I kissed her between the eyes, closing my eyes, breathing her in. “Could you?” I whispered.
She set her hands on my chest, pushing a little. I refused to budge. She took a step back.
“Look at me, Matteo Leone Fausti.”
And, just like fucking that, I did.
“My place has always been, will always be, beside you.”
“Vow it.”
She lifted a hand. “I swear it,” she whispered.
I took her hand, kissing her pulse, and then we went to our bedroom and changed our clothes. I dressed in a suit, as usual,and she slipped on a dress that I knew was made of the finest material and was expensive. I knew because I’d picked it out for her myself. I didn’t comment on it, but I knew she’d worn it on purpose. To show her enemies she wasn’t under their control any longer. As we got closer to the stone building on the property where the men had brought the two women, she squeezed our already joined hands and then entwined our fingers. Her hands were trembling some.
Even with a swarm of soldiers around her.
My men walked in front of us, besides us, and behind us.
Oscar and another solider, Mario, were guarding the front door. There was no other door.
Oscar nodded at me, then at Stella.
She gave him a small smile, and I looked between them, but there were no lingering stares or pleasantries. Especially when she noticed his black eye.
She gasped, then looked at me, a frown on her face. It was the first time she’d ever looked at me that way. Then it turned into anger. Her face tightened, and so did her lips. She narrowed her eyes at me, and I could’ve sworn they promised…we’ll talk about this later.
Oscar was a good man, but he got what he deserved. He should have waited for permission to walk my wife home. And if it was something she demanded, he should have had more men with him. He also didn’t take fucking orders from Tiziano. Tiziano had told him to go inside and get him a glass of water. He should have stayed with Stella no matter what. He was lucky he kept his eye. He wouldn’t forget the lesson anytime soon.
The set of Stella’s face was for the best. When she noticed the two women sitting in chairs, side by side, her hand in mine stiffened. I picked up on her intake of breath, as quiet as it was, and the uptick of her heart and pulse.
Maybe she wasn’t scared of these women, but she was remembering. Remembering how deeply they had scarred her.
Before we could get to them, Lev, the Russian assassin who had always been enamored with my mamma, stepped out of the shadows like he was made to be a part of them.
He nodded at me and said in Russian, “Congratulations.”
I nodded and said in English, “My wife, Stella Fausti. Stella, Lev. He’s an old acquaintance of my mother and father’s.” I refused to say just my mamma’s. It didn’t seem respectful to my father, since this man held love for my mamma, or fondness, as she called it. As a child she had danced for his grandfather in Russia, and he’d admired her since then.
Lev was a dangerous man. He was the head of the Seven Deadly Sins, a top-secret assassin group from Russia. Their name was only rumored. They truly had no name in the world. When my sister had been in trouble, Lev came to us with the deal between Maestro and the girl Lev had in Russia.
Since then, and since some of our enemies were from Russia, Lev had been turning up more often than ever before. He said since Maestro had agreed to the marriage, andPadrinohad already set up the arrangement, we’d also gained allies in him and his men.
Lev nodded at Stella.
She stared at his face. “One of your men…” She seemed to hesitate, but then squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “The night Matteo came to the underground club. One of your men walked outside of the window to the restaurant next door. I was on the opposite side of that window. He looked at me. He had a wolf, like Boris, except his was darker. Much darker.”
Lev called the man Wolf in Russian. Then he repeated it in broken English. “That is my wolf,” he said, “with his wolf.”
Stella’s eyebrows drew in. “Do the two men know each other? Wolf and Boris?”
Lev nodded. “They are enemies.”
“Oh.” She stared at him a little harder. “You were following us. I mean, when the men would take me to the club. I remember your face.”
“I did this on purpose,” he said, and then turned, gesturing to the two women. “You have presents waiting.” He bowed to her and then walked closer to the two women.
A group of my men surrounded them, and so did a brunette with features sharp enough to cut through ice. Her eyes were a blue that seemed chiseled from the coldest stone. They landed on us but refused to leave my face. She even licked her lips and then smiled at me. It wasn’t the kind of smile that was soft and sweet. It was the kind of smile that promised a wild fucking ride. Maybe one a man could never get off. She was what Lev was. Just as dangerous, or more, because some men might never expect it.
