The Power of a Woman: A Mafia Erotic Romance (38 page)

The shocked expression on his face was priceless. Even in the darkness, there was no mistaking he knew exactly who I was. Before he could say a word, I was on him. My left fist slammed into his jaw, knocking his head against the brick wall with an angry thud.

“I always keep my word, Antonio. I told you that you’d die by my hand, and this is me keeping my promise.” I spoke evenly, calmly, making sure he understood everything I had to say.

“You think I’m scared of you, princess? That was a cheap shot.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he staggered to his feet. “Is this your way of getting revenge for your brother? Kind of ironic, don’t you think? Coming after me in his honor…when he had no honor.” He sneered and spit blood onto the dark pavement of the alley.

“It’s always about honor and family in the end. Isn’t it?” My eyes burned with hatred, fury lighting the fire to get the job done. And end it.

“What a fucking joke. Why don’t you ask Carlo where
his
honor is? Ask him if it was honor to you and your family to order a hit on your brother. Or…was that justice?”

I braced myself and schooled my features, showing zero expression on my face. But my accelerated breathing became louder as my blood pressure flushed through my ears. I’d known all along who’d ordered the hit. I’d been in contact with Carlo before Nico died, and something about his eagerness for me to take charge never sat well with me. We both knew my brother couldn’t handle it with his addiction, and once Carlo found out about it, there would be no saving him. The moment I’d heard about Nico’s murder, my first thought was Carlo. But hearing his confirmation delivered a different kind of pain. I’d deny him the perverse pleasure of seeing the pain I felt, as my heart broke in two. Betrayal was an ugly bitch. I’d carry this sentiment to the grave, hand to God. It didn’t matter that I’d wanted what Carlo had to offer, or that I’d had a hand in his plan, that didn’t mean I wanted my brother to die in order to get it.

I threw my body into him with the force of a linebacker. He tried to hold his own, but he lost his balance, and we both tumbled into a row of trashcans. Lucky for me, the nearby sounds of an Italian baritone absorbed the noise. His head hit a piece of broken bottle, and blood began to run down his face from the open wound. That’s when I felt his foot collide with my balls, pushing them clear into my stomach.
Fuck!
My stomach bottomed-out and the air left my lungs as I fell to my knees. A freight train of pain gripped me like a steel vise. It took me a few moments to gather enough strength to pull myself together, but when I did, he tried to sweep my feet out from under me. Too bad for him, he missed.

He fought to get up, but I threw myself on him, straddling his torso. I alternated punches between hands, and then slammed his head into the ground repeatedly like a man possessed. And I was. His eyes closed, his head lolled to the side, and his breathing grew shallow. It was time to move this along. I didn’t come to kick his ass. I came to kill him. I yanked the cross that he wore on a chain around his neck, and stood up.

I moved away from him and reached for my gun from the holster in the waistband of my pants. He finally pulled it together enough to glance up at me, still looking dazed. That’s when I pointed the end of the silencer directly at his chest. My finger carefully gripped the trigger, and time stood still. How many times did I fantasize about killing this motherfucker? At least a dozen when he’d had his hands on my wife back in his club. I looked directly into Antonio’s pleading eyes as his body trembled with fear.

“I really wanted to see you piss yourself, since you find that sorta thing funny.” I let his cross dangle from my finger, making sure he could see it. “I figured I’d take a page from your book…this looks like a nice souvenir to take with me—something to remind myself of your last breath.”

Insatiable need fed my revenge.

And my victory was now his defeat.

Collateral damage
.

“Death offers more peace than you deserve.” I smiled and raised the gun to his face. “Fuck an open casket.”

BANG
.

Thank you for purchasing and reading this ebook. If you enjoyed it please leave a short review on book-related sites such as ebook retail websites, Goodreads or your favorite review forum. Readers rely on reviews, as do authors.

She’s published six novels so far. Blood Ties (PNR), Beautiful Lies, Saving Abel, Forgiving Gia, Luca, and Avenging Us (Rocker 3). When she’s not writing, you can find her with friends and family. She resides in Massapequa, NY with her two beautiful boys. Reading has always been a passion and obsession of hers. You can usually find her typing furiously while shouting obscenities over her latest WIP. Her guilty pleasures are: a good laugh, being snarky, espresso, Pistachio ice-cream, alternative music, sunflower seeds, I.P.A’s, Twizzlers, and above all steamy swooning angst filled novels. She’s pathologically obsessed with anything to do with royals, Games of Thrones, White Queen, Vampire Diaries, Homeland, SOA, The Vikings and The Originals. If you’d like to chat, hit her up on Facebook or Twitter.

Facebook: 
facebook.com/ginawhitneyauthor
and
facebook.com/Gmwhitney1
Blog: 
authorginawhitney.blogspot.com/
Twitter: 
@GinaMWhitney
Goodreads
goodreads.com/author/show/7093718.Gina_Whitney
Badass Book Society 
http://www.badassbooksociety.com/authors/gina-whitney/
 

Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped. She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.

She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females. The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. And to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.

Website: 
www.LeddyHarper.com
Facebook: 
facebook.com/Leddy.Harper
Badass Book Society 
www.badassbooksociety.com/authors/leddy-harper/

Ebook conversion by
EBookBuilders
the digital division of
The Book Connection

Verified ePUBcheck