I flicked my gaze over to Drea. Her manicured nails flew over her keyboard. When she caught me looking, she said, “I’m letting Bianca know I’m heading to her place.”
“You aren’t saying who's taking you?”
With an exasperated look, she replied, “Seriously, Leo? Give me some credit.”
I chuckled. “Just checking.”
Since we were both still overwhelmed from what had occurred on the dance floor, we made the rest of the drive in silence. Like the tech master he was, Gianni texted back.
Clean. But watch your ass. She’s married to Bolyshev Bratva.
Thanks, G.
When the SUV came to a stop, I waged war with myself for a few moments before flinging open the door. The rational side of me claimed there was absolutely no reason why Guilio couldn’t see Drea safely to her door. That I’d done enough tonight when it came to her.
But like most of my life, I ignored the right thing to do. As I came around the back of the SUV, Guilio was helping Drea out. At the sight of me on the sidewalk, Drea’s brows popped. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you to the door.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Yes, it is.”
With a playful smile, Drea teased, “I don’t think some thugs have been waiting to jump out of the shrubbery to attack me.”
“And I’d argue this is New York, and you’re Raphael Neretti’s fiancée. We can never underestimate what our enemies might do.”
She nodded. “If you say so.”
After climbing the stairs, Drea reached for the door before her hand froze midway. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“No key,” she lamented.
I held up my finger. Reaching into my coat pocket, I took out my wallet. Flipping open a side pocket, I took out a gold key that shone in the porch light.
Bending over, Drea asked, “What is that?”
“It’s called a Bump Key.”
She furrowed her brows. “Is it like some weird masterkey?”
“Sort of. It’s cut specially so that when it’s struck while inside a lock, it’ll jump all the pins into the open position.”
Drea laughed. “Of course, you’d have some mafia trick.”
“I knew you’d be impressed.”
After inserting the key into the lock, I made a fist before bringing it down on the exposed part. And like magic, it worked.
I followed Drea up two flights of stairs. When she got to the last door on the right, she turned around with an impish grin. “Do you have another one of those handy?”
“Sadly, no.” When her face fell, I wagged my brows. “I have another trick up my sleeve.”
Once again, I rifled through my wallet. This time I took out a heavy Visa card. Sticking it in the doorjamb, I started shimmying it up and down. Once again, I worked my magic.
After pushing the door open, Drea started to go in, but I stopped her. “Let me go first.”
