Page 4 of Dangerous Games

I wrap my scratchy towel around myself and wipe the fog off the mirror with a swipe of my hand. I look as exhausted as I feel. And I have to do it all over again tomorrow. I pull on a pair of boy shorts and a ratty tee before I throw my wet hair into a sloppy braid and climb into bed.

I strain to hear if anything is happening downstairs, but the only noise I can hear is my steady breathing. He must have called it a night. It takes me forever to fall asleep because I can’t shake the feeling that what I walked into just changed my life forever.

Chapter

Two

GIO

Ifucked up.

I won’t say that I never fuck up because I do.

Shit happens, and I like to keep Matteo on his toes.

But what I don’t do is fuck up in a way where someone who isn’t supposed to see what I’m doing sees what I’m doing.

It was an easy job. I was in and out. The guy knew he had it coming. He crossed too many lines, and Matteo was more than generous with the chances he gave him to make it right. So after I took care of him, I had to cut off a body part to mail to his crew to send a message. One of the delivery guys who delivers to the pizzeria takes my outgoing packages. It’s never busy on Monday nights, so I figured I would be safe, except Enzo’s dumbass forgot to lock the front door and put up a sign.

Then she walked in.

She damn near took my breath away.

I’ve never seen hair so long before. It was down to her ass, and it was so dark and shiny. All I could think about was running my fingers through it until I reached the final destination of where I could grab a handful. From the way she was filling out those jeans, I knew it would have been more than a handful.

And those fucking eyes. They were a crystal-clear blue. I’ve never seen anyone with that color before. I felt like she was seeing into parts of my soul I had locked away. It made my brain short-circuit and forget how to act.

Hell, I forgot I was holding the fucking hand I cut off with a butcher saw not even an hour before.

I’m not sure which pissed me off more. The fact that she made me forget what I was doing, or the fact that she didn’t seem phased in the slightest at what she walked into. It’s hot as fuck that she didn’t cower.

I’m still trying to rack my brain about how I’m going to tell Matteo I let her walk out after witnessing that, only to then tell him, wait, it gets fucking worse. Not only did I let her walk out, but she fucking lives upstairs.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Matteo shoots me on the spot. I wouldn’t even be mad. I deserve it. I’ve been distracted on a job for the first time in my life, and it’s because of a girl.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

What’s more fucked is I wanted to put the hand away and make her a pizza while she lay down and took a load off because the woman looked whipped, but on the other hand, I’m also the sick fucking bastard whose dick got hard putting the look of fear in her eyes when she was on the stairs to the apartment.

I exhale heavily as I climb the brick steps to Matteo’s place and knock on the door. Better to come clean versus him finding out himself. He’s going to be mad either way, but me coming clean will probably save my balls.

I ring the doorbell, stick my hands in my pockets and roll up on the balls of my feet as I look around. I’m not waiting long before the front door opens, revealing Wren and my two-year-old niece, Viviana, hiding behind her leg.

“Hi, bella.” I smile at her as Wren steps aside, dragging Vivi with her. “Wren.” I nod.

“Hi, Gio,” Wren greets as she bends down to pick up Vivi. “Why are you being shy? You love your Uncle Gio.” She runs her hand down the back of her hair as Vivi hides her face in Wren’s chest. “Sorry,” Wren frowns. “It’s been a morning from hell with her. I think it’s about time for a nap.”

“I get it,” I say as I shrug. I don’t because I don’t have kids of my own, but I’ve seen the terror that is Vivi, and if I didn’t know for a fact Wren and Matteo are her parents, I might think she came from a demon. If she doesn’t get her way, all hell breaks loose. “Is he in his office?”

“Yup, he’s waiting for you. Try not to have too much fun.” She smirks as she walks away to put Vivi down.

Fucking great.

The door to Matteo’s office is open, and he’s sitting at his desk. I knock on the doorframe before stepping inside.

Matteo looks up from what he’s working on and leans back in his seat. “I was wondering when you were going to show up. I expected to hear from you last night. How did it go?”

Well, isn’t that a loaded fucking question, and the answer is probably going to get me a new asshole.