Jerked: A Stepbrother Mob Romance (City Series) by B. B. Hamel Page B

knuckles and he grunted, stumbling back. I felt exhilarated, loving the adrenaline that was coursing through me. The only thing I loved more than a fight was fucking.
    “Back off, Fabrizio,” I said, advancing on him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
    I jabbed twice again, but he got his hands up to block them. I got in close, practically breathing in his eyes, as I shifted my weight and brought my knee up, landing it in his midsection. He stumbled back, grunting, clearly not expecting that. I knew I had the upper hand and had to press.
    Before I could take him down, though, he spoke. “I’m not fucking Fabrizio.”
    I paused. “What the fuck did you say?”
    “I’m one of Jimmy’s guys. I’m not Fabrizio.”
    He looked up at me, holding his hands up, and I got my first clear look at the guy. I had only ever seen Fabrizio in pictures, and although the guy had the same dark hair and dark eyes, their faces were totally different. I relaxed slightly, staring at him.
    “What the fuck are you doing here?” I said.
    “Jimmy sent me to follow Fabrizio. I got made, though, and before I could get in and catch him, he got away.”
    “Why did you attack me?”
    “When you see a guy with a gun, it’s a good bet he doesn’t want to chat.”
    I sighed and leaned back against the wall, panting. I let my guard down. The fight was over. My nose hurt like hell and I could taste blood in the back of my throat. The guy settled down on the floor. He looked about as bad as I felt.
    “And who the fuck are you?” he asked me.
    “Colin Blake, one of the Irish. Jimmy told me Fabrizio would be here.”
    The guy nodded. “Colin. I’m Michael Flannigan.”
    I nodded, still catching my breath. I had never heard the name before, but that wasn’t surprising.
    “One hell of a punch you got.”
    He grinned. “Yeah, you too.”
    “So, what now?”
    “Well, now I go home and ice my fucking ribs.”
    “I mean, about Fabrizio.”
    He shook his head. “The cocksucker is long gone. Who knows where he is.”
    “You should fucking know.”
    I was pissed. It was typical of the Italians to be sloppy in their work. If I had been following Fabrizio, I would never have been made.
    He gave me an icy look. “You’re not one of my people. Watch yourself.”
    I clenched my jaw then pushed off the wall and walked over to my gun. I picked it up, put on the safety, and slipped it into my waistband.
    “Tell Jimmy to call if he hears something. And he better call soon.”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    I walked out of the room, leaving him sitting down on the floor. I walked down the steps and headed out the front door. My muscles were sore from the sudden burst of energy, and my nose was probably broken, but the worst part of the whole thing was that Fabrizio was still somewhere out there. And the fact that he gave one of Jimmy’s guys the slip meant he was probably pretty good. Or maybe Jimmy’s guy was just totally inept. Either way, I had my work cut out for me.
    I had hoped it would be an easy job, catching Fabrizio, but so far he had managed to avoid both the Italians and the Irish. That alone was an impressive feat. O’Brian had pretty much half of the Right People out looking for Fabrizio, which was cutting into everyone’s profits, but he was worried about his daughter and was willing to do whatever it took to solve her problem. Philly wasn’t that big of a city; sooner or later, someone would rat him out. When they did, I had to be ready to do whatever it took to bring him down. I wasn’t about to be like Jimmy’s guy and let Fabrizio get away. I would do whatever I had to do to make sure he never got near Bren.
    I climbed into my car and clenched the steering wheel.
    The memory of Bren’s body pressed against my hard dick came flooding back. I had walked out on her, practically half way to finally getting to feel exactly what her smooth skin felt like under mine, all for nothing.
    Fucking Fabrizio would pay for that.
    I sped toward