Tales of Darkness & Sin - Pepper Winters Page 0,29
flick.
Dark cobblestone roads, dim streetlights, and narrow sidewalks.
When I breathed too loud, it echoed down the alleyways, which was how I heard the soft footsteps behind me as I made my way home by foot. It’d grown dark early, with streets in this wealthier part of town barren of people and cars, which was why Papà had chosen this area to call his home.
I dodged into an alley, reached into my bag, grabbed the tiny Sig Sauer P365 at the bottom, and twisted the custom silencer on it. Whoever it was probably wasn’t following me, but if he was, he’d dip into the alley, and I’d shoot him, without remorse, just like Papà had taught me and Carlotta.
My heart fought to escape its cage when the footsteps halted. The shadowy figure turned into the alley. I couldn’t make out a face, but I caught the row of barbs tattooed around his arms. Prison tattoos common among enforcers. One barb for each kill.
And he had rows of them.
“Who are you?” I asked, weapon fixed at my side.
He didn’t answer, his footsteps bringing him nearer and nearer until I made out the deep scar across his face. I pulled in my breath, raised my gun, and shot.
CHAPTER THREE
Frankie
The hard spit of a bullet exploded from the mouth of the gun held tight in pretty Liliana Vitali’s little hands.
I expected the recoil, if not the action, to upset her delicate sensibilities, but she surprised me yet again with her unflappable calm.
Feet braced, arms level, face utterly composed, Lily stared down the barrel of her Sig Sauer and watched as the man who had been following her crumpled to the ground.
The girl had more backbone than I’d originally given her credit for.
The sight of her so bold and brave sent heat bubbling through my veins. I wondered what kind of ferocity she might bring to the bedroom when I finally got between her slim thighs.
I smoothed my hands down the silk of my jacket, tugging it into place so that when I stepped out from the shadows of the alley into the anemic light, I would cut the right kind of imposing figure.
I wanted her afraid.
Not only because it would serve my purposes, but because scaring her turned me on.
Immediately, she swung the gun to point it dead center at my chest.
Slowly, I raised my hands in a gesture of faux innocence and let a grin curl the left side of my mouth. Her eyes tracked over every inch of my suit-clad form, lingered at the exposed tanned skin of my chest where I’d unbuttoned my shirt a little too low, and soared up to my eyes to lock our gazes.
“You’re Frankie Amato,” she said, voice strong and confident.
I cocked an eyebrow, surprised and vaguely pleased that she knew of me.
Still, it wouldn’t do to let her know that.
“How observant of you. That homeschool education must be top notch.”
Her face collapsed into a scowl. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the absurdity of that vicious expression of her sweet face.
“Why were you following me?” she demanded, then paused as something dawned on her. “It was you at the restaurant before.”
I ignored her. Even though she was the one training a gun to my chest, it was me with all the power. I needed her to know it.
Instead, I let my eyes fall over her body like warm rain, trickling down her décolletage, sluicing over the golden tanned skin of her forearms and calves exposed in that godawful dress.
“You’re grown up,” I said, just to watch her inflate with pride before I punctured it, delighted in watching her deflate. “What are you now? Thirteen? It’s not possible you’ve hit puberty yet, surely.”
“Nineteen,” she bit out. An angry flush spilled like red wine down her neck.
“Hmm…” I let my eyes drop to her small chest once again. “I would have thought you’d have filled out by now.”
We both looked down at her slight body. Her brow creased as she caught a glimpse of the small swells beneath the bodice of her dress. I had her flustered, so bemused that she seemed to have forgotten the dead body slumped against the stained stone wall opposite her.
I gestured to it. “Nineteen years old and a stone-cold killer. Now that impresses me.”
Lily gaped, head snapping around to stare at the body. “Is he one of yours? If so, maybe I should put a bullet in you, too?”