Page 97 of His Tesoro

“Yeah, well… Anyway, Leona grew up in Boston, but she wanted to go to NYU for college.”

My lips parted in surprise. I had so many questions. “She went to college?”

“Yeah. She had to get special permission from Matteo to be allowed in the city, but I forced him to agree so I would have a friend in my program. We both studied business management and were close in school. But once she graduated, she officially joined the Irish Mob, so she’s not supposed to be in New York at all.”

“Matteo wasn’t happy to see her at the party.”

Sienna snorted. “I bet. Did he tell you what she does?”

“Umm, he said she’s an assassin?”

Sienna grinned. “Yeah. It’s pretty badass. The Irish teach their girls fighting and combat, and Leona always had a talent for it.”

It wasn’t hard to believe. Leona’s entire energy screamed danger.

“Were you taught combat and all of that?”

Sienna shook her head. “I can shoot a gun in a pinch, and Angelo’s taught me some self-defense, but that’s it.”

“I could teach you how to shoot, if you wanted,” I said, remembering that there were two things I was good at: cooking and shooting.

Her eyebrows raised. “Really?”

“Yeah, my brother taught me. I’m still trying to get Matteo to let me go to the shooting range, but I guess we’ll have to wait until the Albanian threat is taken care of, anyway.”

“The second it is, let’s do it! And I bet Angelo would teach you self-defense skills, too.”

My lips curled into a smile as I imagined what Matteo would think about that. “I’d love that.” I moved on to cutting the pasta into strips. “I didn’t know you went to college. Is it normal in the Family for girls to go to school?”

“My papà started allowing it back in the day. Mamma wanted to study Italian Literature, and he could never say no to her.” Sienna smiled, but there was an edge of sadness to it. “He permitted Aria to study medicine, and slowly it became more common. I guess it’s not like that in the Bratva?”

“Not at all. I don’t know any women who went to college. Mila and I didn’t even get to go to normal school.” My cheeks heated with embarrassment. “We had tutors come to the house, but even that stopped several years ago. I’m sure I’d fail if I ever took a real class.”

Sienna squeezed my hand. “I’m sure you would do great. I can help you sign up for classes if you’re ever interested.”

My mind whirred. Would Matteo really let me take classes? I could read and write pretty well, but other than that, my education was severely lacking. “I’d always thought it would be fun to take some culinary classes,” I admitted softly.

“Oh, that would be fun. Maybe I could join you. I don’t know a thing about cooking or baking. Matteo and I pretty much survived off of microwave meals after our parents died. Once he became Don again, he hired Giana, and she’s cooked for us all these years. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s going to love you.”

I was a little nervous to meet this woman who obviously meant so much to Sienna and Matteo, but it would also be nice to have more company.

I got down from the stool and grabbed my rollator. I moved to the lower cabinet, leaning down to grab a pot, and was hit with a wave of dizziness. Noodle was at my side instantly, and I leaned against him, the room spinning.

“Sofiya?” Sienna’s voice was hazy, like it was coming to me through water.

I took a deep breath, clinging to Noodle until my vision cleared. He nudged me until I was sitting down on my rollator.

“Are you okay?” Sienna was by my side. “Should I call Matteo or Aria?”

I smiled as I rubbed Noodle’s head. “All good. Just got dizzy.”

“What can I do?”

“Can you grab a pot from under there?” I pointed at the lower cabinet. “I was going to make cacio e pepe if that’s okay with you?”

Sienna grabbed the pot and filled it, throwing concerned glances my way. “You could feed me plain pasta and it would be fine with me, but cacio e pepe sounds perfect. If you’re sure you’re up to it? If not, you could tell me what to do and I will attempt not to burn the kitchen down.”

I snorted. “No, I really think I’m okay now.” I grabbed my glass of water off the counter and drank the rest of it down. I needed to stay hydrated.

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