Page 12 of Bulletproof Baby

Conquer.

Succinct thoughts wavering between rage, possession, jealousy, and lust, plow into me like a freight train when I see the images of Lia in another man's arms. He's young, shirtless, and staring at her with a light in his eyes that infuriates me.

The people on my teams require my focus and attention, but the idea of Lia moving on so quickly after our weekend disturbs me. It distracts me. Logic wars with the emotions surging inside of me and forces me out of my office.

When my phone rings as I get to my car, I see Armande's name and instantly second-guess my actions.

"Val? We have a meeting in ten minutes, and you just bolted out of the office like your house was on fire. What's up?"

"Thanks for your quick work on that Bonetti situation. I'm running down an address that Greg sent to me. Handle the meeting on your own." I tell him. His laughter makes me want to hang up the phone, but instead, I press him for more information. "What's so funny?"

"You're forgetting that I've known you for practically our entire lives. I saw the pic Greg sent you since I'm the one who put him on Miss Bonetti's detail to gather the intel. I can handle the meeting until you get back to the office. Just letting you know that I have everything under control here."

Armande ends the call as I rage through traffic. My ego and pride push me to drive faster. It feels like an out-of-body experience. I'm watching myself charge down the sidewalks of the Lower East Side toward a discreet door beside a flower shop window. There's no restraint when I bang on the door. The expression on the young man's face as he opens the door proves as much.

"Well, good morning, um, Mr. Barrone. Hi," he says, glancing over his shoulder at Lia, who's sitting on his sofa.

"What are you doing here?" Lia hisses the question at me with surprise etching across her face.

"What are you doing here? Who is this guy? The construction site was broken into last night and your first task of the day is to get laid by this guy?" I ask her, grasping for any explanation other than the one tearing away at my desire to have her, to own her.

"Wow," Lia chuckles.

"Wait a minute, Lia." The curly-haired guy interjects. "The site was broken into last night? You should have led with that before the pastries. What the hell is going on?"

"What's going on is Valentino here is making wild accusations. Let me introduce you two. Valentino Barrone, this is Francisco ‘Frankie’ Mirante, my cousin. Frankie, this is Valentino, purchaser of my virginity." She levels with her cousin and his face shifts angrily toward me.

"I paid for your time." I remind her.

Her cousin, Frankie, doesn't care as he charges me, lowering his shoulder to wrap his arm around my torso. The brunt of his shoulder colliding into my gut knocks the wind out of me for a moment, but not for long. My heel slides across the floor to a stop, anchoring me so I can lift Frankie, spin him, and pin him against the wall.

My forearm comes across his throat with Lia shrieking behind us from inside his apartment as I tell him, "Calm down. I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep this up, I'm going to put you to sleep."

Frankie's turning red from the pressure I'm applying to his airway, but he still fights. "You fucked with the wrong girl."

He raises his knee, not to my groin, but to the inside of my thigh. It causes my stance to buckle. My leg drops, forcing me to loosen my grip against his throat. Frankie coughs as he gasps for air. Lia comes out to stop us from doing any further damage to each other.

"Stop it. Both of you." Lia demands. "Get inside."

We release each other at the same time, holding our hands up to walk into the apartment. Once the door closes, questions fly at me from both of them.

"How did you even find me?" Lia asks.

Frankie tosses another question. "What did she mean you paid for her virginity?"

"In an auction," Lia volunteers.

"I paid for her time. And that was the last time I'll justify that action. I would have never forced you, Lia." I tell her. My gaze shifts back to her cousin, pointing at him as I speak. "I thought you were here to see him."

Lia grumbles. "I am. He is my cousin."

"I know that now." It's rare for my face to heat from embarrassment, but this entire scenario is exactly what I get. I still try to justify my actions, telling them, "Kind of like what you said about Saul not wanting you if you weren't as precious. It doesn’t make sense because Saul would still want you knowing that I had you first. He'd do it to get under my skin. But being with this guy? Before I knew you were related, he could have been another notch in your belt to stifle Saul's lust."

"Saul, who?" Frankie asks.

"Caputo. Frankie, can you give us a moment to talk? Alone?" Lia pleads with him.

"This is my apartment," Frankie argues back.