Page 39 of Daddies of the Underworld

He swept me up and down with an appreciative wink, and I couldn’t help twirling in the pretty blue sleeveless dress.

My one good dress.

We made it as far as the main corridor before Matteo appeared from a side room.

Luca sighed. “If you’re here to ruin my romantic outing, I will be mortally wounded.”

“Such a tragedy. Good thing you recover quickly.” Matteo deadpanned. His head shifted toward me. “You know the boundaries and have no problems with them?”

I bounced on my toes. “Luca explained. Two guards ahead, one behind. No wandering off. No alleys. No accepting gifts from strangers.” Part of me wanted to roll my eyes, but I resisted. “Honestly, Matteo. Half of these rules are things I learned before I was five.”

“Then you should remember them.” He stuck his hand into his pocket, then pulled it out and uncurled his fingers, revealing a small knife. “Carry this with you at all times. It’s small enough you should be able to stash it anywhere.” He eyed me with a lifted brow. “Not having pockets is not an excuse.”

I slid it into the pocket of my dress and swished my skirt. “Dante hasn’t taught me how to stab anyone yet.”

“Poke them with the pointy end.” Luca held out his arm. “Shall we?”

“One more thing.” Matteo held up a hand, his face inscrutable. “Remember that this is not forever. The fear and the intensity of trying to survive will be gone one day. Make sure you are thinking beyond that. Living in fear is one thing. Letting it dictate your future is another. You will have your life back, Nina. I swear it.”

What if I didn’t want my life back?

My freedom, yes. No more fearing for my life, absolutely.

But the life where I scraped for every meal and depended on the next paycheck to know whether I’d have a roof over my head?

Yeah, I could do without that.

But we hadn’t talked about a future. We had mind-blowing sex, and they were protecting me.

All that ended when they found out who was after me and why.

“I know.” It was all I had the capacity to say.

Luca took my arm and led the way to his car, leaving all the heavy stuff behind.

The town below Villa Belladonna looked like something from a painting.

It was all bright awnings and narrow streets.

Baskets of fruit sat outside shop doors. Luca bought me a lemon granita from a man who greeted us like long-lost family.

We ate fried seafood from paper cones near the harbor, and for a whole hour, I was able to forget that my world had been turned upside down.

Luca made me laugh so hard I nearly dropped calamari in my lap.

He bought soap that smelled like lemons, and one shaped like a cock to give to Dante as a prank.

When we walked back toward the car, I reached for his hand without thinking. His fingers wrapped around mine, his thumb moving over my knuckles. I sighed. “This feels normal.”

“Do you like normal?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had much of it to compare.” I didn’t let my past color my world often, but times like this, it slipped in.

His fingers tightened. “Then we practice.”

I should have joked, instead, I tried to ignore the pressure in my chest. It wasn’t just Luca.

It was Dante teaching me how to break a hold, then rubbing ointment on my sore wrists.