Page 52 of Rosetti Family New York
He starts to speak again, but I hang up. It won’t keep him happy, but there’s no point discussing shit that won’t change anything. The fact is, my ass is glued right here until Eleanor comes out of that fucking house.
I should’ve known she wouldn’t make this easy. The air is weighing me down, and I imagine her behind those walls, cold and unshakable. It makes my blood boil. I crack my knuckles again, restless, thinking I should just barge in and find her myself. She wants to play this game, fine. I’ll give her something to—
Eleanor appears, and my thoughts scatter. She walks toward me, slow and composed, like she doesn’t see the urgency in the world. The sight of her makes my stomach do weird flips. Her expression is cool, but her cheeks are flushed, and her mouth curves when she reaches the car.
I jump out and pull open the door. “You took too fucking long.” I don’t bother to hide my annoyance, then I pull her in to my body, needing to feel her flush against me and hold her in my arms.
Her lips are sweet as she mumbles into my mouth. “Did you ever have the feeling you might be wrong about everything?”
I was wrong about her. I thought she was pompous princess who was just chasing power, but she’s the opposite in every way. Kind, protective, smart, good with a gun and with blood, and she can handle every dark part of me.
But she doesn’t need to know that.
“Nope.”
She narrows her eyes and tells me I’m arrogant. For a moment, I forget about the Albanians, about my dad and my oldest brother, who I’ve definitely pissed off more than is strictlysafe for my health, and I laugh. But there’s movement over her shoulder, Price’s men talking and shuffling, and it brings me back to the present.
“So we leaving now, or you planning to get us both shot first?” I ask.
I wait until the mansion is out of sight before I launch into the interrogation. My pulse is racing, and I can’t pretend I’m not stressed. “What happened in there? I can’t help but notice that your sister isn’t in the car."
She tilts her head. “Juliet decided to stay today. But she’ll come tomorrow.” Her voice is light, as though the delay means nothing to her, but I know it’s eating her up inside. This hellion I married would give up everything for her little sister. She even married me. I see the tension in the way she holds herself—the stubborn set of her shoulders, the way her fingers keep moving over her jewelry like she’s trying to control them.
I lay a hand on her thigh, wishing I could promise her more. “I’m sorry, baby. But she’ll be okay for one more night, I promise you that. We’ll whisk her away first thing in the morning, knight in shining armor style.”
She’s quiet, but I can feel her gaze, see her twisting the thin gold ring on her finger.
I don’t move. There’s too much I want to say, and I can’t decide what’ll get me into the least amount of trouble.
The silence stretches painfully, a line pulled taut between us, until she finally looks over.
“Aren’t you going to tell me where else you need to be?” Her voice is sharp, deliberate.
I take my eyes off the road to glance at her, caught off-guard by the question. “What?”
“You’re driving even worse than usual,” she says. “Guessing you’re in a hurry to be some place?”
I open my mouth, then shut it, not ready to give her the satisfaction of being right just yet. This fucking woman knows everything.
My hesitation makes her smirk, and I can’t help but shake my head. “Dad called me in,” I admit finally. “Something’s going down at the club. I’ll drop you home and be back the second I can.”
Eleanor sits back, watching the streets slip by. Her cool satisfaction is almost enough to make me forget the mess I’ve got waiting: one very pissed Domenico. I drop her home, taking the time to walk her into the mansion and let her hear me instructing the guards not to let her leave.
“Don’t threaten the staff, Leonardo,” she says coolly.
“It’s not a threat. If he, or anyone else, lets you outside the perimeter of this property any time in the next 24 hours, I will remove their eyeballs and have one of my men fuck their bleeding sockets.”
She twists her mouth. “It sounds a bit like a threat.”
I kiss those pretty lips. “It’s a fact. Be good, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Il Lusso is already buzzing when I arrive. I park and run through the front. It’s not even lunchtime, but there’s already a smattering of suits and stilettos. Gold-accented décor catches glints of light as I rush through. A woman in a designer dress leans close to a man in a Brioni suit, her expression tight.
I tear up the stairs two at a time, Olga nodding as I pass.
Upstairs, in the private room, I burst through the door. My family’s gathered around the long table.
Domenico is the first to look up. “Finally.” He’s in the center, looking like he’s running the show. When I don’t say anything, he arches a brow. “So. You decided to grace us with your presence?” He’s got too much class to ream me out in front of everyone, but he’ll give me shit later for hanging up on him.
