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VANESSAThe moment I began making a move for the door, Detective James stopped me with his voice. "We are not done yet, Miss Bologna."I made a slow turn towards him and leaned over the table, getting as close to him as possible. "I have a life I need to share with my one point two followers. I don't want to disappoint them.""I wouldn't want to interfere with that, now, would I?" His eyes darted down to my chest, and then I realized I just shoved my cleavage in his face."See something you like, Detective?""Absolutely." He glanced up from my cleavage to my face. "And, unlike you, I'm not afraid to admit it."I bent a little lower, purposely allowing my blouse to gape, even more, making sure he got an eyeful of something he would never have."Believe me, I'm not afraid to admit when I see something I likeβ¦or want.""That makes you a liar, then.""And what exactly gives you that idea?""You arching your back so you can shove your tits in my face." His eyes flitted down to my breasts before he leaned to the side and glanced back at my ass. "Then there's also the way your ass is currently pushed up like it's searching for something," he looked back at me, "or maybe it needs something."Oh. My. God.The way those words rolled out of his mouth like verbal porn had heat spreading from my cheeks, down my spine, straight to the ache between my legs.Without backing away, I kept my gaze fixed on his. "You're quite observant, aren't you, Detective?"He nodded. "That's why I'm so damn good at everything I do."The way he emphasized the word "everything," I knew he wasn't talking about his job.I narrowed my eyes as I slowly started to realize playing the flirting game with Detective Gunner wasn't something I would win easily. He had that whole sex-appeal thing down to a fucking T, and judging by the desire currently pooling between my legs, I was convinced if we continued with this little game, it would end with me bent over this goddamn steel table, cuffed and gasping for air while he proved to me what a liar I was, overβ¦and overβ¦and over again."Are we finished here, Detective?""Not by a longshot." The promise in his words came out loud and clear, and it sent a thrill of excitement down my spine.Excitement? Of course, I would feel excited since I had the natural talent to break rules whenever I got the chance. I believed some people called it masochistic tendencies.I needed to leaveβ¦ now.Abruptly, I turned and headed to the door, only to realize there was no doorknob or any way to open the door from the inside.Annoyed to no end, I swung around and glared at him.He smirked. "Is there something wrong, Miss Bologna?""Open the damn door."And there he went again, biting his bottom lip, his gaze staring at my black stiletto heels, slowly moving up my legs, stopping at my knees just below my black pencil skirt, before continuing up my body. With each passing second, it felt like his stare was touching me, caressing every inch he saw. The sexual tension that suddenly pulsed all around us made it almost impossible to breathe. It sucked every breath out of my lungs, and it felt like the temperature in here fucking skyrocketed.While I was hyperventilating on the spot, I watched as he got up and stalked in my direction, his intense gaze practically pinning me against the door behind me. With every step he took, it was like my body automatically responded to him. He was about six-foot-four of pure muscle and maliceβrough around the edges with a wild, untamed streak in every goddamn move he made. Not like all the other detectives at this precinct. The others certainly didn't force images of wild nights and satin sheets clinging to our sweaty bodies into my headβnot like Detective Gunner was doing right now. Especially with that mouth of his slightly parted, promises of dark desires and decadent pleasures hanging from his lips.Unbelievable.I was a strong woman. Men hardly ever intimidated me, and seducing me was no easy task. But this man? This man had my attention for nothing more than a few minutes, and already my mind was filled with dirty thoughts and wild fantasies.He stepped up to me, his face inches from mine. I felt his warm breath skid across my cheek, and the sensation stormed straight through my body, settling right between my thighs.As he leaned closer, the warmth of his breath started to stir an array of sensations all through my body. My heart was now jackhammering against my ribs, my throat feeling like the damn desert.When he lifted his arm, his gaze never leaving mine, I sucked in a breath. And then he reached behind me, his lips mere inches away, and pushed a button next to my head and said, "Larry, open the door for Miss Bologna."I thought I died. I was dead. I died and collapsed into a giant puddle of pathetic womanhood.The click of the door sounded behind me, and I was out of there faster than you could say "what the fuck was that?"As my heels clicked down the hall, my heartbeat slowly returning to normal, I heard a second pair of footsteps behind me."You in town long, Miss Bologna?"I took a deep breath, but I didn't slow down. "You're the detective, you tell me.""I'm guessing no more than a few weeks?""Is that you guessing or saying?"He fell into step next to me. "I'm going to go with guessing."I stopped and turned to face him. "You're good, Detective, I'll give you that. But let's say you're rightβand I'm not saying you areβbut if I am the daughter of an Italian-American mafia boss, as you suspect I am, you've got real balls summoning me down here and then putting me in a damn interrogation room like a criminal. I'd say that wasn't a very smart move, Detective.""Are you threatening me, Vanessa?" Lord help me, but the way my name rolled off his lips was like eroticism on fucking steroids. It was like porn to my ears.I took a step back and tried to ignore the tingles spreading through my bones like wildfire, and I squared my shoulders."Not at all." I lifted my voice a single octave. "I'm merely stating that if what you said was true, you just made one hell of a rookie mistake."With my words hanging in the air like the threat it was meant to be, I turned on my heel and sashayed my curvy ass out of there. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time until I exited the building.The moment I stepped outside, I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs. The feeling that scratched against every bone in my body was too damn familiar. I'd experienced this before, the feeling of a man being able to electrify my body without even touching me. It was unnerving, yet exciting at the same time. But I learned the hard way that this feeling was also powerful enough to bring me to my knees. I promised myself I would never let a man affect me like that again. Too much was at stake, and I already had too many regrets because I gave in to that temptation once.But, by God, my body felt like it was on fire just having Detective Gunner's eyes on me. He wasn't even touching me, or close to touching me, for that matter. There was sweat running down my back, for God's sake. That was how he managed to affect me within less than twenty-five minutes.It was the eyes. It had to be those dark goddamn eyes. Devil eyes, that was what they were. Dark windows into the demonic world where he could make you offer up sweet, innocent little puppies with a single glance. Damn, I was pretty sure he would make you want to toss in a tiny kitten as well, just for good measure.I exhaled and looked up to the sky. Was this the universe's way of playing one sick joke on me, showing me no matter how hard I tried to put the past behind me, there was no way of escaping who I was? A woman is drawn to the forbidden, charmed by the prospects of breaking rules, and resisting authority by walking on the edge.No. Not again. Never again.πππππ JAMESIn life, you got two types of women. You got the women who thought they were hot, pretending like they knew how to use their bodies to get a man's attention, but they didn't. Sure, they would probably end up getting a man's attention - or his responsiveness - now and then, but only because seeing how pathetic they were guaranteed a quick and easy lay. Not a good lay, just an easy one. You know, like a good jerk-off in the shower. It didn't satisfy you completely, but it was sufficient to get you through the day. And then you got the kind of women who didn't need to use their bodies to get a man's attention at all. They didn't walk around thinking, "If I sway my ass a little to this side, and then a little to that side, I'll get the men drooling." No. They walked the way they walked, and they talked the way they talked. And without even trying, sexual energy seeped through every pore, sensuality emanating from their every move, and they wore eroticism like a second s
πππππJAMESA month? A fucking month? "Are you serious? You want to take Bambi away from me?""Who the fuck is Bambi?"I tap against the gun at my side. "This sweet little thang right here.""Well, that sweet little thang is no longer yours. Bambi and badge on my desk in five."Goddammit."Way to go, dumbass," Larry sneered from the side.I wanted to smash his face in, but assaulting a fellow officer would be the final nail in my career coffin right now. Besides, I needed to act like a grownup, not letting insults get to me."I knew your brown ass wouldn't last around here."Ah, fuck. How was I supposed to act like the grownup now?"It's African, you fucking tit-head!" I launched myself forward and punched him in the face, hammering that last nail into my now-dead career. And since that career was already bolted shut with a fuck-load of nails, I punched the asshole again. Why? Because I fucking wanted to. It was like trashing the school with toilet paper. You didn't know why the
πππππππVANESSAAbout five years ago, the heat on my father and his activities was pretty intense. Until the Morellos moved in on what my dad called our territory. Then the heat got worse as the Morellos started wreaking havoc on the streets. I wasn't exactly sure what they did, but by the way, my dad and brothers always cursed whenever the subject of the Morellos came up, I'd say it was pretty bad shit.Still scrolling down James' page, I decided there wasn't much else to see or to stalk. So, I went back to my page, contemplating whether I should remove James Gunner as a follower. He was probably using it to keep tabs on me, watching me, waiting for me to slip up so he could get what he wantedβincriminating shit on my family. Plus, now he knew ninety per cent of my status updates were bullshit anyway. What if he called me out on it?While I stared at the screen, a notification popped up saying James Gunner commented on your post.Shit, shit, shit.I slid my finger across the s
πππππJAMESI stepped into my apartment to meet it as neat and perfect as I left it. It was so motherfucking clean that if you wanted, you could sleep inside my toilet. If you took into consideration what my apartment looked like, you'd say I was a neat freak. My sister would die a slow and painful death if she saw this place because she knows she'll never be able to keep up.There were empty beer bottles neatly tucked in the corner of the living room. From where I stood, my kitchen looked as white as snow, all my utensils were shining as if a star had hit them or something. You couldn't find one microwavable plastic instant meal container anywhere in the kitchen sink, and empty cans of soda were nearly nonexistent around the house. Although I used them to quench my morning-after thirst, I made sure there were no traces of them on the counter.The way most people saw it, I was a detective, not a domesticated pansy. I should have much better things to do with my time than cleaning
πππππJAMESRoman stared at me for what felt like a million years. He looked apprehensive as if he was trying to gauge how the formation was going to affect me. After a few more seconds, I couldn't take it again. "Roman!" I grunted, sending him a scowl.Roman rolled his eyes and nodded his head. "Okay, okay, chill. Now answer me this, when did the Morello's move into town, Gunner?""Five years ago," I replied. And then I clicked. I suddenly understood where he was going with this. "But it doesn't fit into the timeframe of all the child disappearances," I reasoned. If what Roman Anderson was trying to tell me was true, then he would have to make it all fit in my head. If not, It was going to be pretty difficult for me to believe him. It wasn't my fault. That was just how detectives were wired.Roman lifted a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching. "If you're as smart as you think you are, you'll know it was about five years ago that drugs started to flow into these streets." He s
πππππππ VANESSA I stared at my phone and wondered if I should update my status and let the world know I was on my way to Daniel's birthday party at Bolivia nightclub. But that would be stupid. Plus, it would be a recipe for a stampede. If I were honest with myself, I'd admit the only reason I would want to do something so stupid would be to see if he was still keeping an eye on my profile. And would he react? Or would he suspect it was just another ruse, a ploy at creating a little entertainment for my followers? God, I felt so pathetic even considering it. In any case, I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize the little freedom my brothers and I were given. Usually, our dad didn't condone us hanging out at bars or nightclubs, and we hardly ever did. Being Italian came with a lot of rules and family morals everyone needed to adhere to. From an early age, we were taught to wear sophistication as a second skin and never to disgrace the family. We were
πππππππVANESSAI heard my father clear his throat as I approached him.He turned and tried to muster a sweet smile, which I was sure was not humanly possible when it came to my dad."Everything okay, Dad?" I asked and he gave me a nod, took off his suit jacket and placed it by his briefcase before taking off his tie and loosening the top two buttons of his shirt.I kept staring at the tattoo on the top of his hand, the symbol that represented our family-the wolf. The symbol consisted of chains weaved together to form a wolf's face, almost like a tribal sign. Both my brothers and all my uncles and cousins who have decided to devote their lives to the family business have the same symbol tattooed on their hands. My mom, like all the other women in our family, has it on the inside of her wrist. Everyone who had gone through the initiation ceremony received that symbol and wore it as a sign of their loyalty and commitment to the Bologna legacy.I was the only Bologna who hadn't be
πππππππVANESSAWithin half an hour, we were at the club and Daniel parked the car outside, but as I was about to get out, Antonio turned in his seat to face me. "Tonight is special, Vanessa. Could you at least try to behave yourself tonight?"My mouth dropped open. "Oh, my God, Antonio, are you serious right now?" This is un-fucking-believable."I'm dead serious, Vanessa. Make sure you stay close to me all night. I don't want you out of my sight at all. That's how serious this is."I crossed my arms and pouted. Yes...I pout. Sue me. "Fine, bodyguard. Anything else? Would you like me to duct tape my hip to yours? Or maybe I could put a big flashing neon sign on my forehead that reads 'I have no life!'"Antonio rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Nessa. And stop being so dramatic.""Grow up, Nessa, and stop being so dramatic," I mouthed in a mocking tone, making sure to use Antonio's 'I'm the boss' voice.Antonio got out of the car, and Daniel turned in his seat to face me."What?" I gro