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Chapter Sixteen
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Wickedly Twisted Chapter Seventeen
ErosI park in front of a decent townhouse in the Pilsen neighborhood directly south of Little Italy and University Park. It's a vibrant place filled with murals, restaurants, cafes, and Italians. Lots and lots of Italians.The Pavone Famiglia always had a presence in Chicago. Their roots went back generations, and they held on to the relatively small Little Italy for years and years. Mostly, their home base was Philadelphia, but they ran some rackets and made some books among their own people for the most part, and we ignored them for a long while. They didn't give us much trouble—we controlled better turf and outnumbered them ten-to-one—until the last few years. More and more of their members began moving out from the East Coast and putting down roots in Chicago, swelling their numbers, and pushing their borders in all directions.The block is nice, shady, and quiet. It doesn't look like the kind of place a mobster would make a home.But looks don't mean a goddamn thing in this busi
Wickedly Twisted Chapter Eighteen
ErosCara screams as Conti hits the floor with a grunt.My gun's in my hand before I can think about it. I hold it aimed at his face, my finger on the trigger, and one wrong move will end this wretched bastard's life.I want to do it. I can already feel the pleasure of watching this abusive shit-stain's blood spread across his hardwood floor. I came here in good faith and tried to do this without violence, but this man doesn't seem interested in saving his own life."Eros," Cara says and her hand is on my arm. "Eros, please. There are people around."I blink rapidly, blood rushing through my ears, and come back to myself. Rage threatens to push me into something I'll regret. Slowly, I lower the weapon as Conti scuttles backwards and climbs to his feet, bleeding from a split lip.Pedestrians walk past, some staring curiously. An old lady with a little white dog, a young couple in jeans and denim jackets, a couple of guys that look like they're on the way to the gym.Nobody's staring, n
Wickedly Twisted Chapter Nineteen
ErosThere's only one safe place I can think of in the entire city."Where are we going?" she asks as I roll through Hyde Park, turn off a quiet side street, and down a shady avenue. No Trespassing - Private Property signs are plastered all over along with more cameras than Buckingham Palace.Somewhere not too far, a small army of well-paid, loyal, and heavily armed men watch every inch of the property for anything out of the ordinary."This is where I live." I reach a gate and it opens before I can even roll down the window. The guard nods to me respectfully as I drive along a tree-lined, shady driveway until we come into view of the Khazan family home.Cara sucks in a breath. I try not to smile to myself, but even after all this time, a swell of pride fills my chest. This is the heart of my family's power, the nexus around which the city turns, and it's all mine.It's a beautiful Tudor building with tall peaks and a stone facade. Trees surround the property, the grass perfect manicu
Wickedly Twisted Chapter Twenty
CaraI'm almost too angry to notice the lavish interior.But not quite.The entryway has an enormous crystal chandelier dangling over a twin staircase with massive marble statues of Greek gods and goddesses frolicking around a central fountain. Actual fish swim inside the water, which seems almost absurd. The floor's marble, with more marble columns, and a ton of intricate tile work along the ground and walls. Doorways and hallways lead off into different parts of the house, but Eros heads right for the stairs and takes me to the second floor.We walk past a couple maids dusting and straightening. Each one smiles and greets Eros by bowing their heads respectfully, and he grunts a hello in reply. None of them flinch away or avert their eyes, and they both stare at me curiously. I take that as a good sign—at least his staff isn't terrified of him, even if they act a little overly formal.The whole place is like a museum. I've never seen so much luxury in one building before. I grew up i
Wickedly Twisted Chapter Twenty-One
ErosI lean back in my leather chair and watch Lycus pace back and forth in front of my desk. "You lost your mind," he says, shaking his head. "Seriously, bro, you lost your fucking mind."I finish my whiskey and swirl the ice. "Maybe.""Not only is she an Italian, but she's fucking Chris Conti's mob wife." He stops and stares at me with astonishment. "How the hell did you get yourself involved with this? I always thought you were the responsible one. Maybe a little emotional—""I am not emotional," I growl at him."Case in point," he says and groans. "Seriously, how did this happen?""Bad luck," I admit but inwardly think maybe it was good luck instead."You have to cut it off. Give the girl some money, put her on a plane, and fly her out to fucking Barbados. Wash your hands of all this.""Not going to happen.""Eros, youcannotkeep Chris Conti's ex-fucking-wife. Do you have any idea how the family's going to react?"I lean back and grin at him. "If I recall, you're the one that encou
Wickedly Twisted 22
CaraI last twenty minutes alone in his sitting room before I start snooping.I try to justify myself as I go through his medicine cabinet. I'm just trying to learn more about the man I'm going to fake-marry—or real-marry, or pretend-real-marry, or whatever this is—so it's not immoral to look at all his stuff.Razor, shaving cream, Band-Aids, toothbrush, nothing interesting.I'm not really sure what the hell we're doing, but I'm drifting along like a log on a wave lost in the current, and Eros is the entire ocean.His closet is better. Enormous and filled with expensive, custom-tailored suits, racks of designer jeans and shoes and shirts, and a hundred ties in black and dark blue. There's a shelf covered in glittering, no-doubt priceless watches, lit with custom bulbs so the whole display glows like a storefront window.Eros doesn't strike me as the type of man obsessed with the way he looks, but his closet suggests otherwise.And his comment from earlier flits through my mind: in thi
Wickedly Twisted 23
Cara"You get one night to acclimate," Eros says before we go to bed. "One night, asteraki mu, and then we are sleeping in my bed together, like husband and wife.""Enjoy the couch." I slam the door in his face and crawl under the covers, curling up like a tiny ball, lost in the middle of the mattress.I don't sleep very much. At first, I toss and turn, thinking about Eros outside the door sleeping in the sitting area. That asshole accused me of being aspy—me, of all people, a woman that hates the Pavone Famiglia more than anyone else in the world. What's he thinking? He can't really believe I've been lying to him this whole time.And yet can I blame him for being paranoid? We're strangers and he's doing a lot to help me, and he's trying to come to grips with our situation as much as I am. Still, it doesn't matter, I'd never in my life spy for my ex-husband, let alone for his stupid mafia family, and it drives me insane that the idea would even occur to Eros.Does he really think I'm
Wickedly Twisted 24
CaraI stand behind the counter in the Demetrios Diner and wipe down a mug. I'm in a pair of tights and Phel's extra uniform. It's scratchy and a little too big, but I don't care about anything right now.I just want to be busy.Eros didn't want to let me go, but I didn't ask his permission. I stormed out of that house, ignoring him when he told me to stop, and approached one of the maids I recognized from the day before. I ordered her to find me a car and a driver, and she stared in terror until Eros told her to obey my demands."We will speak about this later," he said as I slammed the car door and his driver pulled out.Now I'm just trying to get myself together. I know they were only shoes—but they're also so much more than shoes.I lost everything. My life was ruined the moment I ran out on Christopher, and I did it anyway, because I knew that staying would be even worse.But now I have no family, no life, no friends, nothing.Those shoes were all I kept.Now they're gone."You s
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