“I know. I’m very clear, in fact.” I picked up my fork and turned my attention to my plate.
23
DOMINIC
Iwatched Gia all that day and the next. Truth be told, her quiet was a little scary. I had expected her to be more frazzled, more like a woman, I guess.
Like a woman.
I sounded like an asshole. I’d never been attracted to weak women. In fact, only two women stood out for me in the string I’d been with. Isabella and Gia. Two strong women. Two women with an agenda. Two women you did not want to fuck with.
I meant it when I told her I’d do the dirty work of killing. I wasn’t sure what she expected out of this meeting with Scava. She had to know she couldn’t just walk in there and kill the motherfucker. We’d meet in a relatively public place, but we’d both be armed. And we’d have soldiers around us who were armed. But I didn’t ask her what her agenda was. She was determined and had her own history with Angus Scava. I’d be there with her to protect her, but I’d let her do what she needed to do to make her peace.
“You’re watching me.”
She sat beside me in the back of the fortified SUV on our way to the restaurant.
“You’ve been watching me for the last two days.”
“I’m curious.”
“Are you nervous?”
I shook my head. “No. I do want to be sure you’re going to get what you want out of this. If you told me—”
“No, Dominic. This is mine. This has nothing to do with you.”
“Fair enough, but if I feel like you’re overstepping—”
“It’s mine. You told me you’d help me, and I just need you there with me. I need you to carry me a little, or at least let me lean on you. I’m trusting you with that.”
We pulled up alongside the curb of the Italian restaurant, a place Scava owned. It was trendy and popular, and the food sucked, in my opinion. Angus Scava would be inside already. I saw two of his men standing beside his sedan parked at the end of the street.
I turned to Gia, taking in how the tight black dress hugged her, how the heels made her legs look longer. She’d let her hair loose tonight, and it hung down her back. Her eyes shown bright, seeming almost to dance tonight. Alive and buzzing as if adrenaline pumped through her even as we sat there.
I touched the flat of my hand to her heart.
“You’re nervous.”
“Will he know that?”
“No. Not unless he touches you like this, and if he does that, it’ll be the last thing he touches.”
That made her smile.
“You know how to keep your face impassive.”
She nodded.
“I won’t leave your side,” I said.
“Thank you.”
I knocked on the window, and the driver opened the door. I climbed out and saw that my men were already lined up, the number I’d brought matching the number Scava had brought.I didn’t expect war, not tonight, but I knew from years of experience to never be caught unprepared.
I helped Gia out and led her toward the entrance, noting every eye on the street that turned her way, liking it. Liking that every man who passed wanted her on his arm. Knowing every woman felt a little pang of jealousy as they pretended not to notice her.
A man opened the doors, and we entered, followed by two of my men. The space was large and modern but completely empty of patrons tonight. Only a few staff I could hear working in the open kitchen, and Scava sitting at the far booth like he was fucking king.
