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The drive from town to my parents’ wasn’t long, but considering I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, it was no wonder I’d dozed off. My time as a SEAL had prepared me to go for countless days with little to no sleep, so the ten-minute catnap was actually quite refreshing.
Alec didn’t wait for me to respond before he was out of the car, his long legs eating up the distance to the front of the house. Not one to be left behind, especially when Ma was cooking, I hopped out, making it up the steps in time to catch the door before he slammed it in my face.
I’d no sooner crossed the threshold when the tiny terror who was Gabe and Cate’s son, Miller, slammed into my calves.
“Uff.”
“Hey, little dude.”
He’d either said uncle or up, I wasn’t sure which. I had yet to master baby talk, but since his arms were raised, I assumed it was the latter. Reaching down, I lifted, settling him on my hip just as the scent of tomatoes, spices, and fresh dough wafted through the air, making my mouth water and my stomach grumble.
“Are you hungry?” He smiled, then smacked my cheek with his sticky little fingers. “Let’s go find your nonna.”
We ventured toward the kitchen, where I could tell from the booming conversation the rest of the family had gathered. Ma was at the counter with an eager-looking Sophia, placing pepperoni and sausage on top of several homemade pizza pies. Cate and River were seated at one end of the table, chopping vegetables for a salad, laughing at something Pop said.
I put Miller on the floor to toddle around, then went to the fridge for a beer before joining my brothers at the other end of the kitchen table.
“So, Emory, huh?” Gabe started.
“Damn, FratelloBrother.Not even a hello?” I grinned, taking a pull of my beer.
“The situation with her dad could very easily turn to shit,” he remarked quietly. “Are you sure you want to get involved?”
“You weren’t there,” I grumbled. “None of you were. You didn’t see that fucker put his hands on her at her father’s behest.”
Beer shot out of Alec’s mouth at the same time Rico howled with laughter.
“Behest?” Alec choked out.
“Who the fuck are you? William Shakespeare?” Rico chuckled.
“Language, Enrico!”
“Sorry, Ma.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Gabe asked.
“About her father being a possible traitor to his country?” I lowered my voice as I spoke. “Not unless we have actual proof.”
“River will nail you in the balls if you hurt her girl.”
The wise-cracking Rico had vanished and in his place was a man hell-bent on keeping his woman happy.
“I’m bringing her to family dinner.”
The three of them rocked back in their seats simultaneously. You didn’t bring a woman around Ma unless you were serious, so with that statement, I’d just laid it all on the line. One by one, the shock on their faces was replaced with a shit-eating grin.
“Oh, this will be fun to watch,” Gabe snorted.
*****
THE UNIVERSE WASworking against me. At least it appeared to be, seeing as the days leading up to my first date with Emory literally crawled by. Between playing bodyguard to River—which she informed Rico she’d known about all along—and teaching classes at the range, I’d barely had a chance to take a breath.
The few times I’d caught a glimpse of my girl had been worrisome. Instead of her usual tight skirts and sex-kitten heels, she’d been wearing dress pants and shirts which were too large on her frame. I was positive something had happened during the encounter with the dickhead to cause the sudden change and it pissed me off. If I’d been closer, he wouldn’t have had the chance to spew his venom. I had a plan though. A good one, I hoped.
I trudged into the conference room at Quattro for the first of many meetings with Duncan Palmer. The FBI had the good senator under surveillance but had yet to get anyone close enough to plant listening devices. That was where I came in, or so they’d hoped.
With my place on Emory’s arm as her plus-one at her father’s rally, I’d have unfettered access to his home office, assuming, of course, we stayed at their home instead of a hotel. The feds were drooling all over themselves at the prospect, but I was having second thoughts.
