Layne
“It would be an honor, honestly, Layne,” Ronnie argues.
I shake my head, squeezing Bella so hard, I hear her protest, before I stand up and face Ronnie and his offer for me to keep Bella and Edward. “No. It’s not because I don’t love them or think they can’t do the job.”
He leans back in his chair and waits for more of an explanation. Clicking my fingers at the dogs, I release them for a final time back to Ronnie, taking my seat next to Dante.
Looking at my husband nearly causes me to lose focus. He’s looking exceptionally dangerous today, just how I like him. Being second in command of the Cosa Nostra over here is good for him, as was excising a lot of his demons via the prisoners downstairs.
Our basement at the tower is not a place I will probably ever visit. There’s no reason for me to go watch Pack De Luca torture people. I don’t need to see the proof of their honor or strengthin violent and brutal displays. I get to see the aftermath, which is more powerful. Each time they return to me after dealing with one of the people who wronged them, there’s less pain in their eyes. My three husbands wear that closure and growth with as much pride as the blood on their hands.
Dante’s eyebrows rise when he sees me getting distracted, which is nothing new, but his smirk brings me to the reason we’re here.
“Bella and Edward are yours. I was going to ask to buy them off you, but Dante would also like to get me a gift, and I’m so into Dante’s gifts, it’s not funny.” I twist to look at Dante again, and he feigns innocence. He’s not at all innocent. The last few weeks have been full of so much, including Dante’s gifts. Each of them has been aimed toward keeping me physically or spiritually strong—but also reminding me my time of running is done, and it’s time to make plans for the future I want. “We did our research, and I made my decision. I’m hoping you can help us, though.”
“You know I will,” Ronnie answers, and it’s directed at both me and Dante. Which is another thing we’ve had to adjust to. The respect my pack has garnered in such a short amount of time isn’t surprising, neither is how people want to show it.
“Good. I’d like you to source two Cane Corso pups. Brothers, if possible.”
“Jesus.” Ronnie grunts as he rocks back in his seat again. “Big dogs with a lot of attitude.”
I shake my head, laughing, “Have you not met my pack?”
He doesn’t argue. It’s not really his place to, but at the same time, I’m pretty sure Ronnie would let me know if he thought it was a bad idea.
“I would like to ask you to help me train them. Bella and Edward have remarkable discipline. I never questioned their loyalty, even though they were only loan dogs. And that level ofdiscipline is where I want the pups to end up. They’ll be with me pretty much all the time, even when we’re traveling or I’m working. Down the road, I’d also like to start breeding Cane Corsos. When people look at Cane Corsos, I want them to think of the De Lucas.”
Dante pulls me over, so he can kiss my head. When I floated the idea of aligning the breed to our family, he was an emotional mess, finally seeing for himself that I really have no doubts left that my happily ever after is with him, and our pack.
“We’re in no hurry, either. The renovations at De Luca Estate are expected to take a while, and honestly, the saging needed there will probably take longer. But when we do move in, I’d like the boys with us. I want it to be their first and only home.”
I check my watch, another gift. My pack has been going overboard with their generous displays of affection. This gift was from Valentine when he returned home one afternoon after clearing out Vitale’s room. He found his mother’s watch—a Patek Phillipe—and I may have sobbed like a baby when he gave it to me because I knew how overwhelmed he was to have found a piece of her. But he wiped my tears, as I did his, and I’ve barely taken his mother’s watch off since.
“Ronnie, sorry, we’re going to be late for our next meeting. Can I leave my request with you?” I stand up, and Dante places his hand on my back, making a shiver race down my spine.
The near feral hunger we had for each other has not diminished in the least. And as much as I adore all the gifts they’ve been showering me in, it’s their touches that mean the world to me.
Walking us to the door, Ronnie talks the whole way, giving me a rundown of what he’ll do and when I should expect to hear back. Not that it matters—I have the rest of my days.
Dante walks me to the driver’s side of our vehicle, opening the door and helping me into something Matteo gave me. Kindof. I won’t let him give up complete custody of the CT5-V Blackwing. As soon as Dante’s butt hits the seat, I floor it, taking advantage of a break in the traffic, of course.
I glance over at Dante, who is looking at me blankly. “I’m not paying your speeding fines.”
“No worries.” I wink at him, then focus on taking a tight corner. “I’ll sweet-talk the officer, pull my skirt up high, if need be.”
“The fuck you will,” he snarls, his top lip twitching. I don’t need to look at him to know it. He does it often enough when he gets snarly.
I laugh at the same time as his phone rings. “Sorry, baby, I have to take this call.”
While he talks business with a new arms dealer, I drive us toward our next appointment. And this one brings me lots of anxiety, because I think there might be something wrong with me. It’s the only reason to explain why I haven’t gone into heat. The amount of sex we’ve had is criminal. I wake up most days coming on someone’s face or someone sliding into my body. I’m not complaining at all about that. I am complaining about being completely drug free but not experiencing a heat cycle.
Thankfully, I keep getting lucky breaks in the traffic, so it looks like we’ll be on time to meet with Hannah and Rowan, the doctors in Jana’s pack.
We pull to a stop at a set of lights, and beside us, a Chevy Camaro pulls up.
The people inside the car are at that weird age where they're basically boys and definitely not men. They’re on the wrong side of the bridge, and they’re looking for trouble. The passenger rolls his window down and starts mouthing off at me, loudly, yelling increasingly obscene suggestions that I’m only driving this car because of someone’s dick I’ve been sucking. Once he starts, theothers follow, and I don’t think any of them can see Dante sitting beside me.
“Open your window, baby. And stay still.”
