“Use a wire hanger.” Her snort grated
“Rainita Howard.” I clenched my jaw.
“What? I’ve seen your ride. I’m not helping you commit grand theft auto.”
“It’s an AMG. My friend’s car.”
“Right.” Another snort.“Marines like us? Is this friend a construct of your imagination? What year?”
I scanned the plates—4TASHA5.Probably a gift. Maybe her fourth car if her parents gave her a new car for every birthday. She’d had cancer, so I assumed from age eighteen instead of sixteen, like many other spoiled kids. “Maybe last year. I guess.”
“Fine. If the alarm goes off, that’s on you,” Rain teased.
Within sixty seconds, Rain guided me in system tampering.
“Don’t call me until you need real help. Or you’re in town.”
“Of course, you’ll be the first person I call when I’m in North Carolina,” I lied, scrubbing my jaw. Come to think of it? Her skills seemed useful. She could break through anything with a keyboard.Later. For now, I hung up and sat in Natasha’s car.
Yep. I sat in the Bratva princess’s car. Looked through the glove compartment. Took a small vial of her perfume—a keepsake. Could drink in the scent of her every time she ghosted me. And then I waited.
And waited.
I parked my vehicle closer to the elevators, placing myself in Natasha’s path.Within minutes, a family stepped out—a little girl in a wheelchair, half asleep. She dropped a unicorn, and her parents were too busy to notice. So, I borrowed the thing. Figured I could use it somehow.
An hour dragged by. The elevator dinged, and I rushed to the doors, grasping the sparkly pink unicorn, tag still on its ear. If this were Natasha, Unicorn would make me look more approachable.Softer.Safe.
The doors opened, and I exhaled, glimpsing Natasha. She was unaware, scrolling on her phone.Perfect. I stepped forward. A harmless toy in my grip. A smile trained to pass for warmth.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” I said,bumpinginto Natasha, pretending to be unable to see past the stuffed animal.
“Enzo?” Soft, succulent.
As I lowered the unicorn, I widened my eyes, and the predator stirred under my skin, though I kept it buried deep.
I forced a slow smile, feigned embarrassment, and tucked the toy behind my back like I was carrying contraband plushies. But nah. The pink furry unicorn I was choking just screamed,Look,this dude has a…softer side.
“Natasha?” I let the Italian accent roll from my tongue—the heritage stolen from me the day Vassili took Papa. And later, Mama.
4
NATASHA
Oh no.Oh no. Oh no. Trouble on a stick. Tall. Sculpted muscles defined every inch of him. Topped with a face worthy of a magazine cover.Ihadn’t seen Lorenzo Ferri in over a year, and there weren’t enough prayers in the world to ease me into another encounter with him.
Oddly, I met him and Lach on the same day. The Marine Raider, a military buddy of Jamie’s, had come to his and Jordyn’s Christmas-themed wedding. When Lachlan and the rest of their brothers had a chat with their father, Enzo introduced himself, and my instincts exploded like a flare gun.Warning!
I’d given him my number because he made me laugh. Then I ghosted him for half a year. Calls. Texts. Crickets. That was all I offered.
All I could offer … Until one evening in July.
Lach and I had been talking on the phone, texting, having great conversations since we met. We’d crossed each other’s paths a handful of times before I scored premiere tickets at the Chinese Theater—a rom-com. Lach’s manager had slammed him with Dodger events, and he’d promised me he’d get away.But he hadn’t. Something came up. A Coca-Cola endorsement commercial, maybe. It was always something, so Iwentwith Plan B. Literally. I hadn’t expected Lorenzo to come with me, much less have this amazing laugh.
“Hey …”Okay, that sounded like a palm-to-forehead moment. “What are you doing here?” Despite his laughter and joy, his dark eyes always revealed hunger.
Ravenous hunger.
And I didn’t want him to gobble me up.
