Pursuit: Brandon & Carly (Mafia Ties Book 4) by Fiona Davenport

Chapter 1
Brandon
    M y best friend and cousin Nic, who also happened to be the new head of the Deluca crime family, was silent for a moment. Just the thought that he might disagree with me had possessive fury bubbling to the surface.
    “Your call,” he said with an odd inflection in his voice. Relief flowed through me until I realized ... he sounded weird because he was trying not to laugh.
    “What the fuck, Nic?” I growled.
    The laughter burst free, and I heard a female voice admonishing him. Thank you, Anna, I thought, figuring it was his new bride. He said something back, but it was muffled, his hand clearly over the receiver. She yelped and he laughed harder. I mentally banged my head against the steering wheel. I didn’t want to know.
    “Gianna says it’s rude for me to say ‘I told you so,’ so I’ll just say, good luck, man.”
    I hung up to the sound of more laughter. Jackass. Nic had seen the sparks flying between me and Carly early on. She’d been our inside source in the New York City Irish mob and when things got dicey, Nic asked me to make sure she stayed safe. The moment I saw her tall, lithe body, her long, lush red hair, emerald eyes, and creamy skin, I was doomed to walk around with a constant erection. It was impossible to deny; she was fucking gorgeous. She was also a major pain in the ass. Her stubborn streak was a mile wide, almost rivaling my own. Following orders wasn’t a talent of hers, and I tried to convince myself the package wasn’t worth the trouble. Yeah, I was in complete denial.
    The night stretched out before me, dark and silent, but my mind and body were having a shouting match. Then my heart decided to join the game and with two against one, my mind never stood a chance.
    Not wanting to alert her, I kept my car parked where it was and climbed out, shutting the door soundlessly behind me. She’d been raised in the mob and had learned a lot of useful skills; some by design through training, and some through necessity. She clearly knew how to run. Even so, the fact that she’d been able to stay one step ahead of me, someone known for their tracking skills, was a hit to my ego. Until I cut off communication with everyone and went dark. No one knew my moves, which meant there was no way for anyone to alert her.
    I went through every trick in my arsenal to unbury where she was hiding. Within a week, it paid off and there I was, circling the house where I knew she was holed up, looking for a weak entrance point. It was locked up tight. Good girl. Only, there has never been a lock I’ve come across that I couldn’t pick. I chose the back door since it only had one deadbolt and while it was under a motion-activated alarm; the door itself wasn’t connected to the security system.
    I’d cased the house. I knew the alarm system and was well aware of its blind spots, allowing me to sidle up to the door and go to work. It only took me fifteen minutes before I was slowly cracking the door open. I only had three to four inches of room to slide my arm in and shut off the alarm panel. Any wider and it would set off the motion sensors. Carefully, I reached in and set a special little gadget on the security panel. Thirty seconds later, it shorted out and the whole system powered down.
    I slipped inside and shut the door, making sure to reengage the deadbolt. It was only a one-bedroom house, so I didn’t have to search very hard. Finding the bedroom door open, I stood there, taking in the scene before me. Carly was on her stomach, sprawled out on the bed with the covers kicked away, showing off her spectacular ass in tiny, pink panties. The T-shirt she was wearing had ridden up and revealed the smooth skin and toned muscle of her back.
    I’d finally admitted to myself that she was mine, so I took my time, like I had never allowed myself before, and admired her beautiful body. Her long red hair was splayed over the pillow, begging for my hands to run through it. My cock was hard and aching,