Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Saverio leans on the desk and balances his cane next to him. “Come here.”
I swallow. “Why?”
“Come here, Anya.” Not even the eyepatch is enough to hide the rage in his expression. “Don’t make me go after you. Not now.”
I advance cautiously, stopping a step away from him.
“Closer,” he says.
Taking that last leap, I stand toe to toe with him.
He searches my face, not hiding the turmoil in his uncovered eye from me. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” I breathe. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“I’m not going to touch you.” He continues in a measured tone. “I’m too angry. So I need you to listen very carefully and do as I say. Don’t test my willpower right now. I’m too close to snapping. Got it?”
Not trusting my voice to speak, I nod.
“Take off your clothes, tesoro.”
What? I stare at him in confusion, but when he works his jaw from side to side, looking as close to snapping as he claimed, I unzip the dress and push the sleeves over my shoulders. The fabric pools around my pumps. I stand in front of him in my black lace bra and thong and my high heels, and even though he’s seen me naked plenty of times, this feels different. More vulnerable.
Heat sparks in his gaze, warring with concern. “Turn around.”
I turn, giving him my back.
“Eyes forward again.”
Obeying the cryptic command, I finish my parade.
“You’re not injured,” he says, sounding surprised, relieved, and downright scary.
“Of course I’m not.”
“Where did you get the money?”
“I gambled.”
He tilts his head. “You gambled.”
“Blackjack.” I lift my chin. “We needed the money.”
“Is that how much trouble the club is in?”
Biting my lip, I confess, “I had to take a loan.”
“A loan.” The anger vanishes, leaving his face perfectly blank, and that’s a lot more frightening than when I can read him. “Where from?”
“I didn’t want to worry you about it.” My tone is beseeching, willing him to understand. “You had too much going on.”
“Where from, Anya?”
I stand taller. I did the only thing I could. I did what had to be done. I’m not going to apologize for that or cower. “Benson Bennett.”
His features transform into shock. For a moment, he’s frozen with that mask of horror on his face. Narrowing his gaze, he stands stock still except for his hands that he balls into fists. “What did you say?”
“He’s the only one who was willing to give me a loan. I couldn’t pay the salaries or cover our expenses. After the attack, business was slow. We lost suppliers and clients. The Morellis were putting the fear of God into them. Without enough cashflow to pay the overheads, I didn’t have a choice. I did it to keep up the front. We couldn’t risk losing our men’s faith or raise our enemies’ suspicions. We couldn’t let them think they’d weakened us. So I did what any good manager would’ve done. I saved the club.”
His chest heaves with breaths, yet his statement is level. “You saved the club.”
“I couldn’t pay the loan back, so I made Benson a deal. We gambled.”
He closes his eye and cracks his neck. Five seconds pass before he looks at me and speaks again, articulating every syllable. “Benson Bennett.”
I don’t reply.
His voice is soft but deadly. “Do you have any idea what that man is capable of, what he could’ve—and would’ve—done to you?”
“Yes,” I say, squaring my shoulders.
“Yet you did it, put your life in danger, risked what was mine…” It’s only then that his control finally caves and his volume rises. “…for the club?”
I step right up to him, putting our bodies flush together. “For us.”
“Fuck, Anya.” Stabbing his fingers into his hair, he watches me like a madman. “That you’re here in one piece is a miracle. You should’ve come to me. You should’ve told me.”
I place a hand on his chest. “I dealt with it.”
Blowing air through his nostrils, he asks, “What was on the line if you lost?”
I hesitate before admitting, “After Dark.”
“How did you win?”
“How do you think?”
“You read the cards.” He studies me for a beat. “Reading cards may not be illegal in casinos, but it’s considered cheating in the private rooms where Bennett gambles. Do you know what men like Bennett does to people who cheat?”
Flicking out my tongue to wet my dry lips, I nod.
Saverio doesn’t spare me. He puts words to the gritty facts I already know. “He tortures them—slowly, for days—and then he boils them alive. He would’ve returned your body in a soup can.”
“It’s done.” I drop my hand to my side and motion with my head at the table. “There’s the money that will prevent the men from walking away when we need manpower the most. That’s the means to prevent us from sinking. You should be happy. At least be relieved if you can’t be grateful. But don’t be angry because I did what had to be done.”