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“Be right back,” I excused myself and sauntered over to him.
Sniffling, he stared down at the casket, his eyes also shielded from view behind a pair of black Ray-Ban’s. “I barely survived the last week and a half.”
“I know, man,” I exhaled.
“She was a good person, you know.”
“I know. We all know.”
“She deserved better.” A tear dripped off the bottom of his cheek before he wiped under his eyes with his jacket sleeve.
“She chose to stay because she knew you deserved each other. And she trusted you to be a dad to her kids, which meant if anything ever happened to her, whether on purpose or an accident, they’d be safe with you. Mila was around us all enough to know the risk of being with you and she chose to stay. She didn’t walk away.”
“It’s different for you.” He turned to face me. “Your woman is practically a mobster.”
I nodded, peeking at Jade and Maddie, who were standing with Giovanna, Jenna, and Amber. “And one day, you’re going to realize mobster or angelic, you’ll worry about them the same.” I brought my gaze back to his. “Regardless of how tough they are, you still want to be their shield. Jump in front of a bullet for them or lock them away so they can never experience the pain of other humans, or in your case, a car accident. It’s all the same, Ty. One day, you’ll understand. They’re all the same. Some of them are just built a little spicier.”
Something to the right caught my eye. A strange man lingering by one of the gravesites though he didn’t appear very interested in the headstone. To anyone else, he would’ve probably appeared like a cemetery visitor. However, I was suspicious. Subtly, I lifted a finger to my ear, pressing my earpiece.
Anyone got eyes on one o’clock? Black shirt, sunglasses?
Got him, Nico replied seconds later in my ear. Moving in to check it out. Be with your family, bro.
Thanks, Nico.
I got you man. Take the day off. I’ll let you know if we need you.
JADE
A month had passed since the funeral, and though life would never be the same again, we were trying to move forward. There was still no sign of any Mussolini anywhere, but we were always on the lookout and security remained tight.
Tonight, the kids weren’t at the club. Dorothy was watching Maddie with armed guards outside the house. Since she’d been kidnapped, Jacob appointed some of his men to watch as well, while Luke took no chances and appointed some of Ian’s men too. Dylan and Kira were with Ian’s sister’s family for the night, and Tyler hadn’t been back to Euphoria since the funeral. He wanted some time away, asking Ian and Luke to email him about anything he needed to look over.
Luke and Giovanna had been busy wrapping up some final details with Luxe, and she’d called Ian and me to the other side of the club before we opened that evening. We’d just finished up a meeting about his expectations for my dancing going forward. I was excited but nervous at the same time. He had strict rules for me like he always did and met with the dancers to ensure they knew to never suggest me to men for private dances. They were to tell them I was unavailable. Even though dancing was now a part of my job, being his assistant still took precedence. As long as it didn’t interfere with that, I could dance whenever I pleased.
Ian, Ice Man, and I made our way down to the lobby. As we entered the bustling area, Ian did what he always did and took a step closer to ensure he was readily available to shield me from any men or women who tried to flirt with me. He’d been extra protective of us all, and sometimes the guys got a little suffocating. But it was for good reason, and I understood that.
Ice Man swiped his keycard at the entrance of Luxe, allowing us through before closing the door and positioning himself in the lobby nearby. We turned the corner to find Giovanna bent over, putting some final touches on a blue bar sign.
Clearing his throat to announce our arrival, Ian stood tall beside me. Startled by the sound, she jumped up and spun around, her protective eye shield goggles falling off in the process. She grinned at us both.
“Impressive,” Ian commented, slipping his hands into his pockets.
“Thank you! It’ll look even better once Theo wires it,” she beamed. “You guys want a tour?”
“Absolutely!” I exclaimed eagerly, while Ian simply nodded.
“Luke’s in the Cabana Room.”
“What?” Ian asked.
She led us down the hallway, her pink braided pigtails neatly laying over her shoulders under her hat which she took off, holding at her side. “Oh, the themed room we’re changing up seasonally?”
“Oh,” he flickered his gaze, “right. He wanted a nude beach theme for summer.”
“Yep!”
She stopped at the first room, the sound of a nail gun popped from the opposite hallway. “So, this is one of our tamer rooms. We figured apart from the bar areas out there, people could get more comfortable with each other here.” Beaming proudly, she continued, “We implemented the same lighting system Penthouse L.A. used which had been my idea. When I go over the contract and NDA with new members in the office, I’ll make sure they’re refreshed on colors.”
