Free Revenge by Dana Delamar Page A

his eyes. And
Katie—God, Katie —she’d responded to him. Vince saw the way
she’d touched her hair as she’d walked toward Lucchesi, the extra
lightness in her step, the extra sway in her walk.
    He’d barely been able to keep it together
during the meet and greet on the steps. Now he knew why she’d
wanted him out of her office so fast. It wasn’t just the overnight
bag she didn’t want him to see. She’d probably been planning on
fucking Lucchesi on her desk. God only knew how long that had been
going on, right under his nose. He never should’ve encouraged her
to take that damn job—
    But that was all part of the plan to get
close to Lucchesi, to find a way to take him out. If he got rid of
Lucchesi, Uncle Carlo would reward him. Very, very well. He’d even
hinted that someday Vince might be in charge of the Andretti cosca . There was no love lost between Carlo and Dario, that
was for damn sure. Oil and vinegar, those two.
    Dario rubbed him the wrong way too. At least
he always knew where he stood with Carlo. With Dario, it was
anybody’s guess. If Carlo had been his pop, he might have done what
Dario did—kept his big mouth shut in self-defense. But that wasn’t
a major problem for Vince; he and Carlo got each other. They both
wanted to be top dog, and he was willing to put in the work to get
there. He was learning a lot from Carlo; the old guy was a nasty
SOB, but he was smart. And he knew how to inspire cooperation.
Nobody dared cross him.
    Except of course, for Lucchesi. And now the
fucker wanted Katie too.
    They weren’t going to get away with it. Not
Katie and certainly not Lucchesi.
    He parked the red Ferrari a short distance
down the road, out of sight behind some trees, and circled back on
foot.
    Maybe he was wrong about her and Lucchesi. He
loved Katie—she was beautiful and smart, and she’d make a great mom
for his kids. Yeah, she had some flaws—she asked too many damn
questions for one. If Carlo knew she was an outsider, he’d kill
them both. Maybe he should have told her, but he wanted her to have
a baby first. Once she had a kid, once she was settled in, once she
saw the money from his promotion and how they could live, she’d be
on board then. He knew it.
    But now—God, if she was fucking around on
him…. Could his Katie really be a cheating slut? She was pushing
thirty when they met, and there had to be a good reason why a
beauty like her wasn’t taken. Something he’d missed that other guys
hadn’t. But those days were over. He was getting to the bottom of
this. Today.
    He snuck back to the orphanage and entered
through a side door, then crept down the hall to Kate’s office.
    Lucchesi was with her, and their voices were
low and intense. Vince’s heart dropped to his toes. It stank of
secrets in there.
    He waited, listening, but he couldn’t make
out what they were saying until her voice rose, high and all
panicky, and she said, “I’m leaving Vince, but how can I ever keep
myself safe from him?”
    A scalding hot burn filled his chest. He’d
been pissed before, but now he knew what rage felt like. He stalked
away to wait for Lucchesi to leave. The bastard was going to pay
for this.
    And so was his wife. No woman would cheat on
him and live to laugh about it.

CHAPTER 5

    After Enrico left his card on her desk, Kate
laid her head down in the circle of her arms. She wanted to weep.
Or scream. Vince was a killer. A cold-blooded killer. And if she
didn’t play this right, she could be his next victim.
    But losing her head wouldn’t help. She took a
deep breath. At least she knew where she stood. She had enough cash
to see her through a few weeks. Once she knew where she was
staying, her parents could wire her some more.
    Enrico’s offer seemed sincere; she was more
than a little tempted to take it. But he’d been married to a
mobster’s daughter; he’d participated in Carlo’s business. Enrico
could be as dirty as the Andrettis, only with a finer veneer on
top.
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