Free Ruthless: Mob Boss Book One by Michelle St. James

meant to use it with Angel, but the sight of her scared, wounded, caused a visceral reaction in him, and he had to fight the urge to put his fist through one of the walls.
    She turned her face away. “Nothing.”
    He stepped closer and took her chin in his hand, gently tipping her face up until she was looking at him. “Tell me.”
    “I guess your friends expect you to share.” She spat the words at him, her eyes defiant.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “Please elaborate.”
    “Let’s just say Dante wanted in on the action after I left your apartment last night.”
    Her voice was calm and steady, but he saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes. It made him admire her all over again. It was one thing to be too stupid to be scared. It was something else to be terrified and keep your head up anyway.
    “Did he touch you?”
    She glanced down at her arm. “You could say that.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “He didn’t rape me, if that’s what you’re getting at. But only because I lied.”
    “How so?”
    “I told him you wouldn’t like it if he did,” she said.
    “That’s an understatement.” Nico thought he might snap from the fury flooding his body. He took a deep breath and stepped back from her. “Are you alright?”
    “Am I alright?” There was a hint of hysteria in her laughter. “I’m as alright as I can be imprisoned in this room, wondering if every day is the day I’m going to die. Or worse.”
    He nodded. “I’ll have Luca bring you some clothes. You have my word that you’ll never see Dante here again.”
    He left the bag of food on the desk and headed for the door, anxious to reach the hall before his temper got the best of him.
    Stepping outside the room, he locked the door and strode to the stairwell. His mind cleared as he took the steps two at a time, the anger that had made him feel hot and out of control receding to make room for cold, hard fury as he headed for the gym.
    He burst through the doors and stopped, taking inventory of the bodies occupying the space. Luca was beating on a heavy bag while Marco worked with the Judo coach nearby. In the boxing ring, Gideon and Anthony circled each other, taking jabs when they could get one in.
    He turned his eyes to the free weights, his gaze coming to rest on Dante, laying mid-press on one of the benches.
    Peeling off his jacket, Nico tossed it aside as he strode across the floor. His soldiers were starting to notice his arrival, but he ignored their greetings, homing in on Dante like a heat-seeking missile, then grabbing hold of his right leg and pulling him out from under the bar in one smooth motion.
    Dante lost his grip on the bar, and it crashed to the bench, narrowly missing his head, on its way to the floor.
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the fuck…” It was all he had time to say before Nico threw him to the ground, silencing him with a series of punishing punches to the face.
    Nico felt none of the rage he had felt in the basement with Angel. Now the stormy sea of his mind was dead calm, nothing in it but the satisfaction of hearing the bones in Dante’s face crunch under his fists. He punched and punched. He punched until Dante stopped moving, until his eyes were closed and he thought Dante might be dead.
    Finally, the pace of his punches slowed, then stopped. The room was as quiet as a church. No one moved.
    He waited until his breathing was under control to stand. Luca handed him his jacket.
    “Take out this trash,” Nico said, slipping his arms into the jacket. “Confiscate his keys and revoke his permissions immediately. Make sure everyone on the street knows that he is no longer affiliated with the Vitale family.”
    Luca nodded, his face impassive. “You got it, boss.”
    Nico hurriedly walked past the shocked faces in the gym. He had meetings all day.

14
    “Brought you some Thai food this time,” Luca said, entering the room. “I hope that’s okay.”
    He shut the door, but this time he