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Leaning in, he kissed me softly, sweetly. In the way that people who were in love kissed, like they needed the other person’s lips to survive. When we broke apart, he whispered, “How are you with phone sex?”
A shot of lust went through my groin at the idea of watching a naked Theo masturbate on my phone. But this was too risky. Impossible for a man like me. When I returned to Germany, where I was based, I would hardly ever be alone. Surrounded by my men, working all hours. One mistake and I was dead.
When I hesitated, he tried to pull away. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have—”
“I want to,” I said quickly, tightening my grip on him. “But my job is demanding and unusual hours.”
Disappointment and hurt reflected in his gaze as he tried to shrug it off. “I understand. I’ll be too busy anyway.”
“Theo—”
Giulio and Alessio were walking toward us, their expressions hard and angry. Theo straightened on my lap. “Bello? Is everything okay?”
Giulio tilted his chin toward me. “I need a minute alone with Nic.”
Ah, so the assassin had told his boyfriend of our conversation. Was the mafia prince under the delusion there was another option for them? Because I was more than happy to set him straight.
I met Giulio’s glare with one of my own. I would not be fucking intimidated, not by anyone.
Theo’s voice was filled with worry as he said, “Mon grand?”
I appreciated his concern, but I could handle one spoiled Italian boy. I set Theo on his feet, then pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “It’s fine, solnyshko. Give us a minute.”
Instead of arguing, he nodded and walked over to Giulio. They exchanged a few words, with Giulio reassuring Theo that he didn’t need to stay and this wouldn’t take long. Alessio added a long string of rapid Italian, to which Theo patted his arm before going out on deck alone.
I didn’t like the dejected set of his shoulders. He had to know something was wrong, and I had no idea how I would explain it later on.
“My office,” I barked and walked out of the salon.
These fucking Italians had caused nothing but trouble for me since they arrived. Ilya was right—I should have killed them right away.
It might be time to rectify that mistake.
Chapter Seven
THEO
Something was seriously wrong.
I couldn’t pretend any longer or hope this problem went away. I had to find out what Giulio and Alessio knew about Nic that I didn’t. I always suspected Nic had a dark past but, considering Giulio's background, maybe it’s worse than I thought.
Sliding onto the deck chair, I thought about this as I stared out at the open water. They had just kicked me out of the salon for a private meeting. Ma che cazzo? What would those three possibly have to discuss?
I’d been sleeping with this man for weeks. I’d grown close to him. I was falling for him. Maybe it was time to admit I wanted more than a fling.
No more keeping my head in the sand—it was time to find out what the hell was going on.
You knew something was wrong and you chose not to pay attention.
Yes, this was true. All the signs were there. The hiding, the secrecy. The refusal to have phone sex. The guns, the guards. There were so many red flags with this man he was drowning in scarlet.
But wouldn’t Giulio tell me if he knew something? I couldn’t imagine that my friend would cover up for Nic—someone he just met. No, Giulio wouldn’t do this to me. He knew how I felt about lying. He wouldn’t keep secrets about Nic from me.
Nothing made sense. So, I had to find out what was going on.
Except when I went back inside . . . they were gone. Because they hadn’t wished for me to overhear?
Another red flag.
