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“Show him in,” a deep, accented voice called on the other side.

She turned the knob and pushed, then held the door open for Bennett. “Vuole un caffè? Would you like a coffee?” she asked.

“No, thank you,” Bennett said and walked inside the large office, shoulders back and hands clenched. The lake, smooth and mysterious, stretched out like an ocean beyond the glass windows, and the room was filled with expensive-looking wooden furniture. But Bennett barely noticed it.

His gaze immediately locked on the lone man sitting behind the desk.

Nico leaned back in his chair, suit jacket unbuttoned, expression thunderous. Looking as if he were capable of serious harm at the moment and trying to get his emotions under control.

Bennett didn’t give a shit. He was equally as mad after being ignored for almost twenty-four hours.

The door closed behind Bennett with a soft click.

Neither one of them said anything to break the silence. Nico’s eyes . . . Jesus. Even from across the room they were terrifying. Cold and hard, emotionless. The dark irises sliced through Bennett like a blade.

But Bennett was used to danger. Every time he stepped on the ice, he risked serious injury. Hockey players had been paralyzed, maimed—even killed—so facing down one mob boss in a private office wouldn’t send him running. Besides, he’d deep-throated this guy’s dick, had seen Nico come so hard he could barely stand. Heard the compliments, the soft words. Shared the kisses.

So, yeah. Bennett wasn’t all that scared of Nico Marzano anymore.

They stared at each other across the tasteful carpeting, and Bennett got the sense Nico was struggling with what to say. That was fine because Bennett had a lot to get off his chest. “What the hell, Marzano?”

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” The words were clipped and crisp, the accent thick. Low enough that no one listening outside would hear them.

“I asked you a question first.”

“Is this retaliation?”

Rocking back on his heels, Bennett blinked a few times. “Retaliation for, what?”

“For coming to your workplace.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that. I’m not a child.”

Nico’s expression remained unchanged. “Then explain yourself.”

“I wouldn’t be here if you had responded to even one of my texts or voicemails.”

Nico’s nostrils flared as he dragged in a deep breath, his chest expanding. “Verreault. I am busy. I do not have time to explain myself or to reassure you. I expect that you are a grown man who doesn’t need someone to hold his hand.”

“Hold my hand? Are you fucking serious right now?” He stalked closer to the desk so he could glare at Nico. “You are breaking into the houses of my teammates when I told you I’m working on finding out who is responsible.”

Nico flicked his fingers in an elegant gesture that only an Italian could pull off. “I am also breaking into their cars.”

“Fuck! I can’t believe you!”

“I grew tired of waiting on promises. And also, I am beginning to suspect that you would never tell me, that you will involve lawyers and coaches instead.”

This hit a little too close to what Bennett was planning, so he tried not to react, but he must’ve failed. Nico’s voice was as harsh and cold as a Toronto winter. “Ah, I see that I am correct. Get the fuck out of my office.”

“Nico—”

Nico’s face turned forbidding, his eyebrows dipping low as his eyes flared with menacing fury. “You do not call me that here.”

Bennett instantly understood. From the security downstairs and the walk through the office, to the assistant offering coffee, he knew this was not a place where Nico could be Nico. He had a part to play in public and no one could suspect that any male visitor was more than a friend or an enemy. It was the same way Bennett acted at any hockey rink or team event. Anywhere that wasn’t a locked door, actually. He knew this and he had no intention of causing Nico any problems.

“Mr. Marzano,” Bennett corrected, now in captain mode. “You can’t harass and scare my team.”

“I’m not harassing or threatening your team. I’m harassing and scaring the man who hurt a member of my family. There is a difference.”