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He had the good sense to look uneasy, and peered down the hall as if the other bozos might help. “Why don’t you come eat some breakfast and the rest of us will fill you in?”
I followed him down the hall and to the stairs. Several faces peered up from the couch, trailing my every move. Ignoring Rafael, Darren, and Kieran’s gazes, I headed straight for the kitchen instead.
I could feel Aaron at my back, but he may as well have been a ghost for how silent his steps were. Eli stood in front of the stove flipping a pancake when I entered. His hair was styled in its usual man bun but the inch or so of growth on his jaw was gone, making him look younger. Beside him, on the counter, sat a plate with eggs, bacon, and breakfast potatoes. My mouth watered.
Smiling, he said, “Oh good, you’re awake. I thought I’d have to throw this plate away and just make you a new one.”
The sink was filled with dirty plates and pans from the endeavor of making such a large breakfast. That meant the men had all likely been here for at least an hour.
The coffee pot was half full, but from the mugs I’d spied on the coffee table, they’d probably already gone through a pot.
Eli piled the last of three small pancakes onto the already incredibly full plate and handed it to me.
“How long have you guys been here?” I asked.
“I got here at six but the others were here earlier,” Eli stated, as though that were a perfectly normal fact.
From the way Romero had behaved with the guys, I’d assumed they hadn’t gone anywhere in the house except the basement, but they certainly looked comfortable here.
“Where is Romero?” I didn’t move, looking from Eli to Aaron, who stood on the other side of the kitchen pouring himself a glass of orange juice. Aaron didn’t meet my gaze, but Eli managed to keep his easy demeanor, folding his arms over his chest. The bulging muscle in his tight-fitting, cream-colored sweater might have been enough to distract me under different circumstances, but my only focus now was finding out where Romero was and why he sent five burly babysitters without a single text or call to tell me he was okay.
“Eat first, then we’ll talk,” Kieran said smoothly, breezing into the kitchen and heading straight for the table where he collected the navy-blue mug I’d bought for camping trips. He filled it in silence then took a long sip, his eyes peering at me over the rim.
I huffed, spinning on my heel to set my plate on the table. After doctoring up my pancakes with butter, peanut butter, syrup, and half a banana, sliced, I scarfed down as much of the food as possible into my stomach, which felt like it was contorted into a pretzel and being repeatedly steamrolled.
Aaron set a cup of coffee in front of me, along with the carton of cream, like they were peace offerings. But he didn’t leave me to eat in peace. Neither did Eli, though Kieran took the hint and vanished. The two of them stared at their phones, making the entire situation as awkward as possible.
I pushed my plate away, unable to stomach any more. “Spill. Why are you guys here? Where’s Romero?”
Aaron nodded toward the doorway. “Let’s talk in there.”
I followed him and Eli out into the living room. On the bench in the bay window I sat, pulling my legs up under me. The curtains were drawn, but the heat of the day already began to seep through, brushing my back.
“Romero asked us to make sure you remained safe while he dealt with an issue that arose,” Rafael began.
“Why wouldn’t I be safe?” I asked with pinched brows.
A moment of tense silence permeated the room. “The nature of Romero’s work…of our work can often make our loved ones targets.” This time it was Darren that spoke, and something in his tone as well as his sky-blue eyes told me he knew what he was saying to be true firsthand.
“Okayyy,” I said slowly. “What kind of work?” Hearing Todd and Brian’s jeers about Romero being a hitman came back to me. My stomach threatened to turn itself inside out.
“Romero owns a great deal of properties as well as businesses. Law firms, real estate, farming and the like,” Aaron answered. He ran his hand through his hair again, and I got the sense it was something he did when he was nervous. “But he also has a great deal of business dealings that are…let’s say, not so above the law.”
I blinked.
“We all have that in common,” Rafael added with a wicked smirk.
“So he’s what, some kind of mafia gangster?” I asked incredulously. It seemed unlikely that the man that cared for me and my mother, who’d been gentle—never raising his voice or acting aggressively—was part of some underground crime world.
Eli chuckled. “He’s the boss. He calls the shots. Some call him a mafia don. That’s what we all are, really. Aaron runs one of the biggest cartels in Mexico and Romero splits the land with him. That is until some nobody came out of nowhere and started fucking with his businesses. Aaron’s as well. Now he’s even encroaching on dealings in the southern states. Last night, an entire warehouse of merchandise was stolen. That’s what Romero is dealing with.”
My blood turned to ice. A mafia don. They were all…gangsters? At most, I’d have guessed they ran some muscle car club, but never did I imagine I’d toyed with and offered my body to dangerous criminals.
And now I was alone with them again.
Slowly, I got to my feet. Aaron stood in the entryway, blocking my path to the foyer, but the way to the staircase was clear.
“Julietta,” Kieran said in a low, warning tone that made the fine hairs on my arms stand on end. “We’re not going to hurt you. Romero cares for you and we’re simply helping him protect what he cares for. He couldn’t send any of his men because there may be a traitor that he himself will have to weed out.”
