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Also, I get the feeling Tizio is a good guy. He’d never sleep with me and make a move on Laura or anyone. Then again, Laura did sigh over him, so maybe he turned her down. Or maybe she’s just worried for me and is fudging things.
It doesn’t matter, it’s over anyway.
I make the drinks and return, and think back to what Wendy said.
Everyone crushes on him.
Even, apparently, Laura.
It’s late when we return after sending Laura home in an Uber. She was tipsy but promised to text when she got in. That text just arrived.
I start up the path to the house and stop, turning back. “You’re not coming with me?”
Wendy shakes her head. “He’s already there.”
As she says it, the door opens, and his imposing figure blocks the light. Even from here, I can tell he’s not exactly happy.
“Get inside,” he says. “Now.”
Chapter Twenty-One
TIZIO
I can smell the rum and a sweetness like pineapple on her.
A muscle twitches in my jaw as I close the door and head to where Wendy waits. Arms crossed. Face blank.
She knows I’m mad and it makes me madder still.
I don’t know why I’m angry that she took Karlee to meet her friend at my other property. She did it to protocol, my protocol. She was in the house the whole time, and her team as well as De Luca men, were there outside.
It’s not even Karlee’s been drinking. She’s fucking twenty-two, she can drink, and so far, I haven’t actually ever seen her drunk. So, it’s not that.
I suspect, if I’m brutally honest, it’s the lack of control in the Karlee and me situation. Because that thing has life and fucked if I know how to control it. There’s a hint of cool to the air tonight, like it knows something’s coming, something I won’t like, and I’m not talking about the shit that’s going down.
“Why the fuck didn’t you say no?”
Wendy’s mouth forms a disapproving line. “Because I’m not sleeping with her, Tizio, and she’s an adult, and she wanted to see her friend. Karlee isn’t a breakable ornament, and she isn’t a prisoner. A little freedom goes a long way. Plus, I took half the army.”
The asshole streak is strong in me right now, so I keep going. “I didn’t want her in any danger.”
“I see why you never fucked anyone on the job, apart from it being a terrible idea.” She taps her foot. “I’m better at protocol right now than you, and I followed it. I also didn’t dip into any sweet little honeypots. So, I still can see clearly.”
“Fuck you, Wendy, my clarity is there.”
“Bullshit. You’re all up your own ass about her whether you want to admit it or not.”
The fucked-up thing is she’s right. I’m skewed on this. Karlee is just too there in my head. Of course, she picked up on the fact I did something I shouldn’t have. Of course, she fucking did.
“The other thing is she’s fine, her friend though?—”
“What about her?”
Wendy shrugs. “Said you hit on her. Did you?”
“Like fuck I did.”
The anger is quick and hot, and I almost miss the small smile that touches Wendy’s lips. “Figured. Didn’t sound like you and not when you look at Karlee like you do.”
