Page 25 of Sicilian Savior

She glanced over, and when I caught the look in her eyes, my stomach did that drop again.

“I’m glad I can do this for you. I want nothing but happiness for you and Luca. You deserve it.”

“I just want my baby safe in my arms again.”

“And he will be.”

My cell phone started talking and telling me to turn. I veered onto the road on our right and slowed down when a beautiful vineyard stretched out in front of us.

“Wow,” Lucia said. “This place is gorgeous.”

“It’s ours,” I answered, turning up the drive.

“What? This is where we’re staying?”

“Yep. We rented the whole place out, so we’ll have plenty of room when the others get here. We may be a close team, but we like our space.”

“Holy shit,” she breathed as we pulled up to the luxurious villa. “It’s amazing.”

“And it comes with as much wine from the vineyard as we want.”

“I love wine. I need a glass.”

“Same. Let’s get settled in and find the wine cellar.”

She followed me out of the car and up the stairs to the front door. I punched in the code that Wes had texted me and opened it up. It was luxury on luxury, and everything gleamed white and looked more modern than the stone and vine exterior.

“It’s incredible,” Lucia said as she stood spinning in the marble-floored room.

“I’m glad you like it. Why don’t you go pick out a bedroom while I put up a few extra security measures? Take a nap, relax, and come down when you’re ready. I’ll find the wine and pop the cork.”

“Deal.” She grinned.

She was so much lighter than the woman I’d first met. Since the day she’d shared her burden with me, the hollows under her haunted eyes had filled, and the smiles that once looked pained now came more naturally.

I handed her the bag she’d traveled with and waved goodbye as I set out to put up perimeter alarms and tighten up villa security. I didn’t expect any issues. There was no reason Victor would suspect our arrival, but I wasn’t taking any chances with such precious cargo inside the walls.

Two hours later, looking rested and relaxed, Lucia strolled outside to where I sat beside the infinity pool out back.

“I didn’t pack a suit.” She plopped into a chaise lounge beside me, grabbing the wine glass I’d set out for her.

“Neither did I,” I said, biting back the cocky remark I wanted to say about us not needing them. But that would be inappropriate considering my vow not to make a move on this woman and make her feel like she had to reciprocate as payment for her son’s safety.

“I’m so bummed because I love swimming.”

Don’t do it. Don’t say it, Knox.

“I bet if we dig around in the closets, we can find something to swim in. This place is huge, and I saw some clothes in the closet of my room.”

“Yeah?” She lifted a dark brow.

“Worth a look.”

“Okay, let’s do it!”

She hopped up, reaching out for my hand to pull me up. I choked down my chuckle at the gesture. A woman her size could never heave a guy of my stature to his feet, but I took her hand anyway. Those familiar little sparks traveled along my skin when our hands touched, and I stifled the groan that wanted to roll out.

This must be what Marcus meant when he’d told us about Irene. There wasn’t a colder son of a bitch on this planet than Marcus, and yet he’d gone and fallen head over heels for a chemist in Colombia. She’d turned him from a stone-faced killer into a puddle of mush, and the rest of our team had taunted him nonstop about it. Me the worst. And now here I was, Lucia’s soft touch melting me into the same pile of goo I’d called him.