Page 41 of Dark Alliance
To lure him here.
Connor Gallagher is dangerous, and I’m fighting not to come right now.
Mind over matter.
Mind over Connor’s talented fingers, his smoky, citrusy scent, and his dazzling smile.
But I can handle this.
I’m on my own, which Connor proved by tracking me. Can’t even be bothered to properly woo me for an allianceora night in bed.
Lazy, that’s what he is. Lying about his identity. Putting cameras all over the Ricci estate. Slipping a tracer into my coat’s inside pocket.
I wonder what would happen if I stripped Connor Gallagher of all his con artist tricks and he stood naked before me, with nothing but his pearly white smile.
Who would he be then? I’ll probably never know.
What I do know is I need to purge him from my life before he ruins me completely.
The bastard just pissed all overanotherone of my favorite spots. My pool.
This is where I go to reset.
“Have something that belongs to just you, Caterina. Something no one can take away. This will keep your heart in balance.”
My father built this facility for me, and this dog just treated it like his personal fire hydrant.
Asshole.
I can’t believe I briefly entertained the idea of a partnership with him. That I thought I’d met a like-minded individual who didn’t see me as the lesser sex with inferior intelligence.
It hurts just enough to channel my rage.
Connor still has two fingers inside me, so maintaining a level voice and clear head is an exercise in self-control. My life and my place in the Ricci family depend on my restraint.
I suck in a deep breath, dig my fingers into his shoulders, and wrangle my thoughts. “I want the rat who gave up our air routes to the FBI dead.”
“Domenico Verone.”
Connor’s knowledge and ability to name the rat shouldn’t surprise me. I bet he also knows that Verone’s in a safehouse protected by US Marshals, waiting to testify against my father.
Connor slips his fingers out of me, but relief doesn’t come. I was over the hump and could see my orgasm right there on the horizon. My body was galloping toward release.
But business is business.
I’ll live.
Connor’s eyes crinkle at the corners and his lips curl into a smile. “I’ll do it. For you.”
When his face relaxes like that, he looks like he did when he was eating half my lunch a few days ago. Younger. Almosthonest. A flash of the Connor who existed before a life of organized crime sank its hooks in him.
I push the thought aside. “Perfect. I know where he is, as well as the schedule of the Marshals watching him?—”
“But I want a favor in return.”
Who the hell does he think he is? “The favor is I’m going to partner with you.”
That smile shifts into sinister territory, and I imagine myself slapping it away.
