“Get a man to see Vonnie home safely and lock the house down.”
Big Tommy stiffened at what Frankie said. Rather than argue, he nodded.
“What’s that mean?” I turned to Frankie as Big Tommy led Vonnie back to the dining room and toward the front door.
CHAPTER 21
Frankie didn’t answer but pulled his cell phone from his pocket, his face falling into a grimace when the device didn’t turn on. “And get more guys here!” he yelled after Big Tommy in the dining room.
“Sure thing, boss.”
In the next second, Frankie had lifted me up in his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Do you think you should carry me like this?” I asked.
His only answer came as a growl, and I decided not to push him any further. I enjoyed being in his arms even if I worried about his strength after being tased.
Frankie carried me right to his office, slowly deposited me on the couch in the far corner and then picked up a similar pacing pattern as I’d used less than an hour earlier.
A few times, he stopped his circles to glance at me and shake his head. Each time he repeated the gesture, my guilt grew. Frankie thought he failed me in the same way my cousin had by not keeping me safe, but I was the only person who should be guilty. I walked right into Frankie’s arms and then led Greg to Pelican Bay.
At first, I lied for self-preservation. I thought if Frankie knew who I was, he’d try to use me against my cousin more than he already planned in his scheme.
It was so much better to pretend we lived in a world where Frankie and I could be together rather than accept the truth.
It wasn’t Frankie’s fault but mine that this happened.
“Frankie,” I said, getting ready to start my story.
My words only caused him to shake his head as he paced. “But what I can’t figure out,” he said, as if we’d been having a conversation. “You’re gorgeous, and I’m sure a wonderful bookie, but this man has now attacked my home twice. Nobody in history has ever attacked my home. Never, Shiloh.”
I didn’t understand Frankie until right then. Bringing the fight to his home was the first offense. Frankie would retaliate in kind regardless of what I said. He was a mobster, after all.
My throat tickled as I gathered the courage to say my next words.
“What makes a man act so?” he asked, and this time there was no gleam in Frankie’s eyes.
For quite possibly the first time since I’d met him, Frankie Zanetti was clueless.
But I wasn’t.
“What’s worse is they have gotten inside once. My home has never been breached. I’ve grown lax, and it allowed you to be attacked.”
“Frankie,” I tried again, not wanting to tell him the full story but knowing I needed to get the truth out there.
He shook his head and continued pacing, not hearing my words.
“Frankie,” I said again, louder, jarring him to attention. “I need to tell you a few things.”
At that, he stopped walking altogether and turned to face me.
Great. Now I really had his attention.
“This is my fault. I told you I was the Grandmaster’s best bookie, but that isn’t the only reason Greg is after me. It’s personal.”
Frankie nodded his head. “Obviously, Cara Mia. A man does not travel all the way to Maine if it’s not personal. Has he touched you?” he asked, and his eyes gleamed with unshed violence.
I rushed to shake my head. “Nothing like that. I broke the rules with Greg. Big time.”
“I can’t imagine you doing anything reckless enough to deserve someone attacking you here.” Frankie’s words were meant to make me feel better, but they did the exact opposite.
