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I turned over and rolled her to her back before I got out of bed. I pulled on a new pair of boxers and sweatpants before I glanced at her one more time. She was so tiny in my king-size bed, drowning in the sheets due to her petite size. She hugged the pillow like it was me and kept sleeping, her olive skin contrasting against the crisp white sheets.
I walked down the hall and into the kitchen, my bare feet tapping against the hardwood floors. My place in Milan had large, floor-to-ceiling windows that let the natural light into the house. It had a great view of the enormous city, of the ancient cathedrals and old buildings. The windows were tinted on the outside so no one could see in—and they were bulletproof.
I put on a pot of coffee then opened my laptop. One thing I liked about my job was the freedom. I didn’t have to work all the time, and I had weeks in between hits to recuperate from my travels. The money was directly deposited into my account, out of sight from the feds who were unable to monitor it.
Once I told Vanessa the hit list was never innocent people, she seemed a lot more accepting of it. The man she loved was a stone-cold killer, and I respected her for not trying to change me.
I wouldn’t change for anyone.
I drank my coffee and looked through emails. Richard gave me updates on the property in Lake Garda, and Max sent emails about business, nothing too confidential just in case someone took over our servers.
I got a text from Max. Call me when your lazy ass is out of bed.
I just got Vanessa back, so I wasn’t interested in leaving for a few days. It’d been so long since I’d had her incredible pussy that I was making up for lost time. It didn’t matter how well the job paid, I would pass.
I called him back.
“You’re awake?” he asked in surprise.
“It’s nine, asshole.”
“But I know how lazy you are. So, what happened to that woman you met the other night?”
“You owe me five hundred euros, by the way.”
He sighed into the phone. “I’ll pay you, asshole.”
“When?” I pressed.
“Like you need the money.”
“It’s not about the money, and you know it, asshole.”
He chuckled. “I’ll wire it to you. Happy?”
“A little happier than I was before.”
“So, what happened to you and that sexy lady?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t be coy,” he said with a laugh. “You’ve never been a gentleman before, so don’t start now.”
“I’m being serious. I walked her to my truck, and then Vanessa caught up with me.”
“Vanessa…?” His grin was obvious in his voice. “Jealous?”
“Extremely.”
He laughed. “This is getting good. What happened next?”
“Vanessa said she wanted me back.” I remembered the way she looked in the short teal dress, her heels held in her hand. Tears burned in her eyes and had ruined her makeup. She was hurting so much…in agony as she watched me touch another woman. I enjoyed watching her suffering because I’d been in so much pain myself. Every time she pushed me away, it was like a blade right in my heart. I wanted to watch her suffer, to know I wasn’t alone. She hated loving me, but I hated loving her just as much. Her family had ruined my life. I should have been a man and killed her. She dropped her heels on the ground and kissed me. The shoes remained on the sidewalk after we left, and I don’t know what happened to the woman I met at the bar… I couldn’t even remember her name now.
“Then what happened?” he asked.
“What do you think? I took Vanessa home.”
“What about the other woman?”
I shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. “No idea what happened to her.”
“So where does that leave you two? She’s still a Barsetti, and she’ll always be a Barsetti.”
I sipped my coffee and looked out the window. “When did we start having these girl-talk sessions?”
“Come on, we’re brothers.”
“Doesn’t mean we need to talk about this shit.”
“This is your first serious woman. We’ve gotta talk about it.”
I didn’t think Vanessa and I had any kind of serious future, but I wasn’t thinking about that right now. I was just enjoying her, loving her. “We’re living in the moment. Her family doesn’t need to know about me.”
“Could you imagine if they did know?” he asked with a chuckle.
The entire Barsetti clan would hunt me down with all their weaponry. Her father would stab me in the neck even if I were already on the ground. I was his worst nightmare, the worst man in the world for his daughter. “Vanessa would never tell them, so I don’t need to worry about that.”
“Does that mean you’re happy?”
I’d finally been able to sleep through the night, and my heart wasn’t aching in my chest anymore. Happiness was difficult for me to grasp because I didn’t really understand it. Even now, I wasn’t sure if that was what I was feeling. “Yes.”
