Chapter 4
725words
I stood in front of the elevator. Blood from my knuckles dripped onto the marble floor.
There was a deep dent in the wall. A sharp pain shot through my hand, but it was nothing compared to the fire in my gut.
"Boss?" Marco asked carefully. "Should I get the doc?"
"Get lost."
I turned and stalked toward the casino downstairs. Sophia trotted after me on her heels, trying to take my arm.
"Honey, your hand..."
I shoved her away. "I said, get lost."
The casino was a sea of bright lights and noise. The rattle of dice and chips filled the air.
Smoke, booze, and perfume hung heavy.
I went to the VIP corner where a few of my guys were at a poker table.
"Boss!" Tony jumped up to give me his seat. "Just in time, we were just..."
"Just what?" I sat down and nodded for the dealer to continue.
"Uh... talking about what happened upstairs," Tony said, trading a look with the others. "That Thorne kid has some balls."
"Yeah," another guy, Vince, chimed in. "Trying to pick up the Boss's girl on the Boss's turf."
My hand balled into a fist. "She's not my girl."
"Right, right," Vince corrected himself quickly. "I mean... ex-girl."
"You know," Tony lowered his voice, like he was sharing a secret. "You know what they say. When a saint finally decides to sin, she sins harder than any devil."
Blood rushed to my head. "What did you just say?"
"I mean..." Tony realized his mistake. "No disrespect, Boss."
"That lawyer Thorne is a lucky man tonight," Vince chuckled. "Three years of being all pent-up... imagine what that's like when it finally breaks loose..."
CRACK!
I slammed my fist on the table. Chips flew everywhere.
Glasses shattered. Liquor splashed across the felt.
"SHUT UP!"
Everyone froze. The whole casino went quiet.
Only the distant chiming of slot machines continued.
I stood up and kicked the chair over.
Sophia tried to get close. I shoved her away. She stumbled, almost falling.
"Damien!"
I ignored her and stormed toward the security room in the back.
"Boss!" Marco ran after me. "Where are you going?"
I shoved the door to the monitoring room open.
Two techs sat inside, staring at a wall of screens showing every corner of the building.
"Pull up the elevator footage," I commanded.
"Which elevator, Boss?"
"The private one. From a few minutes ago."
The tech’s fingers flew across the keyboard. An image appeared on the main screen.
Inside the elevator, Isabella and Julian were wrapped around each other. Her hands were on his collar. His arm was around her waist.
She never looked at me like that.
Hungry. Needy. Completely lost in the moment.
"Replay it."
The footage started again. This time I saw more.
Isabella standing on her toes to kiss him first.
Her body pressed against his. No hesitation at all.
"Again."
I saw her fingers twist in his hair.
I saw her parted lips. I saw the fire in her eyes.
A fire that never burned for me.
For three years, she kept a polite, elegant distance.
Even in our most intimate moments, she was a perfect princess, giving but never taking.
But now, for this stranger, she was showing a side I never knew existed.
"Boss." Nico's voice came from the doorway.
He was my most trusted man. The only one who dared to tell me the truth.
"What?"
"The men outside are waiting for orders."
I didn't turn around. I kept my eyes glued to the screen. The footage replayed the moment Isabella offered her lips to another man.
"Boss," Nico came and stood beside me. His voice was quiet. "You've been more on edge than ever since you and Miss Rossi broke up."
My fists clenched. "I'm not on edge."
"You've flipped three card tables, fired twelve employees, and pushed Sophia over twice."
"That's because they weren't listening."
"Or is it because you can't stand seeing her with another man?"
On the screen, Julian’s hand stroked Isabella's cheek. She closed her eyes, a look of pure bliss on her face.
CRASH!
I grabbed the whiskey glass from the desk. I hurled it at the screen.
Glass exploded. Amber liquid dripped down the shattered monitor.
"ISABELLA!" I roared, the sound tearing through the small room. "YOU'RE MINE."
