Page 13 of Daddies of the Underworld

“No.” He jiggled his foot up and down, causing his leather loafer to glint in the sunlight. “Matteo is thorough.”

“He acts like he has a stick up his ass.” The words were out and in the open between one thought and the next. I bent over and buried my head in the pillows, almost spilling the coffee in the process. “I did not mean that.”

“Yes, you did.” Luca chuckled. “But it’s fine. Because you’re right. He has little choice in the matter when we’re in places like this.”

“What are you doing here?” I lifted my head enough to look at him.

His smile widened, and he brushed a strand of hair off my cheek. “Drinking coffee in the nicest room in the residential wing. And checking on you.”

“Under the pretense of what?” Damn them. I’d always been a little suspicious, but they brought it out in full force.

“No pretense.” He drank his coffee and rested the back of his head against the wall. “You warned me, and it has cost you your summer job, your freedom, and your comfortable anonymity. I’m here to try and reassure you that this will be over soon.”

The honesty he exuded startled me almost as much as Matteo’s abruptness. We talked for another hour, with Luca charming me with stories about fishing in a boat that leaked so badly it required bailing every hour.

“I loved it more than anything I’ve owned since.” He said it with a straight face, but even then, it took me a minute to realize he meant it.

“Why?”

A shrug, then he took my empty cup and stood. “Because it was real.” He made his way across the room, pausing at the door. “We will protect you, Nina. No matter what.”

Dante came and went from my room three times throughout the afternoon.

The first time, he asked about my preferences for how I wanted to structure my days without work.

The second time, it was a warning about making sure I notified someone if I would not be able to answer my door.

The third time, he knocked then stood in the hallway when I opened the door.

Two men stood behind him. “The guard rotation changes at six. These are your guards for the night. You will not hear them, but they will be here. I want you to memorize their faces. If you see anyone other than them, do not engage.”

I opened my mouth but there was nothing to say, so I closed it again.

Dante nodded. “You should rest. It’s been a long day.”

“I will.”

He kept standing there, assessing me with that controlled calm I’d noticed in the closet. Gone was the passion and the heat. In its place was this. His chin dipped toward me. “There’s a garden terrace two floors down that’s been swept and secured. If the walls start closing in, tell them.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “One of them will take you.”

All the air whooshed out of my lungs. “Thank you.”

I tried to rest after he left. Tried and failed.

There was too much in my head. Too many questions and concerns.

I couldn’t shake loose from the anxiety. It got so bad that I almost screamed when a knock sounded on my door just after night fell.

Hand at my throat, I opened the door after Matteo’s voice slid through the crack.

He took me in with one sweeping look, his eyes tightening. “Have you eaten?”

“Rosa sent up a tray.”

“Did you eat?” He punctuated each word with a step forward.

I hadn’t, actually.

He turned his head, and that was all it took for him to spot the full tray sitting on the table behind me.