Jana picks up after a couple of rings. “You want to come up for breakfast? Hannah is making pancakes.”
I can see them now, all sitting around their marble island, drinking their coffee, chatting about the reservations for the night, because that’s how it’s been every time I have joined them.
“Not today. I’m not home, actually.”
I hear her smacking the countertop, and the chatter falls away. “Are you safe, Layne?”
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? And the answer is strange. On one hand, I do feel safe, despite being in the home of known players in the Mafia. While Matteo shares features with the twins, suggesting they’re sharing DNA, there are enough differences to make me think Matteo might be a cousin or something. But how they’re related isn’t really my concern—my safety is. Jana’s question makes me double-check how I’m feeling, and it’s an easy answer, surprisingly.
“I am.”
“Where are you?”
I take a slow, steadying breath, feeling like I’m about to disappoint someone more like a mother or grandmother. “You wouldn’t believe what happened earlier, but all that matters is that I do feel fine. I helped someone, and I’m still with them.”
“Are you intentionally being light on the details, or are you in a situation where you can’t freely speak?”
“Light on the details. If I wasn’t feeling safe, you know I’d do something about it.”
And Jana does know, because I told her what happened with Rocco and how I got myself out of a dangerous situation already.
“And you know I trust you implicitly.”
She trusts me, and I know it too. I have all the details to her business that I’m not sure some of her long-term staff know, including bank details, where the safe is and the code. I have keys to her penthouse, plus keys to the restaurant. It’s never been a test of loyalty with her; it’s about giving me power because that’s the type of person she is. Now she’s giving me that same respect.
“I’ll see you at work,” I say. “I’m working dinner service.”
“If you need us beforehand and it’s unsafe, just text anything random, and I’ll track the phone.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Be safe, Layne. Don’t forget, you’re a good judge of character. I mean, look at us, we’re family now.”
“True. See you in a bit.”
She doesn’t do that passive-aggressive double-checking of my decision-making thing where people say one thing but don’t mean it. Instead, she hangs up, trusting me but also reminding me to trust myself.
I might have stumbled into the world of the De Luca Pack, but my instincts are telling me these three are fierce protectorsand jumping the gun I’m also going to say they would be exceptional, dominant lovers.
I have no excuse for the way my imagination locks on to the lovers thing, but this pack is literally sex on a stick. Clearly, it isn’t the right time, but there’s no fighting my imagination running rampant with the wild lion, apex predator thing. I have to stand in the hallway, squeezing my eyes shut, shaking some logic and survival sense back into myself for a few minutes before I go in search of them. I follow the sound of the three of them talking and find them in the kitchen. Matteo is standing in a tight pair of black Calvin Klein boxer briefs, and spread out on the island is a medical kit with all the trimmings. Dante is already at work, and considering the way he focuses and how quickly he sews, it’s obvious this isn’t his first time fixing a bullet hole.
As I stand and watch, no one says a word. Dante finishes up quickly, then walks out of the kitchen.
“You good?” Matteo asks as he starts cleaning up.
I should answer, but a half-dressed Matteo is enough to make my head explode. Matteo looks damn fine in a suit, but out of one? Jesus fucking Christ. The flash of skin I saw in the alley did not prepare me for how incredible his body actually is. I am so used to being with Alphas, their size and presence stealing the opportunity to notice the other details, but this Beta has me enthralled. He has a special something about him that fans the simmering connection we share.
When I stop ogling him, my eyes move to his, and the thing between us is well on its way to being a raging firestorm.
His brown eyes smolder with desire, and he does nothing to hide it.
Desire is easy.
7
Dante
Looking at Layne, it’s hard to miss the darkness in her eyes. Matteo warned us about it before they arrived, but it’s different seeing it firsthand. And while it’s a “her” issue, and her past has nothing to do with me, a sense of failure and a resolve to do better as a male flames red hot.
