"I don't think so." I laugh and hit the close door button, but the fucker is faster and has his hand in between the closing doors before the lift can take off.
"Asshole."
I chuckle. It's the little things in life that keep me entertained. Damiano punches me in the arm harder than I expected; he must have been working out again. I give him the wince he's waiting for. His smirk is worth a hundred thousand dollars, from what I hear. He was once a model before he got bored grinning at cameras.
The elevator dings, and the doors open to the antechamber of Massimo's suite. His guards look more wary than usual. Good. They need to be on high alert until we have the whole El Recaudador situation cleared. Max, Massimo's head of security, nods at me, and I nod back. Another man opens the door for us. Jenna looks radiant standing next to Massimo. A lot better than the first time I laid eyes on her, when her hands had been wrapped in gauze, and she'd sported a shiner that could be seen from the moon. Damiano steps ahead of me. "So, this is the woman who's been rearranging our Don's priorities," he greets, ramping up his charms.
"And improving them," she replies without missing a beat.
His laugh is genuine. Massimo introduces them, "Damiano, Jenna."
Further down, I can see Alessio and Enzo talking to Amauri, the ten-year-old boy I helped Massimo rescue from the fucking Venezuelans. He, too, looks a lot better than he did the last time I saw him.
When it's my turn to shake Jenna's hand, I put on my warmest smile, "Nice to see you again, Jenna. You look," I throw a glance at Massimo and say, "better," instead of my originally plannedbeautiful. There is no reason to poke the bear tonight. I have a feeling he'll be poked plenty.
Massimo pulls me into a quick embrace, and we pound each other's backs until we're both coughing. "Let's get some drinks."
Dinner rolls around, and inevitably, Enzo notices me glancing at my phone. "What's she doing now? Taking a shower?"
I shoot him a scorching look. "I'm not some… pervert."
Damiano snorts into his drink.
"I said monitoring."
Of course, Jenna and Massimo's son, Amauri, hears that part. "What's a pervert?"
Massimo answers immediately. "Someone who doesn't mind his own business."
Amauri nods thoughtfully. "Oh. So like when I read Mummy's messages?"
"Exactly like that," Jenna agrees quickly.
I shake my head. "I mind my business."
These men should know better than anyone how much restraint I'm exercising. Ending Pete and taking what I want would be easy. Watching Audra from a distance is the hard part. The slip at the ball proved that.
"From a distance," Enzo adds.
"With surveillance," Alessio adds with a smirk, daring me to talk my way out of this one.
I glare at both of them, then poke at Alessio, who is one to talk. "You hacked your ex-girlfriend's thermostat."
"That was climate control," Alessio replies smoothly. "And she was wasteful."
Amauri looks delighted. "You guys are weird."
Damiano raises his glass. "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to us."
The table dissolves into laughter.
Jenna studies me again. "She's really that happy?"
I look at her. There's no judgment in her expression. Just concern. For Audra. Or maybe for me. Hard to tell. I nod. "She has a good life."
"And you're… what? Making sure it stays that way?"
So the concern is for Audra then. I grin. "Something like that."
