“You can take that call if you want, but we have a lot to talk about tonight, Brother.”
With that, she’s off, another vague gesture signaling to her goons who lead me out of the building and into an intimidating black SUV that’s more tank than anything. The call was from Grandma, but before I can call her back, she sends me a text that she’s just saying hello and she’ll talk to me after her pickleball match.
We speed along the highway, and I find that out of the million questions I have right now, none of them seem worth risking Mila’s wrath. As we travel out of the city, away from my condo and the few areas I’m already familiar with, one of her men breaks the silence.
“I like him.”
Me?
My sister grunts out her only acknowledgment of the comment, but my favorite henchman continues.
“Yeah. Tall. Good limb ratios. I think we’ll have him whipped into shape within a year.”
Whipped into shape? I’m in great shape. I take my job seriously, and I eat well.
Opening my mouth to defend myself, Mila eyes me in the rearview mirror and smirks.
“We’ll see about that. Have you ever even fired a gun, Cuddles?”
Chapter 4
“Thanks for theextra sausage bites! And there better be at least half of those cookies left for Francis. Don’t think I won’t ask her when I see her next,” I say, eyeing Ralph, the owner of my favorite local breakfast café.
“You have my word. I’ll only eat a dozen before I get home tonight.”
We both laugh as I make my way outside onto the busy sidewalk. It’s such a beautiful day, and I smile when a glance at my watch confirms I have plenty of time to walk to my next destination. Every Tuesday, I visit the retirement home and always bring at least a basketful of baked goods for all my friends. With the raffle today, there was no way I could carry it all. Luckily, Mama promised to swing by with some of our men and drop everything off earlier this morning, so I didn’t have to miss my weekly brunch with Ralph at Be Our Zest.
As always, my ten-minute stroll turns into twenty from all the time I spend window-shopping and people-watching. I’m typically only in this part of town once a week, so I take in all the new happenings from the locals and shops. After a while, you startseeing the same people, and I’ve watched relationships blossom and die. I’ve watched babies grow into toddlers and puppies grow into gray senior dogs.
As a Santori, I had no choice but to perfect my observational skills. I was trained from an early age to be fully aware of everything happening around me. Of course, if Papa had his way, I would never leave the house. Luckily, Mama stood her ground and insisted that I be allowed to live as normal a life as possible. The compromise was years spent learning martial arts and survival tactics, as well as having multiple bodyguards with me at all times. Nonna’s only stipulation to the guards was that they answer to her and not Papa. “There are things that a father just doesn’t need to know about his daughter. If she’s ever in real danger, I’ll let you know,” she said. As much as Papa likes to think he runs the Santori family, we all know Nonna gets the final say. And with Nonna and Mama on my side, there was really nothing he or my brothers could do.
“Good morning, Ellie! Oh, let me help you with that.” The receptionist at the retirement home opens the door for me and takes my basket of sweets.
“Good morning, Tracy! I brought your sprinkle cookies! They’re in a box with your name on it.”
“You’re the best.” Tracy smiles and hands me a name tag before leading me into the community room.
I help set everything out for the residents and listen as she gossips about all the wild encounters that have transpired since my last visit. It’s hard to imagine, but retirement homes can get just as rowdy as college dorms, if not worse. It’s one of the things I love so much about coming here. I get the initial rundown fromTracy, then make my rounds to my regulars and get to hear their side of the story.
“Oh, and you really missed out. Rainbow night wasinsane. I knew when we gave in and let Horace throw his party that we would be in for a wild night, but girl…we had no idea.”
“I really was planning to attend that, but I lost my flyer with the date on it! I swear I put it on our family’s event board, but the next morning, it was gone! So give me the tea!”
Tracy opens her mouth to speak, then promptly shuts it, giggling instead as the residents begin filing into the room. “You know what? I’m going to let Horace tell you this one first. And speak of the devil!”
“Elliebelly! How are you doing, darling?”
I smirk at Tracy as she gives me a wink on her way out, then turn to face my friend with a smile. “Horace! I heard you threw quite the party this week!”
“I sure did, and don’t think I’m going to let you get away with missing it just because you flash me that pretty smile of yours.”
I grab the box of pastries I baked just for Horace and hand them over. “How about this as an apology? I pulled out my prettiest pizzelle iron just for my special guy.”
Horace snatches my peace offering and grins, then motions for me to follow him to our favorite sofa in front of a fireplace near the corner of the room. It’s still decorated for Christmas here even though we are well into January, but the residents love it so much that the staff always gives them an extra month of magic.
I help Horace into his seat, then gently sit beside him. “Alright, mister, I want to hear every detail from your big night! Tracy wouldn’t tell me anything. I haven’t even seen pictures!”
Horace waggles his eyes at me, grinning. “Are you sure you wanteverydetail? Like the way Mildred handled a strap o—”
