Page 28 of Declan's Dove

“She’s a doctor. I don’t know her last name. I only know her as Miss Emilia, but Mama calls her Mili for short.” He shrugs. “It’s not polite for me to use her nickname without her permission.”

“Good point.” It’s coming up on nine thirty and the kid’s eyes are getting heavy. “Why don’t you take your pizza and put it in the fridge, then go get ready for bed.”

“Can I take my leftovers for lunch tomorrow?” he asks, looking hopeful.

“You can’t heat it up. Are you going to be all right eating cold pizza for lunch?”

He gives me an incredulous look and huffs, “Hell yeah. I love cold pizza. I’d eat it for breakfast if Mama would allow it, but she always tells me pizza isn’t a breakfast food.” He makes his voice sound high-pitched, imitating his mother’s and I laugh.

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing. Cold pizza is the shit for any meal.”

“Right?” Carter agrees.

“All right. You can take the cold pizza for lunch. What time do I need to wake you up for breakfast and to get ready for school?”

“Um, seven thirty. I don’t need anything fancy for breakfast. And it only takes me ten minutes to get dressed and brush my teeth.”

“Perfect. Go on now. I’ll see you in the morning.” I get up to put my own dinner in the fridge and grab a beer.

“Good night, Mister … I mean Declan. Thanks for letting me sleep over.”

“Good night, kid. You’re welcome to stay anytime.”

Carter gets his teeth brushed and does his business in the bathroom. I lock up the house and wait until I hear the guest room door close before going into my bedroom. I close my door behind me, pull out my phone and set the house alarm. Then I set an alarm to wake the kid. I’m sure I’ll be up long before him anyway, but better to be safe. As soon as that’s complete, I make a call to the only person I know can help me get to the bottom of things.

He picks up after two rings.

“What’s up, Dec?”

“Hawk, I need a favor. An off-the-record, don’t-get-your-ass-caught kind of favor.”

I hear rustling around on the other end of the phone, then the sound of a keyboard clicking in the background.

“What do you have for me? What am I looking for?”

“A doctor named Emilia and I need everything you can find on Trident Elite Forces.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Violet

The ride back to Vincenzo’s penthouse at the hotel was long and quiet. I rode with Matteo in the same SUV as before while Vincenzo insisted the doctor and Mili ride with him. Mili, of course, protested, wanting to ride with me and the doctor instead, but Vincenzo wasn’t having it. I don’t know if he was just being an ass because he’s the boss or if he was worried about leaving us on our own with the doctor.

Vincenzo Parisi is a very controlling man. He brooks no argument and pulls no punches. It’s his way or … well, there’s only his way.

As we pull into the parking garage, Matteo speaks to the men up front in Italian. When he turns his gaze to meet mine, I glare and raise my brow at him, reminding him of how rude he’s being. He gives me a sheepish grin and shrugs.

Ass.

Our doors are opened for us, and Matteo ushers me to the elevators. Mili is grumbling profanities at Vincenzo, who is now carrying her bridal style to the elevators to meet us.

“Put me down, you overbearing, pigheaded son of a bitch.” She gasps and winces, and pain is etched on her face.

“Stop fussing at me and be still,” Vincenzo orders. “You’re going to further injure yourself and, in doing so, piss me off. So, cut the shit, Gattina.”

Whoa.

His eyes have darkened, his jaw is clenched. He looks ready to murder someone. If I had to guess, my friend is sitting at the top of his list.

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