“Good.” He nods and chugs his tea. “All good here. But I did want to talk to you before you go.”
“No time. I’m already running late.” I kiss Love once more.
“You’re coming back, right?” She looks up at me, and the look in her eyes could break the heart of a lesser man.
“Always.” I kiss her again.
She nods. “I’ll just keep these bad boys company while you’re gone.” She waves a hand at the tray of sandwiches.
“Thank you.” I stride from the dining room.
“Hey, Bruno. Hang on!” Ali follows me to the garage.
“You know how the Radianis get if you’re late to the meet-up.” I drop into my Ferrari.
“I get it. But listen, that cop, the old one? He’s been getting closer. I don’t know if it’s safe for us to follow through with the plan.”
I pause before starting the engine. When I look at him, he blanches.
“Ali, I love you like a brother. You know that. So you should know that I spent two years waiting. Two long goddamn years in a cell, and I won’t wait another second to have my revenge. Nothing is going to stop me, delay me, or do anything to change the plan I’ve already put in motion. Massimo must die, and sooner rather than later.”
“I get it.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Just …”
“Yes?” I fire the engine.
“Be careful.”
“Will do. Protect Love the same way you protect me. Got it?”
“Then I’ll protect her with my life.”
That’s what I need to hear. I gun the engine as I tear out of the garage and down my long, winding driveway. Once I hit the highway, I rocket through the gears and tear down the road. I don’t want to keep Gio Radiani waiting. Usually I wouldn’t give two fucks about him getting his panties in a twist, but this time, I need him onboard. I’m calling in an old favor, and I need him on my side when shit goes down with Massimo.
I’m going so fast along the two-lane road that I almost miss the glint of a car parked in the woods. I whizz past it, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The car pulls out onto the road behind me.
It’s a simple white Dodge, nothing special. But I can tell immediately it’s a cop car.
“Fuck.” I don’t have time for this.
He keeps up as best he can, his car in the rearview but far enough back I can’t make out the driver.
I hammer the gas pedal, jolting forward along the lane, bits of gravel flying behind me as I take a curve at dangerous speed. When I look back again, the car is gone.
The old cop. It has to be him. Ali was trying to warn me, but I brushed him off. I shouldn’t have. If the cop is sniffing around this close to my home, he knows too much. Before Love, I would’ve killed him. Easy. Now, though? Now, it’s someone she knows, and likely someone she doesn’t want me to get rid of. Love has a soft heart. There’s no way she would be okay with me handling this guy in my usual fashion.
I sigh as I hit the freeway. The car is still nowhere in sight as I dart between vehicles, driving far too fast for any county mounty to clock me, much less catch me. By the time I pull up to the restaurant, I’m only five minutes late.
“Ah, look who decided to grace us with his presence.” Gio stands from his table as I slowly stride in, seemingly unhurried.
“Gio.” I hold my hand out to shake.
He eyes me up and down, distaste in his gaze. “You ask for a meeting and show up late, then you expect a warm welcome?”
“Gio, you’re going to shake my hand or I’m going to slam you on this table in front of everyone here,” I growl.
His eyebrows draw together, his face going red.
“You owe me. Never forget what I did for you that night on the docks.”
He stammers for a second then settles the fuck down. He gives me a nod and takes my hand with a much harder grip than necessary.
I answer it. “Let’s talk business.”
Gio plops down and waves the server over. “Business, of course. But first, we eat and drink to your freedom,” he says with boisterous verve.
I shake my head. “This is about Massimo.”
He immediately waves the confused server away and settles back in his chair, his gaze leveled on me. “Well, fuck.”
16
Lovett
I watch Bruno go with Ali hot on his heels. I know he’s going to send Ali back to keep an eye on me. I tell myself it’s not because he doesn't trust me and more so that he worries about me. Can I really blame him for not trusting me? It was my fault he had to kill a man. Well, actually it was Pikachu’s fault. Whichever way you look at it, a man is still dead.
My stomach turns at the thought of how everything went down. I put my sandwich back down onto my plate, suddenly losing my appetite. How did I get myself into this? I’m in love with a man that kills people.
Of course the man Bruno killed was bad. And things could have gone a lot differently for me if Bruno hadn’t showed up when he did. Who knows what other people might have fallen victim to that bad man? I mean, he had chased after me so easily. If anything, Bruno saved more people from being hurt.
Then again, Bruno kidnapped me. Anyone with a medical degree or the Lifetime movie channel would tell me I have Stockholm syndrome. But doesn't that take a bit longer to develop? If anything, I think I have that instalove thing I’ve read about in my favorite books. I’m not sure that’s a diagnosis, though, and it sounds dumb and completely impossible. I mean, what sort of idiot falls immediately in love with someone they just met? Not possible, no matter how much I love reading about it. Then again, it sure sounds as though it fits my situation perfectly… So maybe it’s not so dumb or impossible after all. It’s either that or I’m crazy. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s a little of both.
“You’re done?” Alice asks as she fills my tea back up.
“Does Bruno kidnap a lot of girls?” I probably shouldn’t be asking her this, but I can’t help it. I need to know.
Who else would be better to ask than her? I’m guessing she knows everything around here. Ali might protect me because Bruno ordered him to do it, but his loyalty will always lie with Bruno. With Alice, she’s more of a straight shooter. She’d admit openly that she spilled the beans to me.
“No dear. You were quite the surprise. A really good one.” She winks at me.
“Do you love Bruno?”
“He’s like a son to me.” She sets the pitcher of tea down. “Are you going to run again? Because I don’t think he’ll ever stop chasing you.”
“No.” I shake my head. “This is a lot, you know. I’m a cop.” At least I was. Who knows what’s happening back home? They might think I took off. It’s not like anything was holding me down there. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
The truth is I have no idea where my mother is, and my father is in jail. I bounced around a lot as a kid, even staying with my grandmother for a time before she passed. But I never felt as though I belonged anywhere, or that anyone truly wanted me. It was as if I was more of a burden to whoever I was staying with. Until Bruno. He’s the first person to ever actually admit to loving me.