“We should go,” Dario says, jerking his head toward the house.
“Drive safe.” I hug my friend and watch her climb into the car alongside her husband. Renzo hangs back, instinctively knowing I need to speak with him. “What is your deal, and don’t say Massimo because I know it’s more than that,” I say.
“I’m worried about you.” Renzo plants his hands on my shoulders. “This is veering off course, and I don’t have a good feeling about it. I seriously think you need to reconsider everything.”
“We can’t discuss this here.” I glance anxiously around. I know Massimo has men dotted around his estate, but I haven’t seen a sign of anyone yet, which means they are discreet, and that’s not a good thing for us.
“I found a place, and I should have the paperwork processed in a couple of days,” he whispers.
“Good. The sooner, the better.”
“What about that other matter?”
“Set up the meet but not the usual location. Someplace off the beaten track.”
“Consider it done.” He turns to walk away but stops. Undecipherable emotion flits across his face. “I don’t trust him, Rina. I know you think it’s jealousy, but it’s not. He’s hiding something.”
“Aren’t we all?” Made men are not exactly known for being forthright and honest in their dealings. Everyone is shady to some extent. Everyone is hiding secrets. I’m certainly guilty on both counts.
“Just be careful. I see the way you look at one another. Don’t let him seduce you into a false sense of security.”
“If anyone is doing the seducing, it will be me.” I give him a hug because I sense he needs the reassurance. “You know this is what I’m good at.”
“I have seen you in action, my donna,” he says, extracting himself from our embrace. “I don’t doubt your skills, but Massimo is a different beast. A formidable enemy and one you share a chemistry with. That’s the difference between him and the other men who have come before. Be extra careful with him, Rina.”
“I will. I promise.”
As I stand, watching my friends drive off, I can’t help wondering if this time I have bitten off more than I can chew.
ChapterEighteen
Massimo
“How are the blue balls?” Fiero inquires as we wrap shit up at the waterfront property, ready to head back to the main office in Manhattan.
“Getting bluer by the day,” I admit, powering off my MacBook and sealing it in my laptop bag. “I swear I’ll have repetitive strain injury if I jerk off anymore.”
Laughter tumbles from Fiero’s chest. “I don’t know how you can lie beside her sexy ass night after night and not jump her bones.”
Tell me about it. It’s been a week since our wedding, and I’m clinging to my sexual sanity by a thread at this point. “I promised her I wouldn’t force her into anything, and she needs to make the move. Then I’ll refuse her, give her a taste of her own medicine, until neither of us can stand it any longer, and finally things will happen naturally.”
All this bullshit with the contract is just that. I only added that clause to wind her up and because it’s expected with these arrangements. But that’s not the kind of relationship I want to have with my wife. Every day, I’m growing more and more enamored with her even if she’s still such an enigma and still keeping me at arm’s length.
“I can come over and help to stir the pot, if you like.” Fiero smirks as he climbs off the stool. “Take one for the team if needed.”
That cheeky fucker is not getting near my wife. “Not a fucking chance in hell. I already told you I’m not sharing her.” I have an uncharacteristic possessive streak when it comes to Catarina Greco. I don’t miss the attention she garners when we’re out together, and the rage I feel whenever it happens is unprecedented. I would commit murder if any man dared to touch her. Of that, I am sure.
My secondary cell pings with an incoming call as we take the elevator to the roof where the chopper is waiting for us. “Go ahead,” I tell Fiero when the elevator doors open. “I need to take this.”
Pressing my back to the wall beside the elevator, I watch my buddy walk across the roof toward the helicopter as I punch the answer button and accept the call. “I’m retired,” I say before the other party can speak.
“We have a problem,” a man with an overbearing, heavily accented voice says. I know who he is, and this is not customary.
“I don’t care. I did my job as requested.”
“There was an unexpected complication.”
“So handle it.”
