Smiling, he could just imagine how pissed the Lucianos would be to take her ass away from them. This was the day he had been waiting for since the bullets had ripped through his body. Payback’s a bitch. Opening his mouth, he had finally made his decision. “She’ll d—”
“This is all your women?” Lucca asked from the corner of the room, stopping him from sealing the deal.
The room went dead silent, till a throat was cleared and a deep voice escaped the oldest Luciano brother. “Yes.”
“Don’t lie to me, Dominic,” he warned with a deadly whisper as he stepped away from the corner till he stood inches away.
Squaring his shoulders, the new Luciano boss looked him straight in his eyes. “These are all the Luciano women over the age of eighteen. Just like we promised.”
“All right.” Lucca raised a brow. “Then you don’t mind if I look around, do you?”
There was a slight flex in his jaw. “Not at all.”
As he left the room, Lucca’s shoulder pushed into Dominic’s as he passed by, before he disappeared into the Luciano home.
Wondering what the fuck his underboss was up to, Drago decided to let it play out, even though his decision was made. His eyes moved over the men in the room while they waited for Lucca’s return. There seemed to be a silent shift, his protective instincts going on high alert. He looked at Dominic first. It was his teeth he ground just a bit too tightly; he was almost undetectable. Then to the middle brother, Matthias, who was the most obvious. His leg bounced up and down harder and harder with every minute that passed while sitting in the chair he was slouched in. The Caruso’s were holding his identical twin, Angel, as collateral for the time being, so he supposed he had more to lose if this deal went bad. The last brother, Cassius, however, was very young and in the early stages of high school. There was something about that kid Drago didn’t like. He reminded him of those kids in the horror movies who were possessed and stared at you a little bit too long. He was a scary little fucker with obscure eyes who definitely had no business being here. Fucking Lucianos.
A few more minutes passed till they could hear footsteps coming back toward them. Lucca entered the room again, and it wasn’t till he took a step toward the right did he reveal who he found.
Drago stared at the young woman standing behind him. She was pale with long hair that looked almost blond but wasn’t; it was the lightest shade of pink he’d ever seen. Her eyes, however, were as black as the leather jacket and eye makeup she wore. It all made her look even paler than she probably was.
“Fuck.” Matthias jumped up from his seat.
Dominic took a step toward her, trying to grab her. “S-She’s only seventee—”
A hand came up, silencing him. Turning, Lucca stared the girl down, addressing her. “Is that so?”
Her black orbs danced between the three Luciano brothers.
“I’d advise you not to lie or”—his finger came out to touch her chin lightly to make her finally look at him—“your brothers,” he emphasized, letting the room know he knew exactly who she was, “are going to find out the hard way to never fucking lie to me again.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room from the deafening silence. The only thing that rivaled the quietness was the tension.
She swallowed hard as the truth came out. “I’m eighteen.”
Vinny’s voice filled the silence with a hard consigliere tone. “I’d advise you and your men not to lie to the Caruso family, Dominic. I thought by us keeping Angel in our possession, that was understood.”
Understanding the threat he was just given, he held the bridge of his nose, clearly trying to think of how to get out of this fucking mess. “She’s my—our—only sister, Lucca, and she is only safe here with us. Please, you have a sister. I beg of you to try to understand.”
Looking at her a moment longer, Lucca dropped his finger. “Get in line,” he hissed fatally at her.
Drago watched her bravely walk to stand beside the woman he had already chosen.
“Now, you may choose,” his underboss gave him the order.
He walked the line once more, this time paying close attention to each prospect, making it all the way down to the woman he was seconds away from choosing. Truthfully, it was his dick that wanted to pick her. The way she eye fucked him now as she licked her lips made the decision even easier. However, there was a desperation in her eyes he had overlooked the first time. She was simply the decoy to keep him distracted; he saw that now. The Lucianos so clearly wanted him to pick her, knew she would be too irresistible not to choose. And I took the bait… Taking a final step, he stood in front of the pretty pink-haired girl… Almost.