I shrug my shoulders and glance back at the wolves who look so damn happy to have the attention on them, hell Dill is even raising his head up and showing off his incredible pedigree and shiny coat. “I ain’t sorry,” I grin, holding back a laugh. “You should have named them when you had the chance. What’s done is done. Besides, it’s written in sharpie and they like it. They’ve accepted their names and now there’s no going back.”
“ENOUGH ABOUT THE FUCKING NAMES,” Giovanni roars. “WHY IS THIS LITTLE WHORE STILL ADDRESSING YOU LIKE SHE HAS RIGHTS IN YOUR HOME?”
Marcus stands, making three for three and sending a wave of nervousness through the guards as he turns his ferocious glare on his father. “Because she does, and one day, she’s going to fucking rule over the world you created. Watch your back, Daddy Dearest. Shayne isn’t the little bitch you thought her to be. She’s a fucking goddess.”
Well, fuck.
Giovanni looks back at me and what I see buried deep in his eyes is enough to send anyone to their grave. He pushes off the table and slowly walks around it, stalking me like a fucking predator as his sons are left to do nothing but watch. He puts himself right in front of me and I don’t miss the way that Roman shifts, discreetly stepping closer to his father.
“You’re nothing,” Giovanni spits at me, slowly moving even closer until I can smell his revolting breath hitting my skin. “I will end you one of these glorious days. Mark my words, girl. I will destroy you.”
A chill sails down my spine and as he leans in even closer and I close my eyes, mentally preparing myself for the worst, Levi’s flat tone rumbles through the room. “It’s a rival family,” he says, making his father flinch and spin around to take in his son, holding his stare and demanding an explanation. “The manufacturer. It’s the only thing that makes sense. It has to be another family moving in. Why else would the dealer be too fucking scared to break? He wasn’t from around here, he didn’t know.”
Giovanni moves away from me, his eyes going far away, deep in thought as I let out a breath. Roman captures my gaze for a moment, silently checking on me and I nod, despite not really being sure.
“Another family?” Giovanni states, the seed planted perfectly in his mind. “Who?”
Roman shakes his head. “Moretti family,” Roman suggests. “They’ve been known to dip their fingers into our business in the past. What’s to stop them from trying it again?”
“No,” Giovanni says. “Gia Moretti is a fucking bitch, but she’s not stupid. She wouldn’t dare.”
Giovanni goes quiet, thinking about what he just said, and as the seconds tick by, his jaw clenches tighter. “FUCK,” he roars, his hands curling into fists at his side. He glances back at his guards and just like that, he storms out of the dining hall, his men following behind him like a bad smell and finally putting this shit show to rest.
“So,” Marcus says, his gaze traveling to me before dropping to the wolves. “You really had to name them that?”
I shrug my shoulders. “It was either that or Ball and Sack. The options were hard but I think I made the right decision in the end.”
17
Roman reaches across the table, gripping the bottle of whiskey and bringing it straight to his lips as he drops back into his seat. “Fuck, I hate that bastard,” he says as we hear the familiar sounds of the front door slamming behind his father’s henchmen. He takes a long pull of whiskey before lowering the bottle, only to throw it across the room and listen as it smashes against the drywall.
Levi grumbles, dropping back into his seat. “Well, there goes the fucking whiskey,” he says, left with no choice but to reach for the bottle of bourbon.
I let out a sigh and walk across the room, grabbing a few napkins as I go. I scootch my ass back onto the table in front of Marcus and dangle my legs on either side of him. His strong hands grip my thighs, thinking he’s about to get lucky, only to groan as I reach for his bloodied shirt and pull it over his head.
“Shit,” I mutter, seeing the mess his father left behind. I immediately get to work, pressing the napkin against his wound, trying to control the bleeding. “I think these are going to have to be restitched.”
Marcus glances down and lifts my hand off his chest to see the mess below. “Damn it,” he mutters to himself, confirming my suspicions and prompting Levi to get up and walk across the room. He pushes through to the kitchen, returning a moment later with a small first aid kit in his hand.