Page 8 of Toxic Devotion

“We’re here,” King said, voice deep and irritated. “What do you want?”

“I know you’re having some trouble purchasing a certain property.”

King’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “What’s it to you?”

“I can have the red tape removed for you.”

King crossed his arms and said, “And why would you do that?”

“I need an ally.”

He knew he was giving King the upper hand by admitting it, but he preferred the man feeling in control because if King thought he had none, he had no doubt the man would react appropriately.

“I doubt you’re a fan of the Destroyers, either. Keeping them from trying to take over our city would be in the best interest of us both.”

He knew he had King exactly where he wanted him from the look that entered the man’s eyes. He knew King loved this city as much as he did. Maybe even more.

“And how do you suggest we do that?” King asked.

“Simple,” Marco said, meeting King’s gaze. “We show a united front. They’re not stupid enough to want to fight both of us.”

King nodded slowly.

“If you’re anything like your father, I know you’ll keep your word,” Kings said and extended his hand. When Marco grasped it, King said, “If you don’t, it’ll be worse for yourself.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” Marco said, a smile widening his lips.

He watched King and his men walk back down the pier and wasn’t surprised to see quite a few bikers waiting for them on their motorcycles at the other end of the pier.

He waited until the Kings had taken off before heading back to the car, Rome at his side.

“I can’t tell if getting laid made you less ormorereckless,” Rome said, giving Marco a perplexed look.

A grunt was his only answer because, truthfully, he didn’t know the answer to that either. Neil had left an impression on him unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. A part of him wanted to track him down. The other part feared that he’d lose himself in the man if he did.

He barely had time for sex. Anything else? No, he couldn’t. No matter how much he wanted those startling gray eyes to look at him with need and desire in them again. They were better off away from each other. Especially considering who they were.

Sleeping with an intelligence officer was insane. Having more with one? Utter madness. And yet, that pull he felt toward Neildidn’t seem to want to go away. He couldn’t get the man out of his head. He was really going mad, wasn’t he? His sister would have a good laugh about it, he was sure. Her stone-cold, no-nonsense brother having some sort of a relationship with a spook? She would tease him endlessly.

The fact that he was still thinking about it, about Neil, didn’t bode well for him or his heart.

Neil

He’d done a lot of stupid things though most of them had been in his youth. With almost fifteen years in the intelligence world, he should know better than to fuck the boss of a mafia family. He certainly shouldn’t be standing across the street from the man’s newly-opened restaurant, watching him move around the place while he talked to his patrons.

Already being in town, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. At least not until he’d gotten this close. Going inside would be a mistake. He couldn’t stay long, either. He was in town for his BPD operative. He needed the man’s skillset for a small but important mission he couldn’t have traced back to the Agency. Not when it was on this side of the Atlantic.

He tracked Marco’s movements, the man’s smile seeming more real than it had just a few months ago. He didn’t know what made Marco go for a drink that night. His father’s death? His succession? Being a gay man in an environment where it could get you killed? He shouldn’t care either way.

He shifted his attention to the man following right behind Marco. Romeo D’Alessio. Made man and Marco’s right hand. He wasn’t a man to be trifled with. He’d protect Marco with his life. At least that’s the vibe he got from Rome. The man was protective. Cautious. He was exactly what Marco needed.

He took one last look at Marco, a smile gracing his lips before he turned and walked away.

He kept his meeting with Cade short. The operative was used to it by now. He didn’t need much direction anyway. The man was a natural.

He told Cade to meet him the next morning so they could get set up for the operation. It wasn’t the biggest or most dangerous op they’d ever tackled together but it was an important one. To him, they all were. Any small change could completely shift the outcome of something much bigger.

He was still trying to figure out who’d sent those two men to his hotel room to kill him. He hadn’t figured out who they were and, to be honest, there were a lot of people who wanted him dead. He had quite a list of names to search through to find the culprit.