Savage Prince

MATTEO

I keep my head down as I walk, careful not to make eye contact with anyone. There’s only one person whose eyes I want to look into tonight and so far, that bastard has managed to escape me. I wind around the table games until I get to the back of the casino. With a sweep of my eyes, I take in every person participating in the poker tournament.

None of them are Domenico Salvo.

Was my informant’s word bullshit?

Or was it—?

A soft hand winds around my waist. I dip my head to see a gorgeous brunette in a glorified bathing suit smiling up at me. “You look like you need to relax a little bit.” She reaches up and massages my shoulders. “So much stress,” she murmurs. “I can help you with that.”

“I think you’ve got the wrong guy.” I press my lips together, my eyes narrowing slightly. “I haven’t gambled a single euro yet.”

Her smile widens. “I know.”

“So I’m not exactly your target.”

She rubs her hand down my back, lacing her fingers with mine. “Actually, that makes you the exact right target. Do you think I like these drunk assholes pawing at me all night long?” Her grip tightens as she pulls me close to her, rubbing her tits against my side. “I deserve to have some fun of my own.”

I let her lead me into one of the back rooms. It’s dark until she flips a switch. The whole room is painted black with red accents and lighting. It has a very taboo feel and if the situation was different, I’d enjoy every second of this girl bouncing on my dick.

But not tonight.

She closes the door behind her and attacks me like a voracious wolverine, clawing at my shirt and yanking open my pants.

Jesus. Who the fuck is paying for this?

The girl jumps into my arms, her mouth devouring mine as she swings me around the room. Her legs flail as her body forces me to spin her into walls and tables. A lamp crashes to the floor behind me and all of a sudden a bright white illuminates the room from a far corner.

And a hidden door.

A tall bleached blonde walks into the room, this one dressed all in black. Real clothes, not just lingerie. And she’s pointing a gun at us. With a snap of her fingers, the brunette who was just attacking me like maggots on rotting meat jumps to the floor, wringing her hands and speaking in rapid, tearful Italian.

“Please, I did what you asked. Just let me leave, I promise—"

New Girl just smiles and shakes her head. “Oh, I know. And you did well. Please gather your things and leave. Now.”

The brunette’s eyes widen and she nods quickly, readjusting her bra top thing as Blondie rolls her eyes. “Tsk-tsk. Doesn’t anyone have a sense of urgency anymore?” She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a Beretta, pointing it at the girl. She manages to squeak out one single scream before crumbling to the floor in a heap at my feet, instantly dead from the shot fired right between her eyes.

I look down at the bloody body limp on the floor then lift an eyebrow at the blonde.

She smiles. “Do you know what it’s like to say the same thing over and over and be constantly ignored?”

“What, are you a psychic or something?”

“I don’t have to be psychic to know what happens next here, Matteo.”

Shit…that doesn’t sound good.

And she knows my name?

My cell phone ringer blares from deep inside of my pocket. The blonde flashes a smirk. “Oh, you should definitely take that. It will be your last conversation, after all.”

I pull the phone out and stare at the screen.

My brother, Sergio.

“Answer it,” she growls.

I let out a frustrated sigh and stab the Accept button. “Yeah?”

“Where the fuck are you?”

“If you’re calling me, I’m thinking you already know.”

“Goddammit. Didn’t Papa tell you to stay the fuck away from there?” Sergio’s deep voice hisses into the phone.

My lips stretch into a thin line. “He did.”

“He’s gonna kick your fucking obstinate ass when he sees you, but right now, you have to get out of there. Now, do you understand me?”

Shit.

“Did you hear what I said?” His voice rises in a slight panic and blood ices in my veins.

“But Dante…

Sergio sucks in a breath. “He’s there? Tell me you didn’t drag him down with you.”

I don’t answer, studying the face of the woman whose gun is now level with my gaze. There’s a five-pointed star , the telltale mark of the Stidda, peeking out of the top of her dress.

She’s an operative for Salvo.

But where the fuck is Dante?

“You need to find him, now, before it’s too late.”

“Why?” I clutch the phone in my hand, straining my ear to hear Sergio’s next words. And I almost wish I hadn’t.

“Because you’re not the only one who’s looking for Salvo. And if you guys don’t get out of there now—”

The blonde fists my hair, yanking my head backward. Startled, I drop the phone and it shatters on the floor. Her lips curl upward into a sinister smirk. “It will be too late,” she seethes, finishing my brother’s sentence. “For all of you.”

The stiletto knife strapped to my calf burns my skin as a reminder of what we’re trained to do when people makes threats against us.

“Did you really think you were going to crash Salvo’s party and get out without being noticed?” she purrs against my ear. “Someone as hot and sexy as you, Matteo?”

With a lick of her lips, she lowers the gun so it’s pointed at my throat. “I’m glad I was assigned to you. I figured a guy who looked like you wouldn’t be worth a damn with a weapon. You’re too gorgeous to be dangerous.” She leans forward and brushes her lips against the side of my face. “I was right. Pretty but useless.”

My fingers twitch, aching to grab the blade and jam it into her neck. But I fight the urge since I still don’t know who she is or what she wants with me…other than to fuck me then kill me.

“Where is Salvo?”

The blonde giggles and moves closer to me. “Maybe he’s with Dante. Your master assassin brother.” She uses air quotes for the master assassin part and it fuels my rage. This bitch is going down hard.

“Take me to him.”

“You think you’re making the rules tonight, Matteo?” She scoffs. “Please. You’re in our territory now. You’re playing our game and spoiler alert, we’re gonna win because we have for a long time. Your family is finished. Coming here tonight was stupid because you’re not leaving.” She hisses her last words, murder glittering in her dark blue eyes.

I rake my eyes down the length of her body than raise my gaze to hers. She flashes a self-satisfied smirk, but really, she shouldn’t be so ready to claim victory.

“You like what you see?”

“I’d like to do more than just look.” I lift my hand to her thigh but she grasps my wrist, wrenching it away from her. I swallow a smile.

She doesn’t even realize she just gave me everything.

Once she flings my hand back at me, she runs her fingers down the front of my shirt and pants, stopping when they rest on my cock.

The blonde lifts an eyebrow and leans closer. “Pretty impressive.”

“It’s even better in person.” I keep my eyes focused on hers because I’ve already seen what I need to see…what’s going to save my ass once I leave here tonight.

With the one hand now tugging at my belt, she yanks me close. “A quickie before I plug you? Pun intended.”

Perfect.

I loop one arm around her waist as she dips her head toward mine. Before I can taste her lips, the stiletto knife is in my other hand. I thrust the blade right into her jugular. Her eyes fly open wide, her hand lifting to the knife handle. She falls backward, gurgling. Her body spasms. I grab the handle and pull it out of her neck. Blood rushes from the wound, pooling under her.

I don’t have a second to spare admiring my handiwork so I reach behind her leg and grab the phone strapped to her thigh. The gun is still clenched in her lifeless fingers so I take that too. Using the edge of her dress, I wipe off my blade and stick it into my pocket before rushing to the door to find Dante.

Fuck. I need to unlock the damn phone to find out what I need about Salvo.

And to tell him I’m dead.

Blondie has face ID enabled so I unlock the phone and change the settings to make sure I don’t lock it again. I scroll through the texts before I find what I want.

My lips twist.

He’s not here tonight. He knew we were coming and didn’t want to take the risk that his operatives would fail, which at least one of them did.

He was smart but not smart enough since now I have a way to track him and his location.

I may have defied my father by coming here tonight but I just bought us an insurance policy that’s gonna save everything.

I grab my phone and dial Dante’s number. When I hear his voice in my ear, I let out a relieved breath. “Thank fuck.”

“Thank fuck, my ass. Who the hell could stand a chance against me?”

“The woman I just killed might’ve had a partner.”

“You mean the one who dragged you away from the dice table?” He pauses. “Yeah, I guess I’ve got a target on my head, too, ‘cause here comes trouble in a fucking hot ass dress.”

I let out a groan. “Get the hell out of there. I’ll meet you at the car.”

A few minutes later, I jump into the front seat of my blacked out Escalade and turn on the ignition. Dante runs up a minute later, opens the passenger side door, and gets in. After a quick look in my mirrors, I stomp on the gas. Tires squeal along the pavement and in seconds, we’re lost in traffic.

“Roman just called. Said people are starting to ask questions about where you are. It’s your party, your business. You need to get your ass over there before someone finds out you’re not actually holed up in your office.” Dante spins his gun around his index finger. “Won’t take people long to figure out you were on Salvo’s ass. Everyone knows he’s in town this week.”

“I know exactly where he is and what his plans are.”

“How? Did you fuck the bitch into submission before killing her?”

“Better. I got her phone. Someone should have deleted her messages.”

“He’s gonna find out she’s dead soon enough. How long do you think you’ll have access to him by using that phone?”

“I already have what I need. It’s gonna save my ass, Papa’s ass, and our businesses.”

I pull my truck into the back parking lot outside the building I rented for this popup sex party. I’m testing out a new business idea and from the looks of the cars lining the streets around it, the test is proving to go well.

Look like we’re gonna be expanding the family businesses all around.

We sneak into the back door with my key and hurry into my office. Roman is already there.

“Please tell me you didn’t fuck us by going there tonight.”

“I think he definitely fucked someone,” Dante quips. “But not us.”

“I didn’t fuck anyone.” I pull the cell phone out of my pocket and thrust it at Dante. “Guard this with your life, or it’ll be ours in the shitter.”

Dante slips it into his pocket and reclines in my chair.

Roman’s eyebrows knit together. “Matty, one of the door girls just called and said a few guys just showed up asking for you. Sergio and I checked them out. They’re in Salvo’s crew. If you go out there, it could be very fucking bad.”

“I need to be here because it’s the only alibi I have.” I push past Roman. “I can’t run and hide because his dickhead crew is here looking for me. If they want me, they’re gonna get me.”

“At least let us follow them around a little while. I can always arrange for them to be distracted.” Dante gets up from my chair and walks over to us. He claps Roman on the back. “Let’s go find them.”

I roll my eyes, push past my brothers, and open my office door. “Fuck that. I’m not hiding from anyone.”

“The hell you’re not.” My other brother Sergio glares at me with his light blue eyes. “There’s no way you’re going out there right now. You’re the underboss of our family. If Salvo’s guys here, it’s because they want to send a message, just like you did when you went to his place tonight. If this party gets blown to shit, we can all kiss our asses goodbye.”

“You’re being really dramatic right now. I got my job because of how I handle scumbags like them.”

“Lock that shit up for tonight. This party is off the hook and you getting shot between the eyes won’t be a good look for the family.”

A deep sigh expels from my lips. “I resent that you think I’ll go down so quickly, prick.”

Sergio points to one of the closed doors down the darkened hallway. “Go in there and lock the door.”

“Is anyone waiting?” I lift an eyebrow since this is my party and my rules always prevail.

The corners of Sergio’s lips curl upward. “You’re gonna get fucked in here one way or another. Your choice. My way or Salvo’s way.”