“Oh my god, stop,” Fitz laughed. He playfully pushed Jack away. “Anyway, sorry to run off so early. I’ve got inventory at the salon today, and Jack has an installation job over in Vilano Beach. Will you give Joker a hug for me? I’ll check on him later this afternoon.”
“Of course,” Gio said, walking them to the door. Fitz kissed his cheek and hugged him.
“Call us if you need anything,” Jack said, waving as they headed to his car. Gio waved and closed the door behind him.The house was quiet, but it was a peaceful quiet. Knowing Sacha was upstairs, tucked in bed, warmed him.
Gio made himself coffee and breakfast and, when he was done, sat on the couch with his laptop to check his emails. Cookie and Chip napped on the floor near him. When Cookie lifted his head, and Chip did his “boof” quiet bark thing, Gio listened. It didn’t sound like Sacha was up, so it was probably a delivery. He checked his phone. Yep. Another flower delivery.
“Your daddy is going to have to thank a lot of people,” Gio said with a chuckle. “He’s going to be so thrilled.” He walked to the door and opened it, smiling at the delivery person. She smiled back.
“Mr. Wilder?”
“Yes, thank you.” He signed for the flowers, thanked her, and as she walked away, he waved to the agents at the far end of the drive. Making sure he locked up behind him, he turned and hummed. “Where’s this one going?” He ended up having to put the bouquet on the bar in the game room.Maybe I should move some of the others in here, too.
Returning to the living room, Gio went back to work. It was a quiet day where he checked on Sacha, making sure he ate and took his medication on time, played frisbee on the beach with the dogs, and received five more deliveries: two of flowers, two snack baskets, and one fruit basket. Ace was going to end up with an entire produce aisle’s worth of fruit.
Later that evening, after taking Cookie and Chip out to potty, Gio sat on the couch with the TV on low in the background while he confirmed Sacha’s follow-up appointments. Cookie’s head shot up, and Chip released a low growl, probably annoyed at being woken up for the umpteenth time today by delivery people.
With Sacha upstairs in bed all day, Chip spent some of the time with Sacha and some of the day downstairs with Gio, buthe went up every so often to check that his daddy was still where he’d left him. Gio chuckled and closed his laptop. He checked his phone.
“And your daddy saysIknow a lot of people,” he told Chip, who tilted his head. “Why are you two so cute?” Gio headed for the door, Cookie at his side and Chip following. These two. When Chip wasn’t napping with Sacha, he was Gio’s furry shadow. Gio opened the door and smiled at the deliveryman. Like so many of the other delivery people, his polo shirt and baseball cap had a colorful flower shop name embroidered on them. Gio recognized the logo, it was from a little flower shop in the historic district.
“Delivery for Mr. Wilder,” the man said.
“Yes, I can take it. Thank you.” Gio signed the little pad, and the man lifted his face. There was something familiar about him. Then again, Gio had been in that flower shop before. “Do I know you?” Before he had a chance to process what the hell was going on, the man shoved him inside and closed the door behind him. Chip growled low, and Cookie positioned himself in front of Gio.
Everything happened in a flash.
Gio threw his arm up to cover his face and head from the thick vase that slammed into him. Glass shattered, and Gio stumbled back, his arm stinging as he hit the wall.What the hell?
“Do you forget the faces of all the people whose lives you’ve ruined?”
“What?” Gio held his stinging arm, his fingers wet. Damn it. He was bleeding.Wait.“Angelo?” He gasped. “Angelo Valeris?”
“So you do remember,” Angelo snarled.
Cookie’s sharp bark snapped Gio out of it, and he ducked under Angelo’s fist as he threw a punch, but the glass on the tile floor made Gio slip and hit the floor.Shit!He scrambled to get up when Chip lunged at Angelo.
“Stupid dog!” Angelo kicked Chip, sending him rolling into one of the side tables. His yelp was like a punch to Gio’s gut, andhe cried out. He got to his feet to go to Chip, relief washing over him when Chip got up and shook himself out of it, but he held up a paw. Cookie barked again, and Gio ran, swiping the solid wood elephant from his trip to Jeypore off the side table. He swung it, catching Angelo off guard and hitting him in the face.
“Cookie, Jack’s button!”
Cookie darted off to press the silent alarm button like Sacha had taught him, and Gio ran into the living room, grabbing a bronze lion he’d been gifted while on a trip to London. He spun and held it up. “This one’s going to hurt more than the elephant,” Gio warned. “You son of a bitch. You almost killed my fiancé!”
“It should have beenyou!”
Gio flinched. No. This wasn’t his fault. Chip snarled and growled low, teeth bared, but kept his distance, his gaze locked on Angelo, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
“My sister is dead because of you,” Angelo snapped.
“No.” Gio shook his head. “Eleni is dead because ofyou. She’d finally built the life she wanted for herself, started her own business creating beautiful things, and you and your greed turned her dream into a nightmare.Yougot her killed.”
Angelo balled his hands into fists, his face going crimson with fury as he slowly followed Gio, who used the couch and furniture to keep Angelo at a distance. The man clearly was unarmed, or he would have shot at Gio by now, which meant Angelo had done his homework. Gio wasn’t surprised Angelo had found a way to hijack a genuine delivery. The man was a mercenary after all.
“You should have stayed out of it,” Angelo spat. “She betrayed her own blood!”
“She was terrified, didn’t know who to turn to, who to trust, so she calledme. You were using her shop to move drugs for your boss! It was his men who showed up as the Hellenic police arrived. Eleni was sweet, talented, and a good person.She didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire. You’re the one responsible.” Gio didn’t bother trying to reason with Angelo or talk him down. It wasn’t going to work on a killer who’d used his own innocent sister to move drugs.
Angelo inched closer. “Let’s see how you like it when you loseyourfamily, Galanos.”
