Page 6 of Captured Innocence
Chuckling, I shook my head. It was just another day of the year I wanted to forget. However, I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was tossing out bait that he knew I’d hunger to taste like a rabid dog.
“Really. Who is this luscious creature who’ll pull me out of the darkness?”
He lifted his head, allowing a grin to remain before answering. “Sophia Lazarro.”
He allowed the information to sink in. He was one of the only people who’d known about my interest in the girl from a year before, the meeting accidental but something I would never forget. Saving her life had been cathartic, even if her father had threatened me and mine had laughed, patting me on the back as if I’d done my good deed for the year.
I’d never learned the identity of the two men who’d accosted her and in truth, I hadn’t given a shit. My reaction had been without thinking but it was something I’d do again. That was the night a weakness was born. I felt it more now than ever. Fuck.
It would seem fate had intervened again. My cock twitched at the thought.
I’d made the stunning princess a promise that day I’d tried and failed at forgetting. She’d awakened something deep inside of me that had lingered for months afterward, leaving me with filthy thoughts and needs that couldn’t be sated. I’d almost made a huge mistake that night that could have cost me dearly, but I’d maintained control. But with her inside my club, all bets were off.
Perhaps I’d make good on the promise I’d issued. Hmmm… The thought was delicious and very interesting. With the Lazarros and the DeLucas still at odds, our union could present a delicious opportunity.
He chuckled, patting me on the back. “There’s that look I know far too well. I thought that would make you happy. From what Bruno said, she’s dressed to kill. She also threatened Daniel. She’s certainly not her daddy’s little princess any longer.”
Daniel was a bruiser of a soldier. Anyone threatening him didn’t mind taking their life into their hands.
I still had difficulty getting over the sudden news. The woman I’d hungered for was in my club? That wasn’t a coincidence. I felt that in my gut. In fact, I’d been certain she would have told her father about my forward behavior, half expecting for weeks for there to be an attempt on my life or at minimum, another threat to stay clear at a cost I couldn’t afford. There’d been no such thing. Perhaps she considered me her dirty little secret, especially since her body had responded just as mine had, desire tearing through both of us.
“Did she now?” I rubbed the stubble on my jaw, amused as hell.
“I thought you’d be pleased.” His chortle made me laugh.
“You thought right.” I reared back, thinking about what he’d just said. Two images flashed into my mind. One was of the girl I’d met several years before, a wallflower who stared at me with fear yet also contempt in her eyes. She’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time, the only witness to a vicious crime. Instead of reacting as a normal young woman would, she’d seemed drawn to me. I’d spared her life given her identity and nothing else.
And two was the young woman celebrating her eighteenth birthday, no longer a picture of innocence but a woman I’d wanted to deflower even then. Call me an evil man. At least I’d had the good graces to walk away that night. Still, she wasn’t old enough to be drinking inside my club. Hmm… Perhaps I should punish her for her bad behavior. I chuckled, my filthy mind working overtime.
Marco moaned, dragging me back into reality. Business never ended.
After throwing him an angry glare, I removed the brass knuckles from my fingers, handing them to Vincenzo. “You know me too well, brother. Just don’t forget to clean up after yourself when you’re done. I don’t like to leave a trail behind me.”
“You think I don’t know that, boss?” His grin was as evil as the way I felt inside, hunger already bridging the surface. “Go have fun.”
Fun. The word wasn’t in my dictionary.
Sophia Lazarro, the revered and very protected princess of a rival family. While the Five Families of Italy, crime syndicates who ran the entire country, were all in a moment of truce, at least according to my father, the Lazarros were considered our true enemies. We’d shared bloodshed and violence over the years, claiming lives at various times. Our territories were close, so much so the lines were often blurred. My adopted brother D’Artagnan and I had been tasked to round up straggler Lazarro soldiers over the last few years, which had led to worse blood raining in the streets.
What in the world was the prized princess doing here?
There’d been talk of a marriage between Lucia Lazarro and me, but that had yet to come to pass. I wasn’t the marrying kind. For the younger sister to be inside my club was far too tempting.
“Where is my beautiful prize?”
“Near the bar on the upper floor.”
The floor directly above was reserved for private members of Notorious, which meant Sophia had either been invited by someone or had flirted her way into the special club. Now I was more intrigued than ever. Even though she’d changed dramatically in two years, a year before she’d still seemed so innocent, a light to my darkness, good to my evil. Could a year make a significant difference?
When Marco shifted in his chair, I was surprised as well as pleased at his tenacity. When he spoke, I had to listen intently to hear what he was saying, the words muttered in Italian.
“Stai attento, principe delle tenebre, perché il tuo destino è nelle mani di uomini di cui ti fidi.” Be careful, prince of darkness, for your fate lies in the hands of men you trust.
CHAPTER 3
Mattia
I’d been threatened more times than I could mention. While some were little more than attempts at dissuading me to act violently, others had proven to be true, some taking several months.