one was to have the whole family rained down on not just you, but everything and everyone you loved.
I was a Made Man.
While I respected Kashmere’s sense of loyalty and codes of honor, they would have to leave Simon to me.
I meant what I said.
If Simon disrespected Kashmere again, I would kill him. I would slice his throat. I would cut away at his jugular vein and let his blood spray all over me. And I would laugh as his body convulsed and tried to fight to survive.
I would deal with whatever came after it—whether Don Enzo’s disappointment or a whole Killer Crow army racing after me.
Enough with these people bothering her.
We arrived at a door.
Kashmere reached her hand out to open it.
I had my hand there first and opened it for her. “After you.”
She quirked her brows and stepped through. “Thank you.”
I glanced back at everyone in the hallway. “Stay here. We need our privacy.”
Her people didn’t look pleased. They glanced her way. She must’ve nodded in agreement because they backed up and remained quiet.
Good.
I closed the door, needing to be alone with her. Lust pulsed through me. If I could just touch her skin again, perhaps I could settle the animalistic feeling from tearing through my chest.
Get control of yourself.
I shut us away.
The door clicked.
I turned around and drank her in.
She stood in the center of the room, shimmering with power and beauty. And in that moment I knew that I would protect her with all my heart.
The thought of her in my arms. The feeling of her head laying against my bare chest after we made love. The very audacity that I could be the man that made her smile every day.
I grinned at the absurd thought.
Yet, that thought sent a shiver up my spine.
My body grew hot with passion.
My mind raced with all the carnal possibilities.
An invisible hand began to write those words within the depths of my soul.
This isn’t a bad assignment after all. Don Enzo truly is brilliant.
8
A Passionate Surprise
Kashmere
H
e stood up for me. He put Simon in his place.
This whole situation had been unexpected. I woke up this morning to an emergency meeting notification. When I went, I learned I was suddenly engaged. And I knew it had been some plot by Simon to get me out.
Had Simon expected me to whine and fight it?
Then, it all changed when I met Santino. This DeLuca was an unexpected, yet a passionate surprise. When he stood up for me, he took my breath away. No one had ever done that for me, not even Romeo or Chanel.
Even better, Simon was absolutely pissed.
Did Simon think that once Santino and I met, something bad would occur?
Whatever Simon had hoped for with my union to Santino, it was clearly exploding in his face.
Santino had my back.
That made me like him even more. Whatever Simon had planned, I was going to use Santino to my advantage and finally rid myself of Simon and maybe even the Board.
With new confidence, I strolled to my desk, faced Santino, and leaned against it. “Thank you again, for having my back.”
“Again, that is the bare minimum.”
“And what else will I be receiving.”
“That depends. Tell me more about this Board.”
“What do you want to know?” I still had to be careful with him.
Santino took off his suit jacket.
Damn. This man is fine. Maybe, we will have sex a few times.
Santino had a way about him—raw, sexual energy radiating off him in waves that made me weak in the knees. He prowled toward me. His muscles rippled under the white shirt’s crisp material. “How do we get rid of the Board?”
“We can’t. They’re like the House of Representatives for America.”
“So a bunch of idiots filling up space and never really doing anything?” He placed his jacket on my desk.
I grinned. “Something like that.”
He moved towards me, stopping only when our bodies were less than a foot apart. “And you think the Board is untouchable?”
“It is.”
“No one is untouchable, Kashmere.”
“Aren’t your Made Men untouchable?”
“If I wanted one dead, he would be. Don Enzo just wouldn’t know.”
I raised my eyebrows. “But, have you ever killed a Made Man before?”
“I have.”
“How did that work out for you?”
“I feared for my life for a few years.” Santino turned around to face the opened balcony doors, showing a darkened view of Dream Lake. “And then I didn’t fear anymore.”
“Did Don Enzo ever find out?”
“Never.”
“It makes me nervous to even consider that option.”
Santino turned his view back to me. “If Simon went missing who would search for him?”
“The Board.”
“And if you just shot him in the head right in front of everyone?”
“The Board would come and kill me.”
“And if you have an army surrounding you, when they come?”
I tilted my head to the side. “My army serves the Killer Crows. In order for me to truly order my army around, I would need the backing of the Board.”