Violent Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family 2)

“Markus?”

“Yeah,” I snap, her voice dragging me out of the lustful haze.

I can’t be thinking about getting close to her or fucking her. Not until I find out what I need to. Answers before anything else.

“Why is your friend coming by?”

“You’ll find out when he gets here,” I tell her with a growl. She stares at me as if she knows something bad is going to happen. I wonder what she sees. What do I look like to her?

Like a monster? Like I want to ravage her alive?

“All I need you to know is that I want you to be on your best behavior. If you’re thinking of trying something, don’t. Lucca won’t save you. He’s bad, maybe even worse than me. Not only that, but if you do try something, the cell in the basement will be the least of your worries.” There is so much malice in my words, it’s almost hard for me to speak them.

Fallon’s throat bobs, and she white knuckles the towel. She’s afraid. I can see it, smell it. Like blood in shark-infested waters, she’s leading me right to her, showing me right where to strike.

“Of course. I won’t do anything stupid. I’ve learned my lesson.”

I nod and stare into her azure eyes while I speak my next sentence, “I hope so because next time it won’t be the basement you face. It will be me.”

It’s clear she is still scared, but instead of cowering at my words, she stands tall. In another life, she would be perfect for me, and I could treat her decently, maybe not with love, but I could care for her.

In this life, I don’t know what we are or what there could ever be between us. Before I can figure it out, I’ve got to clear the air between us. Find out who she was calling, and why? And after tonight, I’ll have my answer.

I just hope I don’t have to hurt her too badly, trying to get it.21FallonOur conversation from earlier has weighed heavily on my mind through the afternoon. His threat looming over me like an ominous cloud. I don’t know his next move, and that terrifies me. I should be able to read him better by now, but I can’t. I wonder what secrets he’s hiding, what kind of darkness lingers beneath the surface.

I get the feeling there is so much more to him than he lets on and that I’ve only seen a fraction of it. I wonder if he would actually hurt me. Everything he’s done up to this point has been child’s play.

Part of me refuses to think he could hurt me while the other part of me doesn’t, not while knowing how dangerous he is. The thoughts linger even while I continue to push them away. It’s like my mind won’t stop conjuring up ideas.

The afternoon bleeds into the evening, and I get more and more anxious with every second that ticks on the clock. Markus’s friend will be here soon.

I’m wary of having another man in the house. It’s hard enough to deal with Markus, but another man… that thought leaves me in ragged knots.

An alarming ding-dong bounces off the walls of the house, startling me. I nearly fall off the couch in my haste to stand. Markus casually shoves off his seat, giving me a look that says behave or else. I clutch a hand to my chest to stop my heart from beating out of it. I didn’t even know this place had a doorbell.

Markus’s huge frame fills the doorway, making it impossible for me to see who is on the other side, but I assume it’s his friend.

“Hey,” a voice I’ve never heard greets coolly.

This is definitely his friend.

“Come in.” Markus gestures and takes a step back, leaving space for the mystery man to enter. If I was smart, I would avert my gaze, look anywhere but at him, but I prefer to look my enemies in the eyes. He walks across the threshold and into the house, and if I thought the room was small before, it’s even smaller now.

Tall, dark, and handsome. A true cliche if I ever heard one, but that’s what he looks like.

At first glance, he looks like the all-American boy, but the way he carries himself tells me his normal appearance is a facade. Everything about him screams dark, in an evil kind of way.

His hair is dirty blond, unruly, and a little shorter on the sides than on top, almost military style. His eyes, a dark shade of blue, almost violent when they meet mine. I wonder what secrets they keep locked inside? I wonder how many people he’s killed? In what way he’s connected to Markus?

None of those questions will get an answer, though, so I don’t dwell on them long. It’s obvious he works out or does some type of physical activity. Where Markus is beefy, almost like a lumberjack, this man is slender, tall with an athletic body.