Stepping through the massive front door, I’m thrown into a world I didn’t expect.
A world of color.
The space is giant and formal, but there’s bright artwork lining the walls of the two-story entryway, along with side tables full of large rose bouquets.
Nero struck me as a black-on-black type of man, but this is not that. Not at all.
Hans’s fingers flex around mine, and I reach across to grip his forearm with my free hand.
I know a part of Hans doubts his plan to trust these men, but they actually seem really nice. And I’m looking forward to meeting their wives.
When King enters the house behind us, stack of fragrant pizza boxes in hand, my stomach growls.
Hans jerks his gaze down to me, having heard my stomach rumble, and I can sense his immediate distress. From his look alone, I can tell he hates the fact that I’m hungry.
“Worked up an appetite on the way over,” I whisper for only him to hear as I lean into his side.
His nostrils flare, and—as I’d hoped—his mind is sufficiently distracted from my growling stomach.
As a group, we enter a kitchen with massive white marble countertops and bright yellow cabinets.
It shouldn’t work, but it’s beautiful. And so is the brunette standing next to the island. She’s the same woman who stuck her head out the door.
“Hi.” She smiles while she greets me again and holds her hand out. “I’m Payton.”
I give Hans a squeeze, then let go and move to the woman.
Shaking her hand, I smile back. “I’m Cassie.”
“So, you’re with Hans?”
“Yeah.” I bite my lips as our hands let go. “You’re with Nero?”
She nods. “I know he can seem like a bit much, but he’s really sweet.”
Looking around at the cheery mansion, I find myself believing her.
There’s even a dog lying on a plush bed in the corner. He’s medium sized and adorable, and he lifts his head to look at the crowd but then yawns, stretches his furry legs, and shuts his eyes.
“That’s Toto.” Payton shakes her head. “Not much will disturb him from a nap.”
I grin at the goofy dog, thinking I’m the same way.
Then two more beautiful women enter the kitchen from the far side. One has long blond hair, and the other has hair the same shade as King’s.
All of the women are dressed much more casually than the men, though I can tell their clothes are expensive.
There’s something else…
It takes my brain a second to realize what it is. They’re all curvy girls, like me.
It shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. But I’m just so used to being the biggest girl in the room, and there’s something freeing about not feeling that way.
Payton gestures to me when the women stop at the edge of the island. “This is Cassie. She’s here with Hans.” She points to the blonde first. “That’s Savannah, King’s wife. And this is Val, Dom’s wife.”
Val lifts her hand to wave, and I immediately notice her entire ring finger is covered in tattoos. That’s badass. Then she lowers her hand, and that’s when I notice her belly.
I almost blurt out something inappropriate, but I manage to press my lips together and stop myself.
I don’t know why I’m so surprised to see that one of the women is pregnant. People have babies all the time. It’s just that, having assumed I’d be forever single, I also assumed I’d never have kids.
Then I met Hans. And then I started to understand just how dangerous Hans’s world is. So I just assumed that would also mean no kids.
And if I have Hans, I don’t need anything or anyone else.
But these women live in that same dangerous world. And it doesn’t look like it’s stopping them from doing anything.
Nice houses. Babies…
Does that mean this is a possibility for us, too?
The tattooed man moves to stand next to his pregnant wife. “Cassie, was it?”
I nod as I feel Hans come up behind me.
Val looks up at her husband. “Did you not introduce yourself outside?”
Dom shakes his head, and the side of his mouth pulls up. “Hans was being a bit… territorial.”
Two large hands settle on my shoulders, and I watch as all three women smile up at Hans.
I don’t really like them looking at him because I know how hot he is, and I can’t stand the thought of someone else having dirty thoughts about my Grizzly Bear. But these ladies all have their own super attractive husbands, so I force my hackles to stay down.
There’s another round of introductions between the wives and Hans, and the guys all officially say hello to me. The whole thing is a lot less awkward than I expected.
I know the three men run some crime organization. And I know my man has a scary reputation for killing lots of people. But it kind of feels like I’m at my boyfriend’s holiday work party.
Then someone opens the first pizza box, and we all grab plates and seats around the U-shaped island. Hans and I seem to be the dividing line in the middle, with the women all seated next to me and the men on the other side of Hans.
“So.” Savannah turns to me as I lift a slice to my mouth. “What do you do for work?”
I halt my hand, the pizza inches from my mouth. “Oh, well, I’m in HR, but my company went through some stuff, like, last week, so I think I’m gonna look for another job.”
Hans shifts on his stool beside me. “You don’t have to work.”
Val snickers from her spot next to me. “Okay, so he’s like the rest of them.”
I’m guessing she means overbearing, so I nod and shove the pizza into my mouth.
Payton smiles. “Well, if the guys are gonna start working together, you could always help Aspen and me organize fundraiser events.” Seeing my confused look, she clarifies, “Aspen is King’s other sister and one of my best friends. You’ll like her.”
My confusion was actually over her just blindly offering me a job of sorts, but I appreciate her telling me who this other woman is too.
Val snickers. “And since Aspen is hooking up with my husband’s second in command, it’s only a matter of time before they become official, and she lives out her own happily ever after.”
Savannah snorts. “Any time I want to piss King off, I remind him that he’s gonna have two sisters married into the Chicago mafia.”
I smile and nod as I eat more of my slice. There are too many new names for me to keep up with. I feel like I need a chart, or a book, to keep track of them all.
Payton goes back to her original topic of inviting me to help with their fundraisers. “No pressure or anything. But if you don’t go back to work and want something to do, we can always use the help.”
“That’d be nice,” I say honestly.
I’ve never planned any kind of big event, but I’m good at following directions, so I’m sure I could learn.
“Great!” She beams, then tips her head. “Wait, do you live here? I know Nero mentioned that Hans is somewhere in the cities…”
“Yeah, well, I mean, I do.” I cringe. “But my house kinda blew up today.”
“What?!” all three women gasp in unison.
The men’s voices cut off.
“What did she say?” King asks.
Savannah glances at her husband, then back to me. “She said her house blew up.”
“It’s not so bad,” I try to reason. “I wouldn’t have wanted to go back in there after those men went through my things anyway. And I still have all my old photobooks and stuff in my parents’ storage unit, since I bought the house after being in a tiny apartment forever and never got around to getting them out.”
They all just gape at me.
That might’ve been an overshare.
“Wait, who blew up Cassie’s house?” Dom asks, and I finally turn toward the men’s side of the island.
Hans sighs. “I’m the one who blew up her house.”
I place my hand on his thigh.
“Um…” Dom looks back and forth between us. “On purpose?”
Hans nods, and I rub my hand in small circles. I know he feels bad about it, but on the ride over, he explained that he did it to destroy the bodies and muddle evidence while also drawing the attention of the authorities since they’ll douse it all with water and finish ruining anything that wasn’t burned.
Honestly, I’m not upset about it.
It was probably overkill. But what do I know about corpses and evidence? And I really do have all my important things tucked away in the storage locker in my parents’ complex. Plus, it turns out my neighbor with the sparse house is actually super rich, so he can replace anything I need.
If I’m lucky, maybe they’ll make a documentary about it titled What the Fuck Happened on Holly Court?
Nero leans against the counter. “I think it’s time to tell us what happened after I called you today.”
