Page 12 of Mine to Love
“Look, we’ll take it slow,” I say then. “We’ll start here, and we’ll move at your pace. Deal?” As my phone dings, Darcy uncrosses her arms and nods. “Good. They’re ready for us.”
Darcy,Delilah, and Ru walk ahead of me as I hold the back door open to the parlor. “Straight ahead,” I tell Darcy as she walks slowly through the hallway toward the front of the building. It’s a Sunday, so there are no customers to contend with. Although, as we make it to the black-painted brick-walled space, I realize I did forget to warn the girls about DamonandRu about Brinkley.
Brinkley, Ana’s white Pomeranian, fills the otherwise quiet room with yapping as he takes off running toward us dressed in a pink bowtie that matches Ana’s heels. Ru steps in front of Delilah and lets out one loud bark that has Brinkley doubling back toward Ana. She quickly scoops him up as Damon greets Ru with a huge smile and tons of pets. “That’s a good girl,” he says.
“Damon!” Ana snaps, giving him the side-eye. Brinkley growls in agreement.
“What?I’ve known Ru longer. Therefore, I’m Team Ru.”
“Well, I’m sure Brinkley will remember that comment when he shits in your shoes tonight.”
Damon rolls his eyes. “Fine. I’m neutral,” he groans. Standing upright, he gives Brinkley some loving too and then directs his attention to us by cocking his brow and shoving his hands into his pockets. His jaw clenches as he darts his eyes between Darcy and Delilah, and then he tilts his chin up as his attention finally lands on me. As I said, I should have warned them.
Not only is Damon pissed, as was obvious by his tone when I called him this morning, but everything about him is off-putting—on a good day—unless you know him. From the all-black attire to the tattoos covering damn near every inch of his skin to his arrogant asshole demeanor. Don’t get me wrong, I love him. But he’s not everyone’s cup of tea and most people find him intimidating.
Similar to Brinkley running to Ana, Delilah reaches for Darcy’s hand and shrinks behind her after getting a good look at Damon. I stifle a groan and position myself between them.
“Thanks for meeting us on such short notice, especially given recent events,” I say then. As I do, Ana sucks in a breath and drops her eyes to the wood-planked floors beneath us. As she pulls Brinkley closer, I notice she’s wearing one of Damon’s extra-long black t-shirts, which is the polar opposite of her typical frilly and feminine attire.Damn.Maybe it was too soon to ask. Maybe that’s why Damon is upset. She’s clearly still struggling. Not that I blame her. What she went through—I don’t know how anyone recovers.
Damon wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her tight against his side. I know Ana has spent most of the last few weeks at home with him. Neither of them leaves for anything other than to let Brinkley outside to relieve himself. Delilah notices the affectionate gesture and seems to relax, asdoes Darcy. Damon may look like one of the Devil’s hellhounds, but there’s some softness to be found if you dig deep enough. Though, it’s mostly all reserved for Ana.
“It was time,” she says then. “I mean, I’m getting married in a week. This is good practice for getting out of the houseand back into society. Baby steps. And, besides, how could I saynoto shopping or you, Gio? You helped save my life.”
Damon clears his throat and leans down to whisper something in Ana’s ear. He’s probably reminding her that Darcy and Delilah know nothing about the Mafia or the assault she suffered at the hands of her brother Aidan’s enemies. Ana nods and moves her eyes to Darcy, offering her another welcoming smile.
“You could’ve saidno,” I tell her. “But I’m glad you didn’t. Ana, Damon, I’d like you to meet Darcy and her daughter, Delilah. They’ll be staying with me—indefinitely—and they’re in need of, well, everything.” I pull my wallet from my pants pocket and hand Ana my Black Card. “Go do some damage.”
Ana smiles then and takes my card. “As if I need any encouraging. Come on,” Ana, with Brinkley in tow, links arms with Darcy and leads her toward the stairs as Delilah and Ru follow behind. “Welcome to the family,” I hear her say. “We’re going to have such fun.” Hearing Ana say those words has me fighting a smile. It wasn’t that long ago that I was officially welcoming her to the family. Darcy’s lips part as she looks back at me before ascending the stairs. I offer her a reassuring nod and then turn to find Damon watching me with a narrowed gaze and his arms crossed over his chest.
“Look, I’m sorry about dragging Ana out of the house so soon after… I just didn’t know who else to call.”
“Ana made her choice. This isn’t about that,” he says then, his tone stern.
My brows furrow. “Well, this might be a first, Damon, but I’m at a loss. Please enlighten me as to what the fuck your problem is.” I move past him toward the sofa at the front of the parlor.
Following behind me, he says, “You dropped four bodies in fewer hours, all for this woman you don’t even know.”
His mention of Darcy stops me in my tracks. As I reach the couch, I spin to face him with a scowl of my own. “Damon, you’re my brother. But you’d be wise to put some respect in your tone real quick when you’re speaking of her. And her name is Darcy.”
“I don’t care what her fucking name is. Who is she and what the hell has she done to you? Because the Gio Moretti I know is Mr. Diplomacy. We just got the FBI off our back and settled all the problems Aidan caused.So, what?Now it’s your turn to play the hot head? The current stability in New Orleans is only possible because of your ability to remain calm and sensible. And now, you’re going off the rails, which means everything is in jeopardy—yet again—after we just got Ana back.”
It’s then that Damon turns away from me and slams his fist into his palm. My facial features soften as my frustration with him quells. I knew Ana would still be healing, but it’s clear he’s still struggling too. He’d have more sympathy if he knew how close Darcy was to suffering the same fate as Ana.
Turning back to me, with tears in his eyes, he says, “All fucking night I was getting texts from the guys at The Compound about your rampage and the curvy blonde chick. I couldn’t even sleep. What the fuck is happening, Gio?”
I drop my head and sink my shoulders. It’s disheartening that the one time I act out of character, the one time I’m impulsive and do something for myself—wantsomething for myself—this is the reaction, or perhaps reality.
Damon isn’t wrong. The state of our world is still fragile. Before leaving New Orleans, giving up his throne and the threats that come with being king—at least, he hopes—Alisterorchestrated a peaceful transition of power to the Irish mob. Aidan, Ana’s brother, is the new king of the criminal underworld here in New Orleans and, needless to say, the transition wasn’t as smooth as we’d hoped. He quickly made enemies, which led to Ana’s abduction. Just weeks ago, we were on the brink of an all-out war. Remembering this makes me consider the truth in Damon’s biting words.
Maybe I was irresponsible. Maybe I took this whole thing too far. But I couldn’t have planned for Darcy to walk into that bar yesterday or how I would feel after being in her presence mere minutes, which was only amplified as I felt her slipping away. And, regardless of my feelings, I would never leave a woman to be raped and murdered. So, truly, only one body was the victim of my passion. And, with the guys from The Compound cleaning up after me, there’ll be no evidence linking me to any of their murders. Actually, there won’t even be any bodies left to find. Still, I understand Damon’s worry, which is why I hold in the truth of who Darcy is to me and instead offer him a much simpler explanation.
“She’s my maid. It’s a long story, but she’d been staying at the shelter out in the Marigny. She needed to return there to get her few belongings. Before I arrived to pick her up, she and Delilah had been taken. I got there just in time before they— Well, I’m sure you can imagine.”
Damon nods. Lowering his gaze to the floor, he wipes the remnants of his tears from his face. “But I’d rather not.” I nod in agreement and finally take my seat on the sofa. The sunlight pouring in from the windows behind me warms my back. Somehow, it’s soothing despite the sweltering heat waiting for us outside. “And the bartender?” He asks then, sitting in the chair opposite me.
I lean back and cross one leg over the other, resting my heel atop my knee. “Like I said, it’s a long story.”
“Mhmm. Well, you know the last time I had an indefinite counterpart, I ended up with a fiancé and that annoying ass dog. You’re already one step ahead with a damn near daughter living under your roof.”
