He didn’t like those words. Neither did the other two. I sensed that they silently asked each other if I could identify them, and if so, perhaps disposing of the situation was the lesser of evils.
Me.The situation. And only one man stood between the four of them and me.
“Shit! Her husband’s Luca Fausti’s son!” The big man paced in a circle. Sweat dripped down his face. “All for a dance, Taylor! This has gone too far.”
Oh,now it had gone too far—he wasn’t saying that when Taylor manhandled me. How convenient of him. He offered this sound advice after the bruises had started to take root below the skin.
Another whistle made the six of us look to the left, to where the sound seemed to be getting closer and closer.
“Amici?” I whispered to Aeden.Friends?
“Aye.” He smiled wide. “Yours as well, wee dancer.”
A pack of Legion men came toward us, Gabriel and Michael, along with Eva and Layla. Familiar Italian faces, along with my tribe, were interspersed among them. I almost fell to my knees in sheer relief.
Two men helped Guido walk, his arms around their shoulders. He didn’t look well. Valentina followed them, keeping an eye on him.
Fast moving feet against the cobblestones made me turn to see the four hulking forms of the football players fade into the night, desperate to melt into it. They were like monsters afraid of the light.
I had no idea who the other three were, but Taylor linked them all together.
“Scarlett!” Violet gasped, almost mowing me down with the intensity of her embrace. Before I knew it, I was being hugged and kissed, passed around from one woman to another.
“Brando!” I said, about to fall to the ground, looking for my phone.
“Here it is, wee dancer.” Aeden handed it to me.
All I could do was nod at him, too choked up to form the thank you that my heart desperately wanted to convey. If not for him—I choked off the thought. I would tell him how much he meant to me, how he saved my life. First I had to find the right words.
“Brando?” I whispered.
He cleared his throat. “You okay, Ballerina Girl?”
“I’m okay.” I couldn’t say another word around the sob threatening to burst from my chest.
“Put Aeden on the phone, baby.”
I did.
Aeden shook his head, smiling, telling Brando that no thanks were required. “Ta! I’m a Legion man. Tis my job, aye?”
Gabriel looked at me and cocked his head to the side. His smile was rueful. “How’s the heels, wee dancer?”
“Sore,” I said through the tightness in my throat.
“Eva too.” He shook his head at her. “Does your man know what it is you’ve done in his honor?”
“No,” I said. “Not yet.”
“Poor fella. Ah, but I guess it could’ve been worse. Tis a small matter your ankles will be in light of this.”
“Yes,” I said, catching his meaning.
He wrapped his arms around Eva and me, leading the way home.
Chapter Twelve
Scarlett
