“Okay,” I offer, and before I can chicken out, I pick a spot where they can all see me. “About yesterday, I don’t owe you anything, but I don’t handle surprises well, for obvious reasons. The whole day rattled me. More than I probably should tell you, but…”
Dante goes to say something, but I stop him as gently as I can.
“I need today.”
“What do you mean?” Matteo asks, putting down his coffee cup and looking instantly cautious. “Are you leaving?”
It’s hard not to run over and give in to the need to soothe away his worries, but to do that, I need today.
Blowing out a steadying breath, I answer him as honestly as I can. “I don’t know, but by the end of the day, I hope I’ll have a better idea.”
“What do you need?” Valentine asks stoically. The intimacy we shared late last night is still in his eyes and the way he speaks, but I feel the press of his Alpha, making him the take-no-prisoners Mafia boss once again.
“A car and some money. I gave all the money you gave me to Ahmed, for his daughter. I was a bit pissed at you though, but at the same time he needed the money more than I did.”
He reaches inside his suit pocket and pulls out his wallet, removing his black credit card. But I get distracted by the newplatinum wedding band he wears. My eyes jump to Dante next, before I look at Matteo’s left hand for the confirmation I didn’t really need.
If they notice me checking out their ring fingers, they don’t say anything, but as Valentine slides his credit card and another stack of hundred-dollar bills over the counter, Matteo adds the keys to his car while Dante offers his gun.
“In case you need snacks,” Valentine says, and maybe I read his seriousness wrong before, because he doesn’t even attempt to hide the growing tease that pulls his lip high and makes his scent more pronounced than the fresh coffee smell from the actual coffee machine in the corner.
My eyes move over to Matteo, and his eyes are brimming with concern but also something that looks like pride. God, this Beta confuses me with how easily he has slipped under my defenses.
Dante is, of course, more obvious and forthright. His sour cherries scent is extra syrupy today, and he pushes past boundaries, and the dogs, to grab a hold of my hoodie and pull me in for a kiss. Completely unexpected, but maybe it was the perfect thing to do. “You come back to us. Even if it is to tell us to fuck off, you come back, okay?”
I scrunch up my face to stop the bubbling emotions from ruining my makeup. The fact that they’re letting me go so easily is a massive boost to my confidence. Which sounds dumb, but it’s not. They trust me, and that’s what today is about—me trusting me again.
“Did you find your new phone?” Dante asks.
I hold it up as an answer.
“Are you going outside of our territory?”
“Maybe show me a map.” While I’ve got a plan for the day bubbling in my mind, I really don’t know what qualifies as their territory and what doesn’t.
Dante grabs my hand and leads me into his office. The air is thick with his scent in here, and half of me just wants to climb up on the leather sofa and nap under the hoodie he has thrown over one end of it.
He turns me in front of a map, then stands behind me, so close, I can’t possibly interpret any of his touches as platonic as he pinpoints areas I need to be careful in.
The city is divided into “zones” that fall under Vitale’s turf. But it’s not an equal division, and I see for myself how malicious Vitale has been toward his grandsons’ pack.
My eyes land on a hiking trail, which helps me decide my first stop for the day, but I need some additional intel from Dante.
“Is there a shooting range nearby? And a public library?” Twisting around, I catch his surprise before he curls over me, showing me where I need to go.
“I could come with you. I’ll sneak down after telling them I need to wash my hair or something,” he says once he has finished explaining. I know the suggestion is him being lighthearted more than anything by the pout I get when I dip under his arm and walk out of his office.
Checking the time, I see that it’s only seven, but early mornings are my favorite part of the day. Giving in to temptation, I walk over to where Matteo is doing his best to look unconcerned. As I slide into the space next to him, we don’t talk for a few minutes, and our closeness makes me feel so much better almost instantly. Not that I was worried—more like I was aware.
“How’s your wound? So much has happened since then, I kind of feel bad we’ve all forgotten you were injured.”
“I’m made of harder stuff than that, Layne. I’ll get Dante to swap the bandages after I beat his ass on the mat at the gym.”
“Heard that, and I will be beating your ass,” Dante calls out from his office.
“What are you guys going to do today?”
Matteo turns around and wiggles his eyebrows. “We are going to take advantage of you not being here.”
