I lie back on the soft pillow and stare at the ceiling. This house is incredible. The guest bedroom is like something from a five-star hotel. I can’t believe that my cousin gets to live in this place. Without warning, a tear drips down my cheek. I wish she was here. Trust me to turn up on the one night she’s away with her husband. Not that Lorenzo wasn’t completely welcoming, despite not wanting me here. He’s clearly a good man but seeing the amount of sadness he carries around nearly made me want to cry.
I wonder if Brad’s filed a missing person’s report yet. Normally, police departments won’t file unless the person has been missing for more than forty-eight hours, but I bet he’ll use his badge to expedite the process. Imagining his face when he walked through the door and saw the house hadn’t been cleaned makes me smile. And then when he saw the Mustang was gone—I almost wish I was there to see it.
Sighing with contentment, I roll onto my side and snuggle into the pillow. This bed is so damn comfy.
Brad’s in Boston and I’m here, hundreds of miles away from him. Even if he tries to follow me, I’m safe behind these walls. I’m not naive enough to be unaware of the Morettis and what they do. Cop or not, Brad wouldn’t dare take on the Mafia. And while I’m a pacifist at heart, I’m in a desperate situation. What other choice did I have?
As I start to doze off, images of Lorenzo’s handsome face and intense brown eyes flash through my head. It was odd to sit and speak so openly with a complete stranger, particularly one as dangerous as him, but also weirdly familiar and comforting. I feel at ease in his presence. I didn’t even babble as much as I usually do, a fact I bet he’d find hard to believe because I talked nonstop. I’m still thinking about his dark, hypnotic gaze and deep, soothing voice when I drift off to sleep.
I must have been completely wiped out by my drive from Boston to Chicago because the next thing I know, I’m startled awake by a soft knock on my door followed by my name. Her voice makes my heart swell in my chest.
“Kat?” I throw off the covers and jump out of bed just as she rushes through the door. We run into each other’s arms, hugging tightly as tears roll down our faces. After we’ve embraced for several seconds, we step back and she scans my appearance, her brow furrowed with concern.
“We should get that eye looked at by a doctor. Just to be sure there’s no permanent damage.”
I shake my head. “No doctors. It’ll be fine. It’s happened before,” I assure her.
“Oh, Mia,” she says on a sob, wrapping her arms around me again. “I’m so sorry, honey.”
I rub a soothing hand over her back. “Don’t be. I hid the worst of it, Kat. Please don’t feel sorry for me.”
She straightens up, wiping the tears from her cheeks. I know she understands the deep-seated desire not to feel pitied. Something happened to her a few years ago, and although she never told me what, it changed her. She completely withdrew from life for a time. Then she met Dante, and I’ve never seen her so happy.
“I’m so glad you came. You can stay as long as you like. We have plenty of room. In fact, stay forever.” She brushes a fingertip over my bruised cheek, smiling softly. “He’ll never hurt you here. I promise.”
“Thank you.” I can’t stay here forever, and I have no intention of doing so, but the fact that she would let me means the world to me. “I’ve missed you so much. And I haven’t seen those beautiful babies of yours nearly enough.”
That makes her laugh. “No, you haven’t. Gabriella is three and a half going on thirty. She’ll have dozens of questions to ask you, so be prepared.”
“You know talking is my thing,” I remind her.
She squeezes my hand. “You have no need to be nervous in this house. Dante is really pleased you’re here, and I know Lorenzo seems a bit grumpy …”
“He was quite sweet actually.”
She pops a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me. “Lorenzo? Sweet?”
“I mean, I rocked up in the middle of the night looking like this.” I wave a hand over my face. “But the guy barely batted an eyelid. Then I talked his ass off and he didn’t tell me to shut up once.”
“Hmm.” She narrows her eyes at me. “Brad set the bar way too low if you think Lorenzo Moretti is sweet.”
I nudge her in the ribs. “You left him in sole charge of your three little angels, so he can’t be that bad.”
“Oh, he’s a good guy. The kids love him. I love him. Just …” She wrinkles her nose. “Sweet?” Laughing, she shakes her head. “Anyway. Let’s go get some breakfast and you can say hi to Dante and my three little angels.”
The noise from the kitchen can be heard from the hallway, and the laughter and shouting makes me smile. When we get there, Dante’s holding Gabriella upside down and pretending to dip her into a bowl of oatmeal.
“No, Daddy!” she squeals with delight, and he pulls her into his arms and tickles her.
Joey sits on the other side of the table with her husband, Max. I met them both at Kat’s wedding, but they weren’t together then. Joey shouts to Marco that he needs to save his sister from their monster Daddy while Max laughs at them all. Lorenzo is seated at the head of the table, holding baby Micah in his arms and shaking his head in bemusement. He says something to Micah, who smiles up at him in response, but the kitchen is too noisy for me to hear what he said.
“Our guest of honor has arrived.” Kat cuts through the sea of noise, and everyone stops and stares at us. I self-consciously lift my hand to my cheek, aware of how hideous I look right now, but before I have time to wallow in my embarrassment, Joey jumps from her chair and rushes toward me.
“Mia. It’s so lovely to see you again,” she says, wrapping me in a warm hug.
I squeeze her back. “You too!”
When she steps away, Dante’s there waiting for a hug. “I’m glad you came here. Kat’s family is our family too,” he says, his tone full of genuine affection.
I blink to clear my unexpected tears. “Thank you. I really appreciate you all having me here.”
Gabriella eyes me warily until Kat picks her up and explains that I’m her auntie Mia and I’ll be staying here for a while. She asks about my face, and I tell her I had an accident, which she doesn’t question because she’s three and a half. I give Marco a squeeze too, but Lorenzo keeps hold of Micah, so I guess I’ll have to get my baby cuddles later.
Dante scoops Gabriella up from the floor. “Time for your lessons, princess.”
“Aw. I want to stay with Auntie Joey and Auntie Mia.” Her lower lip pokes out, making her look utterly adorable.
“Lessons,” he says sternly, even though he’s still smiling at her. The love he has for Kat and their kids is so tangible, I can practically touch it. It radiates out of him.
“Do what Daddy says, sweetheart,” Kat adds.
“You too, little dude.” Dante picks Marco up in his other arm. “I’ll be back in five. Don’t start without me,” he says to Kat before giving her a sweet kiss.
A lady with gray hair who’s been standing quietly by the stove shoos me toward an empty seat. “Sit. What would you like for breakfast? We have everything you can think of.”
“Waffles, please,” Joey announces loudly.
“Sophia makes the best waffles,” Kat tells me, giving the older woman a quick squeeze.
I sit in the chair Sophia indicated. “Fruit’s fine for me, thanks.”
Joey scoffs. “That’s like a snack. Not breakfast.”
“You only say that because you can’t function without coffee and sugar, baby girl.” Max teases her good-naturedly, and she flutters her eyelashes at him in response.
“Are you sure I can’t fix you anything more substantial?” Sophia asks.
I eye the plates of food on the table. It looks like Kat, Dante, and Lorenzo had bacon and eggs, and even the leftovers look amazing. But my ass will get fatter than it is now if I start indulging in waffles or bacon and eggs for breakfast. And I was so hungry when I got here last night, I inhaled a plate of risotto right in front of Lorenzo. He must think I’m a glutton already.
“Fruit is fine.” A flush creeps across my cheeks. “Thank you.”
Smiling at me over her shoulder, Sophia goes to the fridge. “Of course.”
I glance around the table, and I’m surprised to find Lorenzo staring at me. He doesn’t attempt to disguise his scrutiny but continues watching me with a curious expression on his face.
For some reason, the heat from my cheeks travels down my neck and chest, and I shift in my seat. Yep, feeling that heat elsewhere too. What the hell, Mia?
I take a deep breath and flash him my best smile. His eyes crinkle at the corners and one side of his mouth curls up in amusement before his attention moves to the doorway just as Dante walks back into the room.
“So, what’s the plan?” Max asks as soon as Dante sits down at the table. “I can be there and back in a day. Make it look like an accident? A suicide?”
Lorenzo scowls. “No. I’ll do it.”
“You sure that’s wise?” Dante asks him.
“You think I’m not capable of handling this?” Lorenzo barks.
I watch them with morbid fascination. They’re clearly talking about one of their enemies, but I’m shocked they’d discuss killing someone so openly in front of me. I guess I really am family, huh?
Dante huffs and rolls his eyes. “Don’t be fucking ridiculous, Loz. But you have been a little …” He winces.
“A little what, D?”
“Psycho?” Max offers.
“Not helpful,” Joey chides her husband.
“You haven’t been your usual levelheaded self is all,” Dante says. “And this needs to be clean. The guy’s a cop.”
“I fucking know that,” Lorenzo says with a snarl.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “A c-cop?”
Everyone turns and looks at me.
“Who are you talking about?” I ask, even as my heart races. I think I know the answer.
“Your piece-of-shit husband,” Lorenzo replies, as though murdering a police officer is a normal breakfast conversation.
I push my chair back as bile surges up my throat. “W-what? No! You can’t … I never asked you to … You can’t!”
Kat puts a reassuring hand over mine and shoots her husband a warning look. “I told you she wouldn’t want that.”
“How else do you expect to stay safe from him, Mia?” Dante asks.
“I-I …” The words won’t come. “I don’t know. But I don’t want you to kill him.”
Lorenzo’s jaw ticks as he glares at me. “Shame you don’t get a vote.”
“Loz,” Dante warns.
“Are we killing this guy or not?” Max asks.
Lorenzo scowls. “Yes.”
“No,” I insist. My heart threatens to burst out of my chest. “That’s not why I came here. That’s not what—I shouldn’t have come.”
I turn to leave, but Kat grabs my hand. “No one will hurt Brad if you don’t want that, Mia. I promise you.”
I look at her husband, the head of the Cosa Nostra, and he nods his agreement. Satisfied, I return to my chair.
“Do you expect him not to follow you here, Mia?” Dante asks softly, his voice thick and smooth like velvet.
“I … I didn’t think. I thought maybe he might, but …”
Lorenzo sighs. “But what?”
“I thought once he saw where I was, he’d just leave and not bother me again.”
Lorenzo snorts. “That’s either incredibly naive or incredibly stupid.”
“Don’t call me stupid.” I glower at him.
He narrows his dark eyes and glares right back. “Naive then?”
“Maybe.” I shake my head. I clearly didn’t think my plan through well enough, and now I feel like a fool.
“You’re safe while you’re in this house, Mia. But is that what you want? To stay behind these walls forever?” Dante asks.
“No. But I thought maybe just for a little while. Until I can figure out my next move. Then I could start somewhere new. With a new name.”
“Just like that, huh?” Lorenzo’s voice drips with sarcasm.
“Enough,” Kat says with a sigh. “There’s nothing that needs to be decided right now, is there? Let Mia think about her next steps, and while she does, she can stay here as long as she needs to.” She squeezes my hand again.
“Of course.” Dante shoots a look at his brother who closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“You won’t hurt Brad?” I ask.
Dante stares at me for a few seconds before he replies. “We won’t go looking for him, but if he turns up here and causes any trouble …”
“We’ll give him a pair of concrete boots and toss him in the river,” Lorenzo finishes for him, a malicious grin on his face.
Reluctantly, I agree. “I guess I can’t argue with that.”
