“No problem, sis. I’m always down to watch you obliterate made men. I especially liked the bat-in-the-ass move.” I bring my fingers to my lips. “Chef’s kiss.”
“You’re a disturbed individual.”
I bark out a laugh. “You’re not in any position to throw shade after what I just witnessed in there.”
Her lips kick up at the corners. “Yeah, I guess not.”
Gia waves at her cousin and me before looping her arm through Joshua’s. We watch them walk down the hallway and up the stairs.
“Is she okay?” Concern is splayed across Vittus’s face. “Mom told me what happened.” Vittus’s mom is Gia’s dad’s sister, and both families are close.
“I think she’s more than okay. Gia is tough as nails.”
“Giulio said wedding bells are in the works.”
“J would frog-march her to city hall right now if he thought she’d let him.”
“Good for him. I’m happy he’s happy.” He thumps me in the arm and smirks. “That shit ain’t for us, but Joshua was always destined to settle down.”
Six months ago, I would have wholeheartedly agreed.
But now?
Now I don’t know where the fuck my head is at except this sense of futility I’ve felt recently hasn’t settled even after I’ve given up an active management role in our legit businesses and taken over the running of ourmafiosoresponsibilities. Something is still lacking, and I’m terrified to acknowledge what I sense is behind the sentiment.
I’m not nearly ready to face up to that truth.
Four hours later, I pull into the quiet parking lot of our building and kill the engine. Hours of cold-blooded murder have finally sated my bloodlust, and I’m physically drained and emotionally exhausted. Hopefully it means I’ll get a good night’s sleep as that has been sorely lacking recently. Not that it’s unusual. I can’t remember a time when I ever got more than five or six hours of fractured sleep. Mom said I’ve had trouble sleeping since I was a little kid, but it’s all I know, and I’m used to functioning on fumes at this point.
My bed is calling me tonight, so I climb out of my SUV and head for the elevator that will take me directly to the top floor where my penthouse adjoins my brother’s.
I’m waiting for the private elevator when a broad-shouldered man dips out of the small security office. “Don Accardi.” He nods respectfully. “You’re wanted in the main lobby.”
“What the hell for?”
“You have a visitor. She’s been waiting two hours for you.”
“Fuck.” I have a strong suspicion I know who it is. “I do not have the patience to deal with her at this hour,” I grumble, scrubbing my hands down my tired face.
“I can tell her you’re not coming home,” he offers, but I wave him off.
“It’s fine. I might as well deal with it now. She’ll only come back.” I can’t shirk my responsibilities even if I need this like a hole in the head.
I step into the elevator and press the button for the main reception area.
Anais accosts me the instant I emerge from the elevator. Her heels click off the polished marble floor as she races toward me. Throwing herself at me, she is sobbing and shrieking and clutching my shirt like I’m not dripping in blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids.
“I didn’t know where else to come,” she says over a sob as if she doesn’t have other viable options. Like her sister or her uncle. “I’m scared, Caleb. Cruz will know I was feeding you information, and he’s going to come for me.” Her voice elevates a few notches, grating on my ears. “He’s going to kill me!” she screeches. She’s borderline hysterical as she grips my shirt more tightly. Sharp-tipped nails dig into my chest through my shirt, and I’m counting to ten in my head for patience that is in limited supply. Anais peers up at me, sporting wide doe eyes that are blatantly pleading. “You need to protect me. You’re the only one I feel safe with.” Sniffing, she takes hold of my hand as my eyes wander to the mountain of luggage stacked against the wall by the front desk. “Please let me stay with you. You’re the only one I trust.”
Elisa
“I copied my notes for you,” I say, handing Shea the envelope with lecture notes from the past three days. She couldn’t attend classes because her space cadet Mom did a vanishing act again, leaving her to care for her baby brother.
“I would totally flunk without you.” She leans in to hug me. “You’re the bestest friend I’ve ever had. I’d go insane if I didn’t have you.”
“Ditto. I might have flung myself off the bridge last year if you hadn’t been there for me.” Back then, Gia helped too, but she was in the thick of a dangerous mission, and it wasn’t safe for us to meet. Dad ripped me a new one when he discovered Gia had broken protocol to meet me in Chelsea Market that one time. I promised him and Caleb I wouldn’t risk my safety like that again, and I stuck to it.
For Dad.
