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I resisted the urge to be childish and remark it wouldn’t be my blood.
The crazy thing? Just last night, Enzo and I had grabbed a beer at a local bar, and I’d thought he was a stand-up guy. Then the dreaded “need to get laid” text had appeared on my phone, and we wound up fighting alongside each other less than an hour later.
“He thinks I’m mafioso,” Enzo said with a humorless laugh, his eyes holding mine in a predatory stare as he lifted the mug to his lips.
“Walks like a duck. Talks like a duck.” I shrugged and stuffed a hand into my jeans pocket, staring him right back down while sipping my coffee.
I forced my gaze away from him a moment later to see Natalia shaking her head, her eyes volleying back and forth between the two of us. She had her hair in a messy bun. No makeup. A white tee and high-waisted jeans that had holes in the knees. Damn adorable, and it was hard to hold a straight face right now. To not remember how her lips felt, or the way her pussy responded to my touch.
At least you have a bra on under that tee.
Her gaze lowered to her chest as if reading my mind, and I didn’t miss the slight twitch of her lips.
Hopefully, she was distracted enough to forget my “gone” comment for now.
“He’s not mafia,” Natalia finally broke the silence. “I trust him. You can trust him.” She let go of a frustrated breath. “Our dads knew each other back in Sicily. Enzo’s family lives in New York, and when I was living there for a bit, Enzo watched over me. Kept me safe.”
“Yeah, assholes gravitate toward this woman,” Enzo casually said as he shrugged one shoulder. I took one step toward him, my jaw tightening at the implication in his eye contact.
“Oh, I’m an asshole now? You didn’t have a problem with me last night.” Of course, who was I to talk? I didn’t have a problem with Enzo last night. Plus, I had been the king of assholes over the years, my self-defense mechanism to handle being around Natalia, especially when she was dating my brother.
Natalia moved in between us and outstretched her arms. “You two are so alike it’s scary.” She turned her cheek to peer at me.
“We’re nothing alike.” I scowled.
I had every intention of calling Noah back and asking for another favor. I needed him to look into Enzo. Get his story since no one was eager to give it to me.
“The only difference between you two,” Natalia revealed in a steady but sharp voice, “is not every life he took was legal.”
“Natalia,” Enzo said under his breath because she’d just admitted he was a murderer. I wondered if he would try to deny it, but I didn’t have to wait long when he looked at me and barked out, “But it was always justified.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NATALIA
“Are the boys going to play nice?” Maria was on my bed, holding my pillow to her chest with one hand and a bottle of “liquid IV” in the other, trying to chase away her hangover headache. Chiara was taking her morning nap, but Maria and my parents planned to take her to the park as soon as she woke up, which was why Maria needed to shake the hangover.
“Not sure if ‘nice’ is the right word.” I peeked back out my window, catching sight of Laura’s Ford Explorer backing up. Ryan’s truck was still there, but Enzo had already left.
“Honestly, I thought Enzo was going to kill those guys last night,” Maria said. She had no clue about Enzo’s past, which was how he wanted it to remain. “Is it weird that I found it kind of sexy how Enzo handled those men?”
I faced her, surprised at my innocent sister’s words.
“I almost forgot Ryan wasn’t the only vet there last night,” she went on.
I probably should’ve mentioned that to Ryan, but I knew how resistant Enzo was to anyone sharing his past. Plus, it wasn’t my story to tell. Enzo was likely already pissed I’d shared what I had, and Ryan would assume he was some kind of murderer. I’d need to do damage control at some point, but there was already so much on my plate. One problem at a time.
Maria set the bottle on the table by the bed and pointed to her forearm. “See, I have chills just from thinking about it again. Enzo going all alpha like that . . . Am I right, or is there something seriously wrong with me?”
“You’re just confused. Hurt from what you learned about Thomas.”
“God, you should’ve seen how angry Enzo was last night after he found out about Thomas’s cheating.” Her lips twitched into an unexpected smile. “Of course, you were busy making out with the boy next door.” She freed the pillow and shifted to her knees. “I need details.”
I set my back to the wall and folded my arms, remembering the kiss last night. And then the insanely hot moment in his truck after we were attacked. I was the crazy one, not Maria.
“Come on, I need a distraction from the fact that the father of my child is a world-class dick, and I should have seen this coming.”
At her words, I went to sit by her. “I’m so sorry.” I reached for her hand and squeezed. “He never deserved you.”
