an

thout it. I could have just left it, but it was a Brioni and one of my favorite coats. So I had sent Beanie, Jermaine and Pedro to get it for me, and instead of comi

st cut my losses on that o

erned imprint it came from the butt of a gun. Her dark chocolate hair was matted with dried blood, and the lacy black dress she was wearing had been torn in several places. It was clear what my men

f tangled up in Sudan's web. The only logical explanation was that she was working with him. It's the only thing that made sense. She had to be one of his women. Maybe that was why he was there tonig

choice. They looked a little worse for the wear themselves, which meant the fight at the gallery had been a doozy. Beanie had a nice shiner forming underneath his right eye, and Jermaine's lip was swollen and bloody, but they were mor

His group had been no match for our ranks, but he certainly liked to be a constant thorn in my side. Never a genuine threat, but always an annoyance. They were traffickers, the very Scum o

side a dead body. It wouldn't be traceable, but it still was a risk. Still, the cops were the least of my worries. I had one of Sudan's workers in my bedroom, thre

ond in command

f her, and she was fighting and struggling against him. He ripped her dress nearly off and pistol-whipped her so bad blood was already pooling around her he

the signature feather tattoo all of Sudan's women were forced to get - a brand of sorts. Was it possible he had just hired her? Maybe specifically for this job? I turne

elf on her, I would have locked them in the tombs and tortured them for days. I would have plucked every single tooth out of his mouth and made him swallow them. Burned every inch of his body with my cigar and sliced him up like a fucking bait fish. After that, I would toss him into the run with my dogs. They loved the smell of blood and would devour him in mere seconds. Violence agai

ile all of this was go

shooting, I went inside but ran into sleeping

er slumber since they brought her here. I had even checked to be sure she was

umped on the defensive. "She had just watched us murder a man. We were in h

this up, and we'd still be in the dark about why Sudan wanted her to begin with

few paintings to make it look like a botched robbery. Left two bodie

rtainly expedite the process if we could get them into the country and distribute them through a business that already had all their clearances. Art came from all ove

jaw. "And do we know how they k

itating to answer. "I don't thi

his insinuation. "You mean to tell me that two mafia families showing up a

o know that there was no such thing

ey were after he

udan found his women by the dozen, and even if she had run away, he wouldn't have gone to such extravagant means to find her. If it was a real hit, he would have done it himself a

r this girl. A faction of the Italian Mafia wanted her. Wanted her badly enough to fight my men to

you say he

ie answered.

ving been in Sudan's trap for far too long. Hopeless and tired. Tiara hadn't seemed that way when I met her tonight. She was vivacious and bubbly, albeit a tad bit shy. There was a

left most of her body exposed, and my eyes drifted to the fresh bruises decorating her rib cage as it rose and then fell with each breath. When

egan unbuttoning the crisp dress shirt I had changed into, amused with the memory of her being so flustered by me she spilled h

e girl in front of me. And it wasn't just because she was beautiful. She mystified me. Whatever she was hiding, wherever she came f

ve a problem with that?" His insinuation that I would do anything t

lly, the chloroform would wear off soon. I wrapped my shirt around her and gently slipped her arms into the sleeves. When I had laid her back down against the cashmere of t

cheek, softly wiping away the blood and cleaning out her cu

ing to them. I was proud of my men regardless of wha

once all the blood was gone. "I'll get

ds Jermaine and Pedro, who

called after

ed back

rything you c