I was already so damn hard for her that my body ached. “Absolutely.”
She sighed. “Tank, Tank, Tank, when will you ever learn? You can’t win against me.” She reached for my cock and squeezed.
“Fuck me.” I threw my head back, wanting to roar. “Kind of feels like winning right now.”
She slid her hand down, then back up. “We should probably slow down, though, so…”
With a menacing growl, I grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head. “That’s a no.”
“I kind of like being at your mercy.” She shimmied, showing off her perfect, perky breasts and tanned skin.
“Question...”
“What?” Her smile was so open, so real.
“In the mafia, do we get to pick where we die?”
She burst out laughing. “Um, that would be a no since you never know where or why…”
“That’s too bad.” I leaned down and pressed my head between her breasts. “Because I pick here.” I turned my mouth and kissed my way back up toward her neck and whispered, “And here.” My kiss lingered at the corner of her mouth as I teased her entrance with my cock. “And maybe here, too.”
She panted beneath me. “No arguments on my end, Tank. But fair warning, if you put in a request to die between my boobs, my dad’s going to run you over with his Lambo.”
We both fell into fits of laughter as I surged forward, causing the headboard to slam against the wall.
“Whoops.” I cursed.
“We’ll pay damages.” Tiny groaned. “Just don’t stop.”
So, I didn’t.
We screwed.
We made love.
We kissed.
We laughed.
And the next morning, when she was still lying there, looking well and truly loved, I dressed and made one last walk of my old life.
My badge and gun both burned holes against my body as I took the trails back up to the main lobby and bar.
I dialed the number.
I wasn’t surprised to hear a sigh on the other end as Thompsons answered. “Any news?”
“It wasn’t them,” I lied.
Thompsons was quiet for a few minutes while my heart raced, wondering what he would say until he finally broke the silence. “So, you’ve chosen.”
“Was there ever a question what side I would choose? Family or FBI?”
“And you’re positive they had nothing to do with my agent’s murder?”
“Positive,” I lied again. It was easy to, knowing what had happened with Kartini. “But, sir, you need to know, he didn’t back down that day. None of my team backed down when I asked them to leave it. So, either you gave the order to continue, or someone else did.”
“The hell?” he roared. “Tank, it was your team. Your call to make, not mine.”
“It was a shit idea in the first place,” I reminded him. “They’re Family. They’re loyal. Creating war after they worked so hard to have peace, it does nothing to help us. It only makes us their enemy. You have to see that. The Petrov Family isn’t weak like we thought, not under Valerian’s rule. And you do not want to piss that son of a bitch off—trust me.”
“They’re too strong, Tank. May I remind you that the minute the Russians and Italians joined forces, they became a nightmare?”
“They’ve been quiet, and you know it. You’re just afraid they’re too strong. Powerful. You’re afraid they’re a fucking mafia monopoly, but hurting an innocent person just to get them to fight doesn’t make you better, sir. It makes you worse than them.”
“Anything else?” he snapped.
“Yeah.” I paced. “I’m handing in my badge and gun to Giana once I find her.”
“What the hell is Giana doing down there?” he roared. “Are you sure?”
My body went cold. “She said you sanctioned it. That you didn’t trust me to get intel on my own.”
“Tank, Giana was fired two days ago for insubordination.”
“Fuck!” I roared into my phone. “I left her alone, I left her alone!”
I hung up the phone as he was talking and ran back down the pathway to my bungalow, hoping to God I wasn’t too late.
Because Giana was clearly unhinged.
And if I knew her…
She was here to finish what she’d started.
Chapter Thirteen
Kartini
I woke up and stretched my sore body, throwing my arms over my head and wondering how the hell I’d put off confessing everything to Tank for so long. Oh, I was sure we’d argue like crazy despite the sex, but that’s what would make our relationship so fun.
The arguing.
And the making up.
And I had a feeling we’d have a lot of making up to do in the future since both of us had serious issues with backing down.
I reached for my phone and saw a text from Serena.
Serena: Hey, lover, going to the pool. When you pull that sore body out of Tank’s arms, come join us. Then tell us all the details! Izzy wants to know if he almost broke you in half, how are you walking? Okay, okay just meet us asap!
I laughed out loud. The text was only sent a few minutes ago. I fired one back.
Me: Tell Izzy I might need crutches after last night, but it was worth it. And if he broke me in half, I’d ask him to do it again.
Serena: You WHORE!
Me: Izzy’s just jealous because Chase cut down the tree Maksim used to sneak into the house and threatened bodily harm.
Serena: Um, he threatened decapitation but sure, same thing.
Me: Ughhhhhh, I’m tired. Okay, give me five minutes?
Serena: I’m ordering you booze, so you talk.
Me: That’s to be expected.
I threw the phone onto the bed and winced when I really did feel a bit of pain between my thighs. Geez, the guy had lost his mind last night.
Then again, I had, too.
I’d lost count after around six a.m.
And then I realized that I didn’t need to count, did I?
Because what I had with him, it felt…real. Like forever.
Still grinning, I put on my black bikini then grabbed my Airpods, sunglasses, and keycard.
I was still smiling as I pushed open the suite doors and lifted my head, only to see a complete stranger sitting on my couch, a Glock 17 in her hand as she watched me with hatred dripping from every pore of her body.
I kept my head high. “You the maid?”
Her nostrils flared. “Do maids typically carry guns?”
“Good question.” I crossed my arms and tried to memorize every detail of her face from her dark hair in a severe, tight bun, to her green eyes, to the way her pale skin seemed to glisten with sweat.
She was either nervous or unhinged.
Dressed in black leggings and a tight, matching t-shirt.
“You going to a funeral?” I joked.
She shook her head. “You really do have a mouth on you. Is that how you killed Jenner?”
I flinched. “Jenner?”
“FBI. My team member. Jenner.”
Shit, shit, shit.
“I don’t remember, there’ve been so many guys that…” I shrugged. “Is there a reason you’re in my room? I mean, I get it, you’re FBI, but have I done something wrong, agent…?” I waited.