Big Bad Wolf by Diana A. Hicks
Hello, Red
Santino
I snapped my laptop shut and sat back in my desk chair. Outside my office, my assistant Lia had already gone home. The city lights were visible in the distance, beyond the high windows. I glared at the breathtaking view until it became blurry and was replaced by the events of the previous week. Something happened that night, something significant, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
Walsh’s cheap theater had a purpose. That much was clear, but what was it? The same question had been swirling around my head all day. My crew had managed to capture one of Walsh’s men, but he’d been sitting in a holding cell for hours, eating our food and wasting my resources. I had proven methods to make people talk. But what good were they when I had no fucking idea what to ask him?
Lately, the Irish seemed to occupy my entire time. I had spent the better part of the morning looking for Red, the owner of the Celtic Cross pendant. All my contacts had come back empty on who she was and where she’d gone. I had met her at the airport, but apparently, she hadn’t flown in that night.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. Weeks had gone by since our chance encounter, but her features were still tattooed on my mind. I saw her clearly—her big sad eyes, round, plump lips, and that fiery red hair. I couldn’t remember the last time I had this much trouble tracking someone down.
My phone rang and brought me back with a jolt. Good. Now wasn’t the time to go down the usual path with my mystery woman. I glanced up to see if Lia would pick up, then realized she was already gone. I hit the button for line one and then the speaker phone.
“Buratti here.”
“Santino, it’s Rex.” Rex Valentino’s voice boomed in my dim lit office, and suddenly I needed a drink. He never called with good news. “Liam took the bait.”
Those four little words made me sit up and pay attention. “He liked my proposal on the tax deeds venture. I knew he would.”
“He liked the pitch. Now he wants details.”
I chuckled, because now Liam Walsh was in for it. We had managed to lure him into our world of excess—booze, money, sex, gambling. “When?”
“Tonight, at the Crucible. We’re hosting a masquerade ball, and he’s agreed to join us for a private meeting. I need you there.”
“Of course. I want the Irish situation handled already. I don’t like puzzles.”
“You and me both. I’ll see you tonight at seven.” He hung up.
“You’re smiling. That can’t be good.” The silhouette of a woman appeared at my door.
All my employees were terrified of me, which was how I liked it. I wasn’t here to make friends. I had a business to run. None of them would dare address me with such familiarity. But then again, Donata Salvatore wasn’t my employee.
She was one of us, and technically, the next in line to be Don for the Salvatore family, one of the five original families who founded the Society Enclave, along with the Buratti, Valentino, Alfera, and Gallo. Though thanks to the FBI, the Gallo family no longer walked the Earth. Last year, they killed every single one of its members. Another reason to make sure Liam’s antics didn’t call attention to the FBI pigs.
“Donata, always a pleasure to see you.” I let my gaze roam her beautiful features.
“Hmm. Don’t lie.” She sauntered toward my desk with assured steps. The woman oozed confidence and wealth.
“Okay.” I rested my hands on the arm rest of my chair. “What can I do you for? You never visit.”
“Your father said he needed a second medical opinion. He wouldn’t make an appointment at my clinic, but he said he’d meet me here.”
I chuckled. The old man would stoop so low as to trick Donata to come see me, at night and alone. What did he think would happen? That I would be overcome with desire and take her, get her pregnant and then be forced to marry her.
“I don’t think the old man is coming.” I grinned at her. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“Jesus fuck. Are you serious?” Shaking her head, she ambled to the bar cart and poured herself a whiskey. “First Rex, now you? What am I? A prized pig?”
A few years back, Signoria Vittoria, Donata’s aunt and sitting Don, did everything she could to get Rex and Donata to marry. But what Signoria Vittoria didn’t know was that Rex had already developed an obsession for Caterina Alfera. In the end, Rex won and married his Caterina. And now my own father was trying to set me up with the beautiful Donata.
“More like a very powerful woman in need of a husband.” I rose to my feet and met her in the lounge area that faced the city lights.
“Hmm.” She took a long swig from her glass. “Powerful, yes. In need of a husband, hell no.”
“What is it with people and marriage? My old man acts like it’s the answer to everything.” I took the drink she offered me and sat on the sofa. “Sorry he dragged you into this. He’s gotten worse in the last few months. He’s obsessed with me taking a wife.”
“I know.” She cocked her eyebrow. “I should’ve known something was up when he came to visit Aunt Vittoria. That woman thinks she owns me.”
“At least you don’t have to take over the family business if you don’t want to. It’s nice to have a choice.” I glared at the amber liquid in my tumbler.
“Yes, Santino, I’m very lucky.” She didn’t sound like she truly felt fortunate.
The thing about this mobster life was that we didn’t belong to ourselves. We belonged to the Society. I had no doubt she had guessed what the old man was up to when he asked her to meet him here, in my office, late at night. But she had to do as he said regardless. We all did. The Dons ruled our lives. The stickler was, the Dons didn’t have much more freedom than we did. They answered to the Enclave. Duty was their sole motivator for everything they did.
“Speaking of lucky and things we’re required to do.” I set my glass down on the coffee table. “I have a meeting with Rex.”
“Me too.” She braced her elbow on the back of the sofa and ran her long fingers through her blonde hair. “The Irish is all Rex talks about these days.”
“You know what’s at stake. Let’s not forget the Gallos.”
“Right.” She closed her eyes and melted a bit more into the soft leather.
“I have to stop by my place to change into something more appropriate. Can I give you a ride home?” I offered her my hand, glad she was against marriage as much as I was. If she was the one to say no to the old man’s proposal, it would save me the trouble and yet another fight with Dad.
“Yes. But only if we take the long way around. I’m not in the mood for kissing Irish ass.” She blew out a breath.
“Done.”
At five minutes past seven, I was showered and dressed for one of Rex’s Machiavellian nights. My driver pulled into the private garage, just as my phone pinged with Rex’s text.
Rex: We’re starting without you. Join us when you get here. Blue room.
The VIP loft had several rooms to accommodate any, and all, needs for the Crucible guests. Mostly, Rex and all the members of the Society used the space for secret meetings. The Crucible had a whole other floor dedicated to sex and other fantasies. For tonight’s affair, we were on the gambling floor.
The sweet scent of the casino greeted me as soon as the elevator door slid open on the forty-first floor. I adjusted my tuxedo jacket and made my way through the throng, smiling at the leotard-clad men and women suspended from a long rope way over our heads. A few of them had torches and kept breathing fire toward the gamblers.
The one with the silver rhinestone mask slowly descended until her heaving chest was at eye level with me. “A drink, Mr. Buratti.” She pressed the bottle of vodka against her tits as if she meant for me to drink from them.
“Not tonight.” Not too long ago, I had done way more than use her body as a shot glass. Though lately, I just wasn’t feeling it. “Some other time.” I touched the tip of my index finger to her chin and continued my way toward the VIP loft.
Even at this early hour, most of the blackjack and craps tables were crowded with people dressed in evening gowns and masquerade masks.
I indulged in my most recent obsession and scanned the room for redheads with creamy, soft skin. One caught my eye and stopped me in my tracks. Adrenaline pumped hard through my body while I waited for Red to turn around. The anticipation died quickly in my belly when the woman faced me. Her friendly smile confirmed she wasn’t my Red.
Maybe I should give Red a rest for tonight. I had more important things to deal with. The lives of many depended on our ability to get Liam Walsh under control. My dick could wait.
At the far end of the warehouse-like space, a grand staircase with red carpeting and a banister with intricate design curved up to the VIP loft. I slowed my gait when I reached the bottom of the steps and nodded once to the bouncer. He immediately reached over and removed the crimson rope to let me through.
A server met me at the top of the stairs and offered me a glass of Pappy. I took the tumbler off the tray and sipped. The main sitting lounge faced a set of tall windows that framed Central Park and the New York City skyline to perfection. Rex liked this over-the-top excess. I could take it or leave it.
I glared at the impressive view until a woman in a green velvet dress rose from one of the white leather sofas and blocked my line of sight. Her hair was braided into a loose French braid that softly brushed her bare back with every move she made. Like before, my adrenaline spiked as I waited for her to shift in my direction. I could only assume women did so because they could sense the danger. I was the predator. She was my prey.
My gaze lingered on the silvery flowers in her red hair, the shape of her long neck, and the soft glow on her shoulders. I could take two long strides and make her look at me, but I didn’t want this feeling in my chest to go away just yet. I didn’t want her to turn and have the wrong face.
She sipped the last of her champagne and set the flute down on the side table. In the next breath, she froze. Her gaze didn’t lift up to meet mine, but I could see enough of her profile to know she was Red—same bright green eyes, plump lips, and pink cheeks. She was my mystery woman in the flesh. She slowly rose with her mouth shaped into an “o” in recognition.
The pressure around us shifted, and neither one of us could move. My body heated as if I had tiny, fire-breathing acrobats swirling in my chest. I had spent too long pining over this woman. But my life was already too chaotic to add a relationship to the mix. I had to fuck her and get her out of my system quick.
I decided on my plan, right there and then.
Apart from the server and the bartender, we were alone in the loft. But I wanted to have her all to myself. I dug into the inside pocket of my tuxedo jacket and pulled out the Celtic cross pendant. I let it hang from my fingers, meeting her gaze. Her eyes turned into big saucers as she pursed her lips. The necklace was important to her. She was pissed I took it.
And then I saw it. She was more than angry. The thing that had been missing the first time I met her at the airport. I had sensed the defeat in her gaze was out of character for her. And I was right. The fire burning in them now was intoxicating. I wanted to drink from her, possess her. In a flash, all my fantasizes about her rushed to the surface and gave me all kinds of ideas.
I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my trousers and left her standing there.
Behind me, she sighed but didn’t move.
I continued down the corridor to the left of the lounge area and tried the first door. The suite had a fully stocked bar, a set of leather club chairs, and an extra-large chaise lounge. In my mind, I saw her bent over one of the armrests, with her dress around her waist, and her ass on display. My cock twitched, and a feral urge consumed me.
I had no doubt in my mind she would come after what was hers. But I hated waiting. Patience wasn’t exactly one of my virtues. I poured myself a drink and sat on the club chair facing the door.
By the time the whiskey touched my lips, she appeared at the threshold, still holding all kinds of contempt for me.
“Who do you think you are?” She fisted her hands, then shot a quick glance over her shoulder.
“Hello, Red.”
“What?” She furrowed her brows. “Give it back.”
She held her ground, instinctively knowing that keeping her distance from me was the only way to keep safe. I dangled the necklace again.
“Come and get it.”
She sucked in a breath. Every second she took to make up her mind, my skin burned with a kind of desire I had never felt. For reasons unknown to me, I managed to stay put and wait for her to come to me, while I held the pendant tightly in my grip.
After what seemed like hours, she took a single step inside and shut the door behind her. The air crackled with an urgent and untamed energy. If the goosebumps across her chest were any indication, she felt it too.
She’d walked into the wolf’s lair of her own accord. And with that, she sealed her fate. But if I was the predator here, and she my prey, why was she the one stalking toward me, with so much hunger in her eyes?
“Didn’t your mother teach you not to talk to strangers?” I grinned at her.