Off the Record (With Me in Seattle Mafia 3)

Nadia snorts, but I don’t look her way. “Over there.”

“Let’s go.” She leads the way to one of the firing lanes, sets up a target, and sends it down the line. Then, without missing a beat, she pops the magazine out of the gun, examines it, pops it back in, loads one in the chamber, and lifts both hands. She fires a single round, pulls the magazine out of the weapon before setting it down, and pushes the button to fetch the target.

We’re all quiet, watching intently.

And when the target arrives, there’s a single hole in the forehead of the outline of a man.

I blink at her and then the target again.

“Nadia taught me,” is all Annika says.

“Did you think I’d let the niece of a boss go through life unable to protect herself?” Nadia demands, still grinning. “Annika is a hell of a shot. And she knows her way around any weapon you have in there. She’s no pussy.”

I’m so turned on right now, I can hardly breathe.

“Do you have any more mansplaining you’d like to do?” Annika asks.

My brothers crack up.

Ivie and Nadia both high-five her.

Without saying a word, I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder.

“Hey!” Annika says and smacks me on the ass.

“I think Annika’s about to get lucky,” I hear Ivie say.

“Dude, you’re a caveman,” Shane calls out, and I throw up my hand, flipping them all the bird as they laugh and jeer behind us.

I don’t break my stride as I choose the stairs rather than the elevator. I’m barely breathing hard when I reach our room.

Once inside, I put her on her feet and stare into mutinous blue eyes.

“That was embarrassing.”

“Why?” I trap her against the wall the way I did not long ago before we went downstairs. “Because I hauled you out of there?”

“Over your shoulder.”

“Damn right. It was that or drag you, and carrying you was easier.”

Her eyes narrow. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m so turned on, I can’t see straight.”

That stops her. Her mouth opens and closes until she settles on, “What?”

“You heard me.” I nip the side of her mouth. “I had no idea you could shoot like that. It was a lightning bolt straight through me. Jesus, seeing you hold a gun like that was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I needed you. I need you. And you said you wanted to have sex pushed up against the wall.”

“So that’s moved up on the schedule, then?”

I grin and tear her leggings at the crotch. “Hell, yes.”

There are no more words as we rip our clothes from our bodies. When I sink inside her, it’s like coming home. I’m an animal. I can’t go slow; I can’t take my time.

All I can think about is the overwhelming drive to mate with her.

And when she moans with that gritty, dirty edge to her voice and clamps around my cock, it’s my undoing. I empty myself inside her and have to lean on the wall to catch my breath.

“Well.” Annika swallows hard. “That was fun. Let’s put it back on the schedule for another time.”

I laugh and set her on her feet. “I always have time for this.”

* * *

“I want to go over everything we know,” Pop says later in the evening when we’re all together with our drinks of choice. Pop sits next to Igor, while Mom and Katya are seated by the window, drinking wine.

Curt, Shane, Carmine, and I are seated at a table with a glass of whiskey, and the girls are on couches, lounging with their wine and eating chocolate ice cream from the tub.

It’s as casual as it gets around here, and my grandmother would have loved it.

“We have three bosses and their families, all murdered, in the last few weeks,” Igor says, rubbing his chin. “Not by the same methods. No notes left behind, and no family taking credit for it.”

“There was a car accident,” Carmine adds, picking up the facts. “Killed the boss, his wife, and their daughter in Chicago. Then, we have the family in Boston, who were all sent into the water with cement shoes.”

“This last one in Kansas City is even more disturbing,” Pop says, shaking his head. “The boss and his wife had their throats slashed. The children, both under the age of twelve, were drugged and left for dead. One child, the youngest son, survived and is in the hospital under constant supervision.”

“Has anyone called Elena?” Mom asks, catching our attention.

“Shit, I’ll do that as soon as we’re done here,” Carmine says. “She and Archer are in Oregon, tucked away.”

“Why do you need to call your cousin?” Nadia asks, frowning. “She’s been on the down-low for years.”

“We’ll send some extra men to keep an eye on her,” Carmine replies. “Besides, after what happened to her parents, we’ve always been more careful where she’s concerned.”