Page 28 of Where Wild Hearts Dance
She’s thelastthing I need.
“Speaking of women…” Cristiano folds his arms across his chest pushing the Di Santo crest inked to his skin through the white cotton. “What’s this I hear about you putting a bullet in some guy’s head because he sniffed Contessa’s hair?”
I know another son of a bitch who’s going to get a bullet in the head.
My tone throbs with impatience. “That’s not what happened.”
Cristiano smiles like a cat that got the fucking cream. “You want to elaborate?”
“Make whatever you want of it but the fact is, she’s part of our family now, and she’s a liability. I’ve been keeping an eye on her ever since you moved Trilby into the house.”
“So, six months then?” Cristiano’s brow dips like he’s working overtime to take me seriously, which only pisses me off more.
“I happened to notice during that time she was being followed.”
Cristiano’s smug grin falls. “Followed?”
I fold my own arms across my chest. This ismygame now. “Yeah,followed.”
“Who was he?” Cristiano bites out.
“A nobody,” I assure him. “A low-life criminal. But he was sick. He’d been convicted of sexual assault. Jailed for it. He’d been stalking Contessa for three years, obsessing over her, documenting every move she made.” I take a heavy breath in. “He planned to abduct her.”
“When?”
“Don’t know the exact date,” I reply, “but looking at the diary he kept, it was close.”
Cristiano scrubs a hand down his face. “Why didn’t you tell me, Benny?”
“That he planned to abduct her? Because I didn’tknow he was planning that until we raided his dive of an apartment.”
“And the stalking?”
“Because I had it handled.”
“How?”
I arch a brow like he really needs to ask me that.
“The barbershop…” he says quietly. “That’s why you set up the business?”
I lean back and brush a hand down my suit lapels. “It’s notwhyI set up the business. It’s a front. I launder money through it. But it’s one of the reasons I chosethat spot.”
When I look up, he’s staring at me with unguarded gratitude. “Fuck,” he whispers. “Your loyalty will never fail to floor me.” He steps forward and wraps an arm around my neck before giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Benito. I had no idea she was in any danger, but you’re right, she’s still young and she doesn’t appreciate the risks of being connected with us. Please continue to watch her. My fiancée’s sister needs to be kept safe.”
He releases me and I go back to straightening my lapels. “I’ll do anything you need me to. You’re my family.”
He frowns. “Does she know that’s why you set up shop there?”
“She doesn’t know that’s why I chose that spot for the barbershop, no. Doesn’t matter anyway. The brat hates me.”
Cristiano tries to cover his smirk with a curled fist. “She hates you? Why?”
A kernel of irritation sends out tendrils from the pit of my stomach to the surface of my skin. “Fuck if I know. Anyway, you don’t need to be worrying about her—you’ve got more important things to worry about. I’ll do it.”
“So, you’re going to spy on her from the barber’s chair?” His eyes are practically dancing with amusement.
I can’t help the sadistic grin pulling at my scarred cheek. “No, no. I’ve gone one better than that. I’m leasing the office above her studio. I’ll be there every day.”
