Page 59 of Liberated By Sin
“Leave him. I have a message to deliver. Blaise will take you home if that’s okay with you.”
I nodded. “Yeah—”
Santino’s lips collided with mine. One hand circled my waist, while the other tangled into my hair. Stunned by the sudden gesture, I hesitated before melting into his arms and returning the kiss. He tasted exactly how I imagined. Whiskey, mint, and sin.
He pushed my body against the hood of the car, tongue slippinginto my mouth. I followed his lead, chasing his lips until our teeth crashed, and a moan moved up my throat. I hadn’t kissed a man since I was eighteen, but my insecurities only lasted a fraction of a second. Santino devoured my mouth like I was his favorite meal. And I savored every single one of his growls.
I was so damn wet. So desperate I felt like I needed to crawl out of my own skin.
Fuck, I wanted this man.
My eyes were still closed when he whispered, “Mia preziosa, don’t get into any more trouble tonight.”
25
Fall Back - Lithe
“I knowyou’re still there.”
Andretti’s hoarse voice held a slight shudder. I’d let him stew in anguish for the past ten minutes, testing my patience far more than his because the urge to inflict suffering and watch his ragged lungs haul their final breath had me nearly crawling out of my skin.
After what he tried with Amara, that fact he wasn’t tied to an anchor at the bottom of the Atlantic made me deserving of a fucking medal.
“Where else would I be than here with you?’
“Santino…Nipote, you know it’s all business. Nothing personal.”
“I’m not your nephew. And you made it very personal,” I said, circling his chair as I lit my cigar. “You followed my dancer to her car.”
“She owed me.”
“Did she? Because I recall Blaise paying you nearly double to settle that debt. Am I right?”
Andretti doubled over, his breaths labored as blood rolled down the legs of the wooden chair, pooling at his feet. “Luca hypedher up…” he gritted out, spitting dark clots onto his lap. “Wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Didn’t think…” More bloodied saliva dribbled from the corners of his mouth. “You’d miss a random whore.”
With a fist in his hair, I dragged his head back. “You mean, the one who nearly took out your heart?”
“That bitch.” He seethed on a ragged intake of air.
His eye socket suddenly seemed like a good placeholder for my cigar. The soft tissue sizzled at the contact, followed by his pitiful wails.
“You can keep that. I’ve got another.”
“Oh, you son of a…bitch.” Andretti struggled uselessly to free himself, rattling the chair against the tile. “After all these years, this is how you repay me?Per una prostituta?”
I cocked a grin and slipped brass knuckles over my gloved hand. “Wrong answer.”
The cigar popped out of his eye socket on the second right hook to the face, but I didn’t stop until he was near unconsciousness and his jaw was a bloody, mangled mess. The noises rising from him were unintelligible, so I stuffed a bottle of my favorite bourbon into his ruined mouth and let the liquid slide down his throat. He gurgled and coughed violently when I yanked it free and emptied the rest over his head.
“Wrong girl.”
“No…no…” Gregorio knew what would follow.
Reaching into my suit pocket, I pulled out another cigar. “I’ve no doubt that my cousin Luca put you up to this, so I’m going to ensure he understands his mistake and what awaits him, too.” I savored the Fuente before tossing it into the puddle at his feet. His doused pant leg caught fire first, the flames licking upward and engulfing his body until he looked like a human torch. His cries were quickly stifled by a scorched throat as the smell of burning flesh permeated the air.
“Ci vediamo all'inferno.”
The elevator doors broke open on her floor, and I followed the ascending numbers, searching for the one listed in her file. I’d stared at my phone countless times, debating whether to call or text and seek her approval before stopping by. But I decided to do neither, afraid she’d say no. Blaise had assured me she seemed fine, but no amount of convincing would do unless I confirmed the truth with my own eyes.