Down to the parlor floor, which Scarlett liked to call communal, was the kitchen, living room, and vestibule. Though at night, she and I were the only ones who used the first floor.
The garden floor had more rooms to spare, another kitchen, two more small bathrooms, a tiny gym, and accessibility to the patio/garden. There was the basement too, but we left it for storage and such.
There was plenty of room to house our own security team. Each of our homes had them. Donato still headed up the department, but since he was married with a son, he had his own place, with men who lived with him. Our homes were broken down into smaller clusters. Guido headed ours.
That was one detail I refused to budge on—the loss of protection. Ettore and Nemours were both still at large, and I refused to risk even a second of her time.
One of the men came out of the door, his shoulders coming up to his neck to ward off the chill. “Signor Fausti,” Nino said with a nod. “Buongiorno.”
“Buongiorno, Nino,” I said, slapping him on his back. “Day off?”
He nodded, almost looking shy. “I will spend it wisely.”
“You do that,” I said, trying my hardest not to grin at his serious face.
“Yo, Brando!” Violet said, appearing in the open doorway that led to the vestibule. “I have something for you.”
She had on a long pink sweater that covered a gray, work-type dress. Her heels matched her sweater. I had no idea how she didn’t freeze. She wrapped her sweater tighter when the cold wind hit her.
“Yeah,” I said, walking up the stairs. “I heard.”
She slapped the residual snow off my shoulder, giving me a knowing smile. Eunice bounced up behind her, requesting my jacket and hanging it on the peg.
“It’s all right, Eunice,” I said, after I thanked her. “I can do it.”
“Oh, I know! But Iliketo.”
Violet grinned. “Whatever floats your boat.”
Eunice put her hands to each side of my waist, too short to reach up and grab my shoulders, and marched me toward the kitchen. “Now let’s get you something to eat. A man has to eat to keep up his strength!”
A man has to eat to keep up with Scarlett, I thought.
I took a seat at the table not long after being presented with a buffet of foods—fried eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, steak, along with homemade biscuits and an assortment of fruit. I took comfort in the fact that she cooked for an army, so all of this wasn’t just for me. She usually cooked on the lighter side, but sometimes she said we had to splurge.
No complaints from me on that regard.
Violet poured herself a cup of coffee and then began to dig through her messenger bag.
“This surprise,” I said around a bite of steak.
She turned to me, her face giving nothing away. “Patience is a virtue,” she practically sang.
Eunice started to hum while she busied herself in the kitchen, picking up on Violet’s thread.
Violet held her hands up when our eyes met. “Give me a second!”
Mitch came through the door, cursing about snow and how fucking cold it was. When he ran into the smells of manna, his noise came up, sniffing. Violet went still and then almost bristled.
“Ms. Eunice?” Mitch called. “Do I smell food fromthegoddess?”
“You sure do! Take a seat, child. I’ll be there shortly with a plate.”
“You might as well line them up on the counter,” Mitch said. “More men are on their—”
Mitch stopped short when he saw Violet. Their eyes connected for a brief second before he came my way and she turned her back on him.
He shook like a wet dog before taking a seat next to me. He leaned over, close to my ear. “What’s she doing here?”
