Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
I should’ve left when I first realized I had feelings for her. That would’ve been the right thing to do. I should’ve told Antonio I was going out on my own, even if I wasn’t. I should’ve tried to be a good man and walk away from the one temptation that I have to fight every day to resist. But I didn’t. I’m committed to this family. More than that, I’m committed to Carina. If I walked away and something happened to her, I’d never forgive myself. I can’t have her, but I can’t leave her. I’m trapped, and maybe I want to be, if that’s what keeps me close to her.
You see, the love bug may have only recently bitten Antonio and Butcher, but it’s had its fangs in my heart from the first moment Carina Palermo returned from school.
She’s Antonio’s sister.
She’s only eighteen.
And she’s completely off limits.
2
CARINA
For the longest time, all I ever wanted was Gilly’s attention. Since I was a young girl, before my brother thought it was best to send me off to boarding school for not only my safety but to get the best education, I’d stare at the man like he’d strategically placed all the stars in the sky for me alone.
That was the thing about Gilly that always drew me to him. Most men can be a bit hot-tempered. But not him. He’s always so calm, cool, and collected. I found that calmness fascinating as a young girl.
Then I went away to school, and when I came back, my feelings for him started to change. Of course I’ve always thought him to be handsome, but that word doesn’t even do him justice now. The man is downright sexy. I guess something has changed for him too, because he does almost anything he can to avoid me when I’m home. I know I can be a bit much at times, but jeez, I’m a freaking Palermo. What does he expect?
But now he’s back to watching me, and I’m not sure why. If I had to guess, I would say it’s one of two things, the first one being the war that’s going on between my brother and the other families. It’s why I was pulled from school a month shy of graduation. The only other reason I could come up with is that he’s on to me. I don’t know how that would be possible, but I wouldn’t put it past him with the amount of resources he has.
I spent the afternoon by the pool getting some sun. I didn’t have to see Gilly to know he was there. Call me crazy–my friends do, anyway–but I could sense him. He was watching, and I was more than willing to give him a show of what he’ll never have.
After watching my brother and then the freaking Butcher fall madly in love and chase down their wives, I decided I would no longer beg for Gilly’s attention. In fact, at the moment I very much wish I didn’t have it at all.
My phone buzzes from under my pillow. I pretended to go to bed hours ago. I pull it out to see alerts from the BB group. My two best friends from prep school, both of whom are now enjoying summer break before they go off to college. One is headed to MIT, while the other will be going to CalTech.
I click into the program Magic made for the three of us to chat on. Most might think BB stands for Bad Bitches–which we are. Okay, maybe not Magic–she can be a softy–but really it’s the Bloody Badgers.
Ocean: These drones are so killer.
Magic: Do we have to call them killer?
Ocean: I can shoot shit with them. Why not?
Magic: The point was for them to be more eyes in the sky. Not actual weapons. That was just an added bonus.
Me: Well, sometimes you have to take a shot.
Ocean: Ahhhh! See.
Me: How is it going with the drone?
We swiped two over a week ago from Aztec Corp.
Magic: Oh, there is so much chatter about them being stolen right out from under their noses, but they’ll never find us. I might have sent them down another trail. One that leads to a dead end.
Me: Magic I love when you get devious.
It really was too easy for us to snatch the drones, or maybe I don’t give us enough credit. I can basically get in anywhere I want. My problem is I’m a bit messy. That’s where Magic comes in. The girl can clean up any trail I leave behind. As for Ocean, once she got her hands on the drones, she made her own little upgrades.
Ocean: I’m good to go. I’ve been playing with them all week. Magic and I tested them over some no fly zones, and she was able to keep me off their radar.