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If I wasn’t so desperate not to be alone, I’d have refused. All I really want is a hot shower and something comfortable to sleep in. Hell, I’ll even settle for nude, just as long as I get warm covers to cuddle up with.
And maybe Saint.
Or Angelo.
Or even Victor.
The fact that all three want me to go to Victor’s room is unnerving, though. I don’t know what they talked about or why I wasn’t allowed to be there, but if I go… I’ll get to find out.
I slide off the bed I’ve been sitting on and accept Saint’s hand. “All right.”
We walk to Victor’s room in silence. There are more guards posted along the halls than before, but it doesn’t ease my worry. I hate that the only people I can trust here are Victor, Angelo, and Saint—but I can’t trust them either, not really. The only thing I can trust is that Victor’s ambition coincides with my own desire to be free of my father.
I’m still not sure I made the right decision. I had Victor’s life in my hands. I could have escaped this house in all the chaos. But the warmth of his words in my ears, the way he’d praised me, eased something inside me. It’s easier to go along with things for now. It’s safer.
He’d been right when he’d said that I’d have three mafia families on my ass if I’d murdered Victor and taken off, and I’d known it. I’d still been able to think, at least, or I might’ve just pulled the trigger, consequences be damned. But I knew better than to just react without at least trying to think something through.
But where would I be now if I’d just put a bullet through his head, too?
Queasy, probably. The first kill hadn’t been easy. Stationary and even moving paper targets had been one thing, but a person? That had been something else entirely. At least I could say my tutors would’ve been proud of me.
We get to Victor’s room, and I balk near the vanity in the foyer, where he’d spanked my ass and sent me away.
“What’s wrong?” Saint asks.
Everything, I want to say, but I just shake my head and let him guide me deeper into the room.
Victor’s sitting on the armchair, still mostly dressed, while Angelo’s shirtless on the bed. Angelo must have showered, too, his hair damp. He had to wash off all the blood. When I glance at Victor’s dress shirt, I see a few drops of blood. The jacket must have gotten most of it.
“Princess!” Angelo says. He gets up and strides over to me, pulling me into an embrace. “Damn, Victor told me what you did. Fucking amazing. I wish I could have seen it myself.”
I’m a little surprised he’s not more annoyed that I got to Al before he did, but I guess the overall outcome matters more to him. Alfonso Ricci is dead. His brother has been avenged. I nod to him, unsure of what to say, but I can’t help but hug him back.
I’m glad he’s alive, too, glad all three of them are alive, and I don’t know what that says about me.
“We’ve been discussing where we go from here.” Victor rubs his brow, and it’s the first sign I’ve seen tonight that he isn’t completely unaffected. “But Angelo and Santino pointed out that we’ve had enough business for the night. We should take a break.”
“And it’d be totally unfair for only one of us to spend the night with you,” Saint says from behind me. “Unless that’s what you want.”
Angelo kisses the top of my head and steps back. “So that’s the plan. We all pile onto Victor’s huge bed, unless you’d rather just chill with one of us individually.”
“To sleep?” I ask warily, and I’m not sure what I’m hoping the answer will be. Do I want to just sleep? Or do I want more?
I don’t think I canhandlemore.
“Yes. To sleep,” Victor repeats with a hint of amusement. “Whatever your impression of us, we’re still human. An evening like this takes a toll on us.”
“I mean, we don’thaveto sleep,” Angelo says, but his smile is strained. I can see the telltale hints of exhaustion in his face too.
“I’d throw something at you if I could,” I grumble. But I can’t help but smile. This is a step, right? In the right direction? I’m getting to call the shots. “Let’s just rest then.” I don’t want to have to choose who to spend the night with, and there’s a part of me that would love to be surrounded by warmth and safety. They’ll be there to keep each other in check, even if someone does decide to be frisky. “And so help me, Saint, if I wake up with your hands on me…”
He doesn’t even have the good grace to look sheepish as he flashes me a tired smile. “Not tonight, kitten. You’re safe from my wandering hands until we get some rest.”
Angelo steps between me and Saint. “How about this, Princess. You sleep between me and Victor. Saint can choose whether he wants to be next to Victor or me, but either way, his hands will stay off you.”
Saint frowns at Angelo. “May as well just kick me out of bed entirely,” he mutters. “What am I going to do, curl up with you?”
“Either way, one of us doesn’t get to be next to Lucia. And I think I deserve a bit of cuddling, after the four people I took out today. What were you up to in that time?” Angelo snaps back.
