Page 37 of Little Deer
“That was the catalyst to start everything, but this probably would have eventually happened. The temporary truce the four families struck years ago was never going to last forever.”
She shakes her head. “It’s just so hard to wrap my head around.”
“It will grow easier to understand. You’ve been here for less than twenty-four hours,dolcezza. Plus, the hours they kept you.”
“What would you have done if they hadn’t taken me? Would you have still come to bring me here? Even if I didn’t want to?”
How to answer that and not sound like an asshole? Instead, I fall back on what I know works. I give her a charming smile. “I’m sure I could have persuaded you,cerbiatta. You’d have come willingly, so that you could spend more time with me.”
She gives me a wry smile. “You’re that confident, are you? Just so used to having women falling at your feet?”
“It can be a bit of a trial sometimes. Have to watch my step a lot.”
A small snort escapes her, and even Kida looks at me with exasperated amusement. “I’m surprised you can see straight with your ego holding your head so far up in the clouds,” Lucy returns. “And I’ll let you think you can persuade me, but I’m smarter than I look.”
I can’t help myself. She’s pressing just the right buttons. I lean down and murmur in her ear, “Then it’s a good thing I like smart, beautiful women, isn’t it,dolcezza? I’d have enjoyed you making me work to convince you. I love a challenge. It makes the win so much sweeter.”
She shivers, and I see the heat in her cheeks as she refuses to look at me again. I might be pushing my luck, but she’s not running away screaming, so I’ll count that as a win.
I want to see what else I can get away with telling her, but I keep my mouth shut. Instead, I enjoy watching her, seeing her trying to ignore me and failing. I feel a low simmer of desire start to thrum.
There’s something there. A chemistry that I don’t know that I want to ignore, but the logical part of me is screaming not to dive into it. It’s too soon. She’s been through too much, and she’s still recovering from birth.
Except that the same feeling I felt in the walk-in closet hits me again as she looks at her son to make sure he’s still doing alright. That softness on her face. That unconditional love. The beauty of her smile. It’s captivating, and I want to see her smile that way at me. I want to see it when I’ve made her happy, and I want to see it when her head is on the pillow after I’ve made her come a few times, filling her so deep and full that she’ll never question how much I desire. How much I need her.
The thoughts are startling. Terrifying. I’m not looking for something permanent. Am I?
The door suddenly opens, and Dante stalks back inside. “I have another possible complication,” he announces when we all turn to look at him. “My contact gave me two possible names.” He looks at us grimly. “The names are Conti and Bianchi.”
Well, fuck. That wasn’t what I was expecting.
20
LUCY
Everyone is talkingover each other, and the noise is too much for Soren. He lets out an angry sound, and I know he’s going to be close to a meltdown if I don’t get him out of here and to somewhere quiet. I slip around Massimo, heading for the door. I half expect someone to stop me, but no one seems to be paying any attention to me.
Good. This is a little too much for me right now. I need the break.
Out in the hallway, it’s blissfully quiet, and I rock Soren with my body slightly as I make my way down toward the end of the hall. It’s lined with more shut doors, until I finally reach the end and find a wide window seat, along with a set of stairs that look to head up to the second level, but then another set that leads down.
I’m curious about where the ones going down go, but I’m not brave enough to have Nico pissed at me for snooping.
I curl up on the window seat, putting my knees up as I pull Soren out of his sling so he can rest back against them. He quiets now that he can see me and look around. He’s always been an inquisitive baby, even for being so young. I swear he was looking around the minute he was born.
He clutches my fingers that I hold out to him, and he kicks his little legs excitedly, and I glance out the window.
At this end of the house, I can see the outside is well-kept, lots of bushes and fancy-looking flowers, but also very well patrolled. Men with dogs walk along the paths, along the fence lines, and through trees that lead down to the main gate. It’s like a military operation, but I guess a man like Nico can’t be too careful. And considering what I just heard, it’s probably a good thing.
I do know one thing. I’m starting to see that being here is the better option. Even if I don’t want to be here, it looks like I’d have ended up involved somewhere, and this group, while a bit odd and scary, at least they aren’t trying to sell or abuse me. Or Soren and Kida.
I probably could do without knowing that Nico murdered his mother, or that he kidnapped Gia, but I think I just need to start changing my expectations. I can’t expect them to do things normally. Legally. Morally right. This is the mafia. While I’ve never been completely sheltered from the world as a whole, I don’t think I’ve ever really grasped just what kind of world this one can be. Or, rather, is.
“We’re not in Kansas anymore, are we, baby boy?” I murmur to Soren, who kicks his feet again and squeezes my fingers tightly.
“Lucy? Are you alright?” Massimo’s voice asks.
I manage not to jump, but I turn my head to look at him in surprise. “I’m fine. Soren was getting fussy with all the noise,and I just needed a minute.” He sits down on the other end of the window seat, watching me.
