Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65: You Look Like Shit

Their eyes met across the driveway, Luca barely acknowledged her. He walked past, opened the driver’s door of his car, slid in, started the engine, and pulled out without looking back. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Vee stared after him, then rolled her eyes. Such a big baby. Honestly. The great Luciano Genovese, ruler of men and breaker of spines, sulking because he didn’t get what he wanted. She huffed and turned on her heel, stalking back toward her apartment. Did he really think it was going to happen?

That she would just melt, crawl into his bed, and let him fuck her because he snapped his fingers? Absolutely not. He had said it himself. It was her choice. And her choice was no. Plain. Simple. Non-negotiable.

If he wanted to brood and stomp around like a toddler denied candy, that was his problem. She had bigger things to think about. Luca could glare holes through walls for all she cared. She wasn’t responsible for managing his ego or his expectations. Let him sulk.

*****

"You look like shit," Detective Voss said flatly as he pushed open the door to Cassidy’s apartment without waiting for an invitation.

Cassidy was slumped on the couch, one arm braced awkwardly at his side, a fading bruise blooming along his jaw. He looked up slowly, eyes bloodshot, mouth dry. "Gee...thanks," he said. "I was in an accident." The lie slid out smoothly. "What’s your excuse?"

Voss shut the door behind him and took a look at himself. His tie was loosened, shirt wrinkled, eyes shadowed. "What’s wrong with me?" he asked dryly.

"You look like shit," Cassidy shot back. "So. What are you doing here?"

Voss’s eyes flicked to the overturned chair, the broken lamp. "I know you weren’t in an accident," he said. "Your neighbors called 911. Said you were taken. Was it Luca?"

Cassidy’s jaw tightened. A muscle jumped in his cheek. "No," he said quickly. "Just a prank by my friends."

"He got to you, didn’t he?" Voss pressed. "Did he threaten you?"

"He didn’t have to do anything," Cassidy said. He leaned back against the arm of the couch. "You were right. Luca always gets away with everything." He had believed, once, that monsters only survived because good men stayed silent. Turns out monsters survived because they were smarter, richer, and far more powerful.

"Not with your help," Voss said immediately, stepping closer, urgency tightening his shoulders. His coat still smelled faintly of old coffee, the uniform of a man who hadn’t gone home in days. "I need you, Cassidy."

"Why?" He spread his hands, palms up, showing the tremor he hadn’t managed to control since the night before. "I have no reason to want him gone anymore." That wasn’t entirely true.

"How about Veronica?"

Cassidy’s jaw tightened. "Let’s just say," he replied quietly, "she crossed to the dark side."

Voss went very still. "Wow," he said softly. "I’m... I’m really sorry, Cas. Truly." For a moment, the cop mask slipped, and what showed underneath was a tired man watching another one come undone.

"It is what it is," Cassidy shrugged, the motion stiff with pain. He pressed his fingers into his thigh.

"I can still get him," Voss said. "Assault. Kidnapping. If you’ll file a report."

"He didn’t assault me," Cassidy shot back. "Neither did he kidnap me. I’m not making a report."

"Cas—"