She lowered her pizza to her paper plate, her brows drawn tightly together. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I know it sounds crazy. I didn’t believe it at first either,but I confronted my dad, and he admitted it. Mom knows, Maria’s one of them, and Uncle Edoardo—your dad—he’s mafia too.” I let the information sink in, taking a bite of pizza as Giada stared at hers.
Her eyes slowly rose to meet mine, none of the horror I thought I might see present. “Well, I’ll be damned,” she whispered. “We’re like the real-lifeSopranos.” Her voice was awed as if she had just learned Jason Mamoa was her long-lost brother.
“You’re taking this awfully well.”
“Are you kidding me?” she blurted. “This is fucking amazing! Do you know how many times I’ve watched the Godfather? Scarface? Carlito’s Way? Pretty much any mob show ever made. You know I love that shit.”
“G, our lives could be in danger because of this—it’s not some movie.”
“I figure it’s been this way since we were born. If it were dangerous, we would have seen some of that by now.”
“Like my brother getting killed?” Every ounce of levity vanished from my voice.
Giada’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah. Our lives are a lot more dangerous than we ever realized. This isn’t TV, and it’s not a game.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to make light of it.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I get why it sounds exciting, but there’s a much darker side to mob life. I don’t want that to touch either of us.”
“What about a sexy mafia man?” she teased with a questioning smile. “Can one of those touch us? Cause that guy of yours is sexy as fuck.”
I shook my head, rolling my eyes as I took another bite of pizza. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Don’t judge.”
“Whatever. Just keep your mouth shut about it. You promise?” I gave her a piercing stare, hoping she’d understand the severity of the situation.
“Trust me, if I have learned anything from all the shows, it’s that talking gets you dead. I’m not saying a word.” She dug into her pizza as if I hadn’t just rocked her world. Giada always did roll with the punches, but her nonchalant attitude toward our mafia connections had surprised me.
As we finished eating and our conversation wound down to evening plans and pedicure appointments, I noticed that feeling of being watched had come back. I lifted my eyes, and they were drawn straight to Luca. He stood across the street, two storefronts down, leaning against the building and watching us—watching me.
“G, I have to go. I’ll text you later, okay?” I murmured distractedly as I stood from the table.
“Sounds good.” Head down, she scrolled through her phone, hardly noticing my departure.
I charged straight for Luca, fists clenched at my sides. “Are you stalking me?” I hissed at him once I was close enough not to be overheard.
“I’m making sure you’re safe. Things are dangerous right now—I don’t want you going out without an escort.”
Oh. My anger ebbed as I glanced around, wondering just how much danger I might be in. “I’ll call Leo for a ride home, but I don’t want you following me around like a creeper.” I got out my phone and immediately texted Leo, not wanting Luca to have any reason to stick around. “There, all set. You can be on your way now.” I turned my back and stalked over to the curb, intent on ignoring his presence.
I should have known my actions were irrelevant. I couldno more ignore Luca than I could will myself to stop breathing. I didn’t even have to look behind me to sense him approaching—the electrical charge between us alerted me to his presence, heating the skin along my back where he now stood just inches away.
“You think that attitude pushes me away,” he rumbled from behind me, so close to my ear that the little hairs on my neck stood on edge. “But all it does is make me want to see those sassy lips wrapped tight around my cock.” His mouth came closer before he clamped down gently on my earlobe with his teeth, then sucked on the flesh as he pulled away.
My breathing shuddered, and my head swam with a rush of dizziness. My nipples were hard enough, every man, woman, and child on the street would be able to see them, but I was too disoriented to care. Thankfully, Leo must have been nearby. His black SUV pulled in front of me, drawing me from my lust-filled haze. Jumping into action, I opened the backseat door and leapt inside. When I glanced at Leo, he was scowling over his shoulder to where Luca stood with a smirk.
“Just go,” I muttered.
Leo begrudgingly followed my instructions, dropping me at my apartment building and walking me to the elevator.
“I got it from here, thanks.”
“Your father wants to make sure you have someone with you whenever you’re out—just a temporary thing. You let me know whenever you need to leave your apartment, okay?”
