Realization came into her gaze before she took a breath. “I thought this was over.”
“It’s never over—at least in this business.”
“You think the Skull King will be a problem?”
“I don’t know. Depends on how stubborn he is. If he’s business-minded, he’ll cut his losses and focus on something more profitable. But if he’s an asshole, he might try to burn this place to the ground out of spite.”
“If Icarus failed, it’s silly for him to believe he would succeed.”
“Perhaps. Depends on his perspective.”
She was quiet for a while as she thought through all of this. “Your obligation was to help Cosa Nostra defeat Icarus. You’ve done that—so your job is complete. We can go back to our lives.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“You suppose?” she asked gently.
I inhaled a slow breath. “I don’t know, I guess I feel protective of them.” I should feel nothing after they’d turned their backs on me, but seeing Icarus threaten Don Russo’s family and destroy the place I’d called home hit me hard.
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “I said if you wanted to come back, we could do that.”
“I don’t want to come back,” I said immediately. “I guess I just want to know they’re okay before I move on. You know, like a parent who wants to make sure their kid gets settled at university before they head back home.”
She continued to stare at me. “I think a part of you will always be Cosa Nostra.”
My feelings toward them were layered and complicated, but there was definitely an undertone of affection that burned in my heart. “Yeah, maybe. At least we always have allies if we ever need them in the future.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that anytime soon. I can’t believe I have to fix the house athirdtime.”
I released a quiet chuckle. “They say third time’s the charm, right?”
“In this case, I hope so.” She dropped her arms and moved into me, wrapping her arms around me and resting her head against my chest.
I held her, my chin resting on her head.
She took a slow breath before she let me go. “I’m going to head over.”
“I’ll come by when I’m done.”
“Okay.” She gave me a weak smile before she turned away and started to leave.
“Baby?”
“Hmm?” She turned back to me.
“Love you.” My nose was broken and I had a cut in my back that would take weeks to heal, but nothing hurt more than watching her walk away. The love I had for her in my heart was so deep, it actually pained me. I had something I never wanted to lose, and that somehow felt riskier than all the battles and fights I’d survived.
Her eyes smiled as she looked at me. “Love you too.”
“How’s Rosaria?” I asked when I sat across from Don Russo on the couch in his office.
“Pretty shaken up,” he said. “Took the girls with her. She went to stay with her sister.”
“You’re in the doghouse, then, huh?” I asked with a slight cringe.
His cigar rested between his limp fingertips while his arm was propped on his knee. “I told her nothing would ever happen to her or the girls.”
“Nothing did.”
