“I’m upstairs.”
I headed up the stairs to the second floor and found her already in bed in just my t-shirt, her long, thick hair in a messy bun that looked so good on her. I loved the whole look, how she could be so fucking hot without even trying.
She was reading a book propped up in bed, and she put the book aside and pushed the covers back so she could get out and give me a warm greeting. The shirt was like a loose blanket on her, stopping just above her knees. Her eyes lit up at the sight of me, and she drew near and rose on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I immediately scooped my hands under her thighs and lifted her into me, this woman weighing nothing in my arms.
She gave a little chuckle as she hooked her arms around my neck. “Missed you.”
“Missed you.” I kissed her, turned my head, and kissed her again, kissed the corner of her mouth.
“How was your dinner?”
“Interesting.”
“Why was it interesting?”
“It was with my old friend Santino from Cosa Nostra.”
“Oh.”
“My former boss wants to talk to me. Says he has information for me.”
“Oh…” Now her playfulness faded away.
“It’s obvious they want me back. I preemptively said no.”
“Are you going to meet him?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I want to watch them grovel, because I’m a sick fuck like that.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine as a seriousness settled over her face.
“And I want to hear what else he has to say.”
She didn’t move a muscle, but she somehow turned distant…and hesitant.
“Why does that bother you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Yes, it does,” I said with force. “Tell me why.”
“Do—do you want to go back to Cosa Nostra?” Her eyes dropped as her chin moved down, breaking contact with me.
“I just said no.”
“Then why are you going to meet him?”
“Because of the reasons I already said. And look at me when I speak to you.”
Her eyes flicked up once more, and with a face free of makeup, she was stunning in the low light from the lamps on the nightstands.
“We parted on bad terms.Really fucking bad terms. And I want to see the regret in their eyes and then the rage when I refuse to give them what they want. They clearly need me for something, and I want to find out exactly what it is before I turn my back onthem just the way they did to me. I’m petty, I hold grudges, and I’m spiteful, vindictive, and vengeful.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
I shrugged. “Could be.”
