"Crazy plant lady," I tease, looking into her eyes.
She smiles. "Just plant lady, not crazy."
I laugh, knowing that's absolutely not true. She is a little crazy, but she's also intelligent, and infuriating, and beautiful. So incredibly beautiful.
She steps around me and opens the front door. As she turns back, she adds, "Maybe a little crazy," with a wink that makes me chuckle again before I follow her out.
We enter Vito's penthouse and are immediately greeted by sounds of animated chatter. Walking straight to the kitchen, we find Rafa covered head to toe in flour while Rina, Sofia, and Gianna laugh hysterically at whatever disaster has occurred.
I frown at the chaotic scene. Elena bursts out laughing beside me.
"Oh my god, what did we walk into?" she asks through her laughter.
They all turn toward us. Rina approaches to give Elena a hug while Rafa heads to the sink to brush flour off his shirt. Rina starts to pull Elena away to join the other women, but Elena stops and looks at me.
"I'll be out in about an hour," I tell her. She nods before walking over to sit with Sofia and Gianna at the counter. Rina joins Rafa at the sink to help clean up.
I head toward Vito's office. Before leaving the kitchen entirely, I glance back at Elena. She's looking directly at me and blushes when our eyes meet, then quickly turns away.
I round the corner and make my way to the office.
A minute later, I'm seated across from Vito. He's behind his desk and I've chosen the formal chair arrangement—appropriate given the serious nature of what I need to report.
"So, what have you found?" Vito asks.
"Elena has been relatively quiet for the past eight days... until last night. She arranged a meeting with someone. When I showed up, it was Ronan O'Callahan."
Vito's eyes darken immediately. He knows Ronan's reputation and what his involvement means.
"I followed her—she didn't know I was there. I couldn't hear the entire conversation but things escalated quickly. She slapped him."
Vito's eyebrows shoot up.
"Yeah. No one would expect a woman to land a hit on Ronan. But after she slapped him, he threatened her with a knife. I intervened. He told her he was interested in her 'offer' and that he'd see her soon."
"What offer?" Vito leans forward.
"I don't know. All I could get out of her afterward was 'it's not what you think.' I believe there's more she isn't telling me, but I'm not certain it's what we originally suspected."
Vito drums his fingers on the desk. "Do we know where Elio is currently?"
"I'm going to have Rafa investigate the past ten years since Elio left the organization."
Vito nods. "Stay close to her. Let me know what else you discover." He pauses, his expression shifting slightly. "How are you handling the assignment? Living in close quarters—that can't be easy."
I meet his gaze steadily. "It's fine. I'm managing."
"Managing." He studies me for a long moment. "Has anything happened between you two that I should know about?"
"No," I say immediately. "Nothing's happened."
"Good." Vito's voice is firm. "Because she's Rina's cousin, Marco. Family. And she's in a vulnerable position right now. I need you focused on keeping her safe and finding out what she's hiding. Not... anything else."
The message is crystal clear. She's off limits.
"Understood," I say.
Vito holds my gaze a moment longer, making sure his point has landed. Then he shifts topics. "Do we have any new information about who's taken over Irish operations?"
