Bloodied Hands (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 1)

I dropped the box in his lap. "I don't want this. Might as well make yourself useful if you must stalk me."

I turned and went back for my door. "Shit," he hissed, and I glanced back to see him already calling someone on his phone.

It didn't take a genius to guess who it might be.

Fourteen

Matteo

I felt like my bones would burst free from the confines of my skin. Rattled in a way I'd never been, pissed in a way I couldn't recall ever experiencing. He'd touched my woman, and when I'd warned him, I meant business where she was concerned, he'd sent my woman a fucking gift.

As soon as I parked the Aston in Ivory's driveway, I shoved my door open. It felt like I should have run to where Scar stood guard on her porch, but my steps were careful, controlled. If I didn't contain the monster who was out for blood, I'd frighten Ivory beyond what a gift fro

m Adrian must have already done. As soon as I was on the porch, Scar pulled the small jewelry box from his suit pocket, his jaw clenched tight and his nostrils flaring.

On anyone else, the display of anger over Ivory might have made me feel territorial, but I knew Scar. I knew him well enough to know that the man was trustworthy, and his interest in Ivory was purely related to his dedication to me and my family. He'd been nothing but a street rat when we'd taken him in, a little pickpocket who'd been abused in every way a man could imagine—just another victim of the failed system that let kids like him fall through the cracks every day. I took them in, gave them a purpose.

Even if it was one that the U.S. Government didn't agree with.

While I wouldn't say my crimes were without victims, I did my best to keep the innocent out of it.

The note crumpled in my hand as I read it and stared down at the necklace in the box. I hadn't even given my woman jewelry yet, and this fucker thought he could buy her affection with a predictable gift. I dropped the crumpled note back in the box, turning to Scar where he stared down at me. I nodded, and he pocketed it. "Keep it. Consider it your bonus for making sure he doesn't get near her."

"Yes, Boss," Scar smirked, and I knew the man was thinking how much it would piss Adrian off to line my man's pockets.

"She's permanent. Got any objections to being her detail long-term?" I asked, and his eyebrows raised.

"Permanent like—"

"Like a ring is being custom made at this very moment, and she'll have my kid as soon as I can swing it."

He chuckled, a rare sound for the more stoic man. "She know that?"

"Not yet," I shrugged, because Ivory's opinion on the matter was inconsequential. "Let's go."

I opened the door, not even surprised when I found it unlocked. I didn't suppose Ivory thought there was much point when I'd just break in as soon as I got there and she had her own personal security, but I added it to the list of conversations we needed to have.

"Is it safe to assume that you'll deal with him for me?" she asked, slamming around in her kitchen. There wasn't a food item in sight, so she wasn't cooking. I realized quickly that she was scrubbing the cabinets, as though she didn't already keep them immaculate for her blog. I, perhaps wisely, refrained from commenting. Next to me, Scar's lips quirked at the sight of the leopard gecko clinging to her shirt. She'd probably forgotten the poor thing was there, jostling him around in her cleaning frenzy. I sighed, stepping up to her and holding out a hand. It surprised me when the thing was more than happy to abandon Ivory in favor of the safety my hand offered. She stopped cleaning finally, glancing down at her lizard and pouting at him. "I'm so sorry, Smaugy," she cooed, taking it from my hand and bringing him to his tank while she whispered to him. "I forgot you were there, baby." She set him in the tank, and I fought the urge to laugh as the lizard glared at her.

Who could have known a lizard would have so much personality?

"I'll take care of it," I answered finally, like she'd been asking. We both knew I'd handle it. "From now on, you don't answer your own door," I said, and she leveled me with a glare. "Scar will be in the house with you, except for when he feels it necessary to check outside the house. You stay with him at all times. You do not drive yourself anywhere. You do not walk anywhere alone. He is always on you, understood?"

"That cannot be necessary—" she started to argue, breaking off when she saw the serious expression on my face. "I think you're being a little extreme over a bit of jealousy, Teo," she whispered.

My heart broke, hating that I would need to crush a bit of that remaining innocence in her. "He's not a good man, Angel. I've seen what's left of women after he's finished with them, and he's looking to pawn them off on the next asshole who wants to use them. He is not a man you want anywhere near you, and now he's fixated. I will make sure he gets over you real quick, but in the meantime, I need you to do your part and stay with Scar."

"He sells them?" She whispered, her voice cracking. "Like prostitutes?"

"Sex trafficking." She swallowed, nodding slowly as she closed her eyes in pain. I knew what question would be next; it was the only logical path her mind could take while she was still so in the dark about who I was and what I did. "You said he was a rival. Do you sell people too?"

"No," I said firmly, and even though it was true, the bitter stain of a lie twisted my insides. I ran women, but they were all paid for their services and chose to be there. It was a very different crime than what Adrian did.

I just couldn't be certain Ivory would see it that way when the time came.

"Okay," she nodded, relief making her chest swell with the inhale of breath she took.

"One day, you'll understand everything I do, Angel," I sighed, drawing her into my arms. "Just not today." She nodded, not even bothering to argue, and I knew that the reality of the threat Adrian posed to her was settling in. "You'll stay with Scar?"