"I love your dick too," she adds.
I choke on a laugh.
"What? It's true." She grins, the mischief returning. "I'm a woman of simple pleasures. Money and good sex. You provide both."
"Don't tease me right now. We're about to meet your parents, and if you keep talking about my dick, I'm going to have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
I pull her closer, letting her feel exactly what kind of problem. Her cheeks flush.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh." I release her neck and sit back. "So unless you want me to walk into your parents' house with a visible erection, I suggest you behave."
Marina bites her lip, clearly fighting a smile. "Fine. I'll behave."
"Thank you."
"For now."
I close my eyes and count to ten. This woman is going to be the death of me. Not bullets. Not cartels. Not twenty years of violence and bloodshed. Marina Reeves and her smart mouth and her blue-green eyes.
"Ready?" she asks.
I look at the house again. The porch light is on. A shadow moves behind the curtain in the front window. Someone's watching.
"No."
Marina opens her door. "Too bad. We're doing this anyway."
She climbs out of the car before I can protest. I watch her walk around to my side, her boots crunching on the gravel driveway. She opens my door and stands there, hand extended.
"Come on, tough guy. Time to meet the parents."
I take her hand and let her pull me out of the car. The cold Ohio air hits my face. Marina threads her fingers through mine and squeezes.
"They're going to love you," she says again.
I don't believe her. But I follow her anyway.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Marina
Iknock on the door before Dante can change his mind.
The seconds stretch. I feel him tense beside me, his hand tightening around mine. The man who faced down a cartel leader without flinching is terrified of my mother.
The door swings open.
"Marina!"
Mom stands in the doorway, flour dusting her apron, her graying hair pulled back in a messy bun. She looks exactly the same. Warm. Soft. Home.
I release Dante's hand and throw myself into her arms.
"Mom."
