Page 30 of Cavaliere

There’s a long pause before he answers in the same whisper.

“It means “my treasure.”

Strike me dead. Did my heart stop?

That was the first night in a long time that I fell asleep and actually felt like everything was going to be alright.

Chapter

Twenty-One

MATTEO

I’m gone before Wren wakes up.

Last night, I finally felt like we were on the same level. I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since the first night I laid eyes on her, and I fucking hate that. This isn’t me. I’m not the one that gets all pussy whipped over a woman. That’s Aldo’s department.

I haven’t had a chance to catch up with him in private since he looked over Wren. I know he can tell this is different. I mean, I brought her to my house, for fuck’s sake. Should I have called a doctor with an actual degree? Probably. Should I have taken her to the closest hospital and left her there? Absolutely. But I felt more comfortable with someone that gets it. Got the infatuation with just one woman. And I knew he would keep just how deep I’m into this to himself.

This brings me to why I’m here, at the pizzeria, and not back at my place, where the most gorgeous creature that I have ever laid eyes on is warming my bed.

Well, that and the small fact that I’m also being a pussy right now. As much as I wanted Wren to stay in my bed, I wasn’t ready to face her in the morning. I’d be the luckiest man in the fucking world if she were mine. But let’s be honest; guys like me never have a happy ending. We might have it for a decade, but our lives always end with us being six feet under or in a cement cell.

Wren caught me off guard last night when she asked what tesoro means. I debated answering, not really feeling ready to dive into my own feelings on why I even started calling her that. It just rolled off my tongue without a second thought. I regretted it for two seconds until I noticed I didn’t feel actual regret. It felt right. Wren proved that by snuggling back into me and passing out when I told her. I’ve never wanted for anything in life, but Wren has made me realize I’ve been missing something. What is that exactly? I have no clue. But I have a feeling Wren is about to show me.

“I’m taking it that you found her?” Alessio asks, leaning up against the wall of the small office.

“Yeah,” I grunt.

“She back in your bed?” Alessio asks as Aldo sneaks me a knowing smirk, making me just grunt again. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

I wish it was what he really thought. I’m counting the days until that lip is healed. Then, I’ll make her understand what this is.

“So the meeting—do you believe none of them know what’s going on?” Alessio asks, steering the conversation back to why we are really here.

“I don’t ever fully believe any of them, but with this, I don’t have a reason not to believe them,” I say as I lean back in my chair, twirling the pen that was left out on the desk in my right hand.

“Cormac didn’t look like he was lying. He always gets a little fidgety. Reminds me of what a snake does when you cut off its head,” Gio adds nonchalantly from the wall he is leaning against, one leg propped up. “What?” he asks after he notices all of us staring at him.

Fucking Gio. Some of the shit that comes out of his mouth is just so unhinged.

“Have you heard anything more from Cain?” Alessio asks, choosing to ignore Gio’s comparison.

“He still has nothing.”

“So, basically, we have nothing.”

“Well, not nothing,” I say, drawing everyone’s attention to me. “Wren left out a small detail.”

“What did she leave out?” Alessio asks, tone guarded.

“We had an incident at her apartment last night. Got shot at when we were leaving.”

“You got shot at?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Why are we hearing about this now?” all three of them yell at once, cutting me off.