By Virtue I Fall (Sins of the Fathers #3)(26)

In a spur-of-the-moment decision, I grabbed my phone and snapped a photo then quickly shoved it back into my purse.

I took a step back and the floorboards creaked. Santino’s eyes cut to me and he didn’t stop. Only made a motion with his hand that suggested I should get lost.

He did this to spite me. To punish me for forcing him to come to Paris. Maybe even for our kiss. He was pissed. But so was I.

My lips curled and I turned on my heel. For all I cared, he could fuck Clifford’s mom until her fake lashes fell off and her contact lenses dropped out. Maybe she’d take him to the gates of hell with her, because God would definitely not answer to her ridiculous chanting.

I was seething. Seething.

But worse.

Worse.

I was hurt and jealous.

And that made me even angrier because I didn’t want Santino to have the power to hurt me. I wanted him to bang me. That was it. My emotions needed to kindly go fuck themselves and leave me be. My life was already complicated as it was, I didn’t need my crush on Santino to complicate things further.

I couldn’t believe he’d picked Mrs. Clark to bang. This was his way to pay me back.

Two could play this game.

If he acted like an asshole, I’d show him what kind of bitch I could be.

I checked my surroundings for Clifford but only caught the back of his head. He was busy tongue-wrestling a brunette I didn’t know.

I released a slow breath, close to snapping. The guy I should be obsessed with and the guy I was actually obsessed with were both getting it on with other women.

I looked around for my brother, his two sidekicks, and Luisa. Instead of finding the Beagle Boys or my friend, I only found Rocco close to the French doors, looking entirely up to no good. Which meant my brother and Riccardo were probably somewhere outside, getting themselves, and if I was particularly unlucky, me into trouble.

Luisa wasn’t anywhere. Today wasn’t my day. I scanned the crowd again as I slowly made my way over to Rocco, desperately hoping Luisa would show up again and not let herself be dragged into my brother’s shenanigans. I needed a pep talk, or someone to talk me out of doing something particularly stupid. She was good at both, but had plenty of practice with the latter.

“Don’t get me in trouble,” I said in warning when I arrived at Rocco’s side.

“You look like you’re in trouble yourself,” he commented curiously and with that head tilt and x-ray look that always made you believe he knew more than he should. Sometimes he creeped me out.

“Not in trouble, but I need someone to make out with.”

Rocco’s eyes widened.

Gotcha.

Then he gave a sly smile, and my lips curled.

“Not you, moron,” I muttered.

I wanted to pay Santino back and not make him pity me for kissing a fourteen-year-old kid. Not to mention that I really needed a spectacular kiss that would make me want to sing to heaven as well. Maybe Mrs. Clark had been faking it, but she hadn’t looked like that had been the case.

“You and the other Beagle Boys stay out of trouble, understood? I won’t go down with you today,” I growled.

“That’s a stupid name.”

I gave him a look that made it clear it fit them to a T before I finally found Luisa standing in the lobby. She was clutching her glass and giving the two boys who were talking to her an awkward smile. Unlike me, boys didn’t recognize her as a mafia princess, so they actually dared to approach her. She looked like Bambi in human form, with huge brown eyes and long lashes, plus silky brown hair. Of course, she also reeked of innocence which seemed to draw in the boys even more. I made my way over to her and immediately relief crossed her face. I didn’t spot my brother anywhere. I decided not to care for the time being. I’d later give him an ass-kicking for leaving Luisa’s side.

“Anna,” she said with a grateful smile as if I’d saved her.

Both boys checked me out as usual, before the face of the first guy flashed with recognition and then caution.

“That’s my friend Anna,” Luisa introduced me.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear while deciding my chances with the guy who hadn’t recognized me yet were better. “I’m going to put the moves on the guy on the right, or have you called dibs?”

It was a rhetorical question. Luisa was determined to wait until marriage for her first kiss.

“He’s French,” she murmured.

It was a clear sign and explained why he didn’t know who I was.

I hit him with a charming smile. “You’re from France?” I asked in French.

His smile brightened. “Yes, from Paris. I’m here to improve my English.”

“What a coincidence. I’m looking for someone to improve my French.” Kissing…

The guy smiled as if he knew what I hadn’t said and introduced himself as Maurice. I told him about me going to Paris and soon we were immersed in a conversation. He often touched my arm and his eyes darted to my lips, so I knew things were going in the right direction. “How about we head outside for a bit? I need some fresh air.”

Before I left with him, I leaned toward Luisa. “If you see Santino, tell him you can’t find me.”

She shook her head with a warning look. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Of course not,” I said with a laugh.