Chapter 34
thirty-four
. . .
Eyes on the villa, I picked up my ringing phone and answered distractedly. “Take a piss break, Gian.”
After the jet landed, I ditched the son of a bitch and drove off in the waiting SUV, leaving him stranded on the tarmac. That was an hour ago which meant he’d been trying to track my movements and failed. I’d killed my locator the second my tires hit the road.
“Fuck, boss, you can’t keep ditching me,” he whined. Courtesy of my brother’s resolute demand, Gian was never to let me out of his sight.
“Go play with your cock.” I cut the call on his protest.
Following the shitshow with D’Angelo and the fallout with Elio leading to the Cartel threat, Lorenzo was exerting a lot more caution.
But I didn’t need a babysitter. If that wasn’t enough to set him on edge, my sudden return to Italy caught Lorenzo off guard, more so my silence regarding the why.
That meant Gian was his only link to find out what I was up to, and right now, he was running on empty.
Something Lorenzo wouldn’t take lightly.
Grinning, I dialed Rahul. “It’s all sorted, Mr. Rossi,” he answered on the third ring. There was no mistaking the underlying fear in his voice.
The first time we met, I’d eavesdropped on his conversation and saved his ass, killing five Russians at point blank range. A sixteen-year-old brave enough to hack into Russian Mafia accounts and play Robin Hood was worth keeping on our payroll.
I opened the app on my phone, a slow grin slipping into place as my little fox’s den came alive once more. “All angles?”
“All the ones that count.” He tried to hide his snigger.
“Smart boy.” I cut the call and did a quick flip through the cameras. They were all working again.
Two months ago, playing with Ishika Sharma during my stay here had proved the perfect escapism, for a bit.
Leaving wasn’t optional, Lorenzo needed me and I returned to New York.
During that time, I focused my energies solely on business.
After we cut D’Angelo down at the knees and placed his empire in Alessia’s hands, we needed to stake our claim on his territory. That required strategic planning.
Nothing else held my attention, not even being inches deep in a wet pussy or mouth. Unfortunately, it seemed like the woman I attempted to forget had my dick in a chokehold.
That was a month ago and the moment a new idea emerged in my head. I called Rahul, my instructions simple: Find out where Ishika lived. Break in. Camera-tap her home, and hook me up to the app.
He did an excellent job.
Suffice to say, I never looked at or needed another woman since. I preferred to wait for the moment I’d return to Italy and claim what belonged to me.
In the interim, watching Ishika on screen every chance I got served my purpose well, both in and out of bed, until a week ago when a lightning storm fucked with the cameras, stealing my vision.
And why I now sat in my vehicle, opposite her villa, waiting for Rahul to get the feed back online.
Returning to Italy might’ve been a spur of the moment decision, it didn’t however stop me from playing with my little fox again, taunting that defiance I craved.
Probably under the impression I’d forgotten her, she wasn’t expecting me. That just sweetened the moment.
I smirked, shifting my focus back to the app. Ishika reached for her ringing phone. In white flared pants, a dark off-shoulder tank top, and her hair pulled into a tight ponytail, she cut a stunning figure.
“Yes, just drive further down, it’s the cream villa on your right.” After she cut the call, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, loudly counting her breaths until her stiffened shoulders slowly relaxed.
“Hmm.” I rubbed my jaw, dissecting her obvious anxiety. “Who are you expecting, little fox?”
The sound of an approaching vehicle had me looking up.
My gaze tracked three blacked-out BMWs. One turned into her driveway while the other two stopped further down the road.
That didn’t grab my attention as much as the six suited fuckers spilling out of the vehicles.
Their surveillance technique read bodyguards, their rifle-carrying stance said something else.
“Interesting.”
Why the fuck would a crime family visit my little fox? One thumb an erratic beat against the wheel, I ran the pad of the other along my lip, contemplating their intentions. Maybe I should pay the fuckers a visit and demand an answer.
Blood was always an tempting attraction.
I dialed Rahul instead. “The man walking into her house right now, I want to know who his, their relationship, and what the fuck he’s doing here,” I ordered the second he answered.
“Yes, sir,” I heard the disbelief in his voice.
The task might be demeaning to his talent, but I intended to learn everything about the beautiful doctor, from the color of her pussy to the zeros in her bank account.
Arrogant bastard that I was, I never hesitated to walk into a situation unannounced.
Something about this one though, called for a little more knowledge, starting with the fucker that just disappeared through her front door.
“Scour whatever sites you hack, Rahul and get me everything, today. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” He sounded a lot less cocky this time.
Debating whether to wait for Rahul or go in and make my presence known, I shifted my gaze back to the villa. “Fuck it.” I opened the car door and stepped out.
A clump of trees provided the perfect shelter for the SUV and hid me from the patrolling buffoons I could easily take out with a bullet to their heads.
That would just draw unwanted attention and right now my curiosity was piqued.
Removing my jacket, I tossed it on the seat, muted my phone and shoved it into my pocket then closed the door and weaved through the trees until I reached the building.
She was in a safe neighborhood. More countryside than suburb, which was why the need for a fence was non-existent.
Keeping the windows in my periphery, I skirted the building until a set of sliding glass doors came into view.
Loud voices paused my feet. I backtracked, stopping only at an open window and peered through the transparent white curtains.
From where I stood, I had Ishika’s profile in view while the couple sat at the breakfast table, their expressions earnest.
“What could I possibly want from people I don’t know?” she asked, her tone suggesting curiosity, her expression one of annoyance.
“This is not the time to argue, Ishika. Just come back with us and we’ll explain everything,” the man replied, his pompous tone tightening the tendons at my nape.
Ishika snorted a laugh. “Let me get this straight. You want me to go with you, people I haven’t seen since I was a child.
Allow myself to be handed over to more unknown people just because they supposedly have something I might desperately want.
And you can’t tell me what it is?” She shook her head.
“I’m sure you can see how ridiculous this all sounds from where I stand? ”
What the fuck did I walk into?
My curiosity got the better of me and I debated whether to gatecrash this party or wait.
The man stood just as she turned away. “They have your brother.”
“Brother?” A sudden crash followed the single word.
The sound had me hightailing it back to the sliding door. Gun drawn, I stepped in and made my way toward their voices.
“Kenji is dead,” Ishika gritted.
Her harsh words froze my steps just outside the kitchen.
“Not Kenji.” The man’s reply grabbed my attention.
Moving further into the shadows, I angled my body to give me a view of Ishika, catching the shattered pieces of porcelain around her feet.
She was breathing hard, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. “What do you mean not Kenji? I had one brother and he’s dead.” Undisguised agitation filled her words.
“Your younger brother.”
“Wait. Hold on.” She took a step back, shaking her head. “Younger brother?”
“Ishika.” The man sighed, nearing her. “Your brother was taken the same day the rest of your family died. You were either too young to remember or lost your memory—”
“Are you kidding me?” she shouted. “How can I forget my own brother?” Raw emotion debilitated her struggle not to break down.
That sudden squeeze on my chest startled me.
The feeling so alien it had me gripping the gun tighter, my head clearly baffled by the sudden hold this woman had over me.
I barely knew her and relationships were something I avoided.
The need to find out more, though, challenged my desire to go to her.
Her abrupt twirl away caught the man of guard as she swung back just as quickly, waving a knife at him. “I don’t know what sick game this is but if you don’t leave right now, I’m calling the police,” she threatened.
His hands went up, palms out. “I know you’re angry and you don’t believe me right now. But just stop for a moment and look at this.” He nodded to his wife.
The woman drew something out of her purse and held it out to Ishika. She hesitated, her eyes darting between them, the knife still defending her position before she reached out and snatched the item. Frowning, she stared at what I presumed to be a photo.
Then, as her gaze lifted to the man once more, the hand holding the knife slowly lowered. “This is my family,” she whispered, her voice thick with anguish.
He nodded. “Yes. Taken when you were eight. As you can see, your mother is holding a three month old baby.”
“I have another brother.” Clearly shocked, Ishika backed away until her rear met the sink. Abruptly turning, she dropped the knife, the loud clatter resonating in the silent kitchen before her sobs filled the space.
Again the unfamiliar emotion clawed at me. Never in my entire fucking life had I felt this out of sorts. Whatever it was, I hated it.