Page 43 of Bloody Savage God
I consider the supplies we have in the back of the car. “Well, today we’ll mess with that. It’s time he’s shaken up a bit. Make him question how secure his position really is, since right now he apparently thinks he has enough ground to mess with you. Time to take some of the satisfaction away from him.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Gianna agrees. “Instead of walking in there to play a pissing game, we’ll first shake him up and then, when he’s off his game, I’ll confront him during family dinner.” The small smile on her face is that of a woman eager to tear someone apart, and finding herself closer to that goal than she was before.
I like that she’s coming around to my way of thinking. The idea of getting my hands dirty with Gianna is even more appealing than when I do it alone. Enough to make my dick perk up in anticipation. But that will have to wait until after. Presuming Gianna will be on a victory high and in the mood to celebrate.
First the hard part though.
“Good, so let’s make sure the players don’t stick around long enough for your uncle to collect.”
Gianna nods, twisting her head to consider the duffel bag on the back seat. Reaching into the bag, she pulls out several items. Looking through them, I frown. This’ll be less messy than I’d hoped, but Gianna has her reasons for not pissing the gamblers off too much. After all, once her uncle is out of the picture, she’ll want to keep running this little enterprise.
“Do you know the men inside?”
Gianna shakes her head slightly. “I should, but I don’t. I was being complacent.” The self-admonishment is delivered with a scathing amount of resentment against herself, and that pisses me off for some reason. Until recently, her father ran things. He’s the one who should have been on top of things. He should have included her. Then again, maybe he’d tried to deal with it and gotten himself dead in the process.
I wasn’t about to let that happen to Gianna.
“We’ll have to wait until they’ve got all the players in. Let’s get some food. I’m starving.”
Gianna raises her eyebrows. “Pizza?”
Typical Italian. “No, let’s go to this place I know. You’ll like the food.”
Her expression tells me exactly what she thinks about that plan, and I’m looking forward to proving her wrong.
“You can’t even trust me to pick out a place to eat?” I tease her.
“Do you think it wise to get food somewhere where people know you? It’s not like we want to broadcast spending time together.”
That makes me grin a little. It’s almost like we’re having some illicit affair, which really isn’t too far off the mark.
Not that that’s enough for me. The more time I spend with Gianna, the more time with her I crave. And now that I managed to wiggle my way into her life, I’m not going anywhere. She’ll realize that soon, and I am anticipating the fight she’ll put up.
Time to reel her in. “Come on, take a little risk.”
As expected, that has her delectable lips turning down in a slight frown. “I think I’m already doing plenty of trusting.”
To my surprise she puts the car into drive though, looking at me expectantly. “Well?” she prompts.
We drive for a few minutes until we arrive at a small, unassuming restaurant on the edge of town. The neon sign in the window reads “Souvlaki House.”
Gianna looks at the restaurant skeptically.
“No food poisoning inside, I promise.” I grab her hand and pull her towards the door, savoring the success when she doesn’t pull her hand away.
As soon as we walk in, we’re greeted by the intoxicating aroma of garlic and tomato sauce.
The owner, a plump, friendly Greek woman, greets us with a warm smile. “Hello, hello! What can I get for you two today?”
I grin at her. “Definitely the Moussaka Platter.”
Gianna only nods her approval at the woman, who beams at us and points to the tables. “I’ll bring it right out.”
We take a seat at a small table near the window, and soon enough our food arrives, smelling delicious.
Gianna picks up her fork and knife, cutting into the Moussaka. I don’t bother with my own food, watching as she brings the fork to her mouth and closes her lips around it. When she starts to chew, it’s like I can watch her skepticism fade away. She moans with pleasure as she takes a bite of the layers of eggplant, potatoes, and fresh lamb, making me chuckle.
“This is amazing,” she says, wiping a bit of sauce from her chin.
