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I froze, my shoulders stiffening as I turned back toward him. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re a man, you can do whatever you want. It’s not like that for me.”
“Isn’t it? Your father gives you everything you want. You don’t have to do this,” he insisted. “You don’t have to whore yourself out for—”
“I wasn’t going tosleepwith him,” I said, offended.
Rocco looked away. “Could have fooled me.”
Alberto walked out onto the terrace, giving me a look as if asking me if I needed help. I nodded, and Alberto took me by the elbow. I felt awful that I still hadn’t been able to get any information, but at the same time, I knew Rocco would block me from talking to Ricardo. I might as well go home.
I huffed out a breath as Alberto ushered me to the car. “Another bust,” I muttered to myself. Alberto, of course, didn’t answer, just pulling out of the driveway. Rocco Moretti was starting to be the bane of my existence, in more ways than one.
6
ROCCO
Ricardo wanted me to take Allegra, and take her tonight, but she was leaving with that big lug bodyguard of hers. I’d decided I was wrong and had just been drunk and jealous, because she’d seemed more interested in Ricardo than him. I knew she must be working for her father, trying to get intel from Ricardo, because I knew how she’d rejected him the other night; but seeing her talk to him, flirt with him, still made my blood boil. Some part of me still felt like Allegra was mine, and the idea of another pair of hands on her skin made me feel sick to my stomach.
But I had a job to do, and so I followed them, driving three car lengths behind, cursing when they turned into the Rossi mansion. It was a fortress, and Romeo Rossi was no one to fuck with, so I was out of luck for the night. Unless… Unless Allegra was willing to give me a shot, let me talk to her, convince her to come with me.
I pulled into the driveway, Romeo buzzing me inside when I said who I was. He met me at the door with a grin. “Rocco! It’s been a dog’s year since I’ve last seen you,” he said, pulling me into a hug. I patted his back, laughing slightly. Romeo had been on the outs with Enzo when I went away, but nevertheless, he had always liked me. He always told Enzo that I should have been his son rather than Ricardo, who even at fifteen had been a hellion.
“How was it inside?” he asked, and I blinked, surprised. I guessed that Enzo and Romeo really had repaired their relationship if Enzo told him I was in prison.
I shrugged. “No big deal,” I said, and that was mostly true. I hadn’t gotten into many scuffles inside, just doing my time quietly and spending my endless amounts of free time working out. I’d been stabbed the first week by one of Enzo’s enemies, but it didn’t hit any major organs and after I beat that guy nearly to death, everyone left me alone.
“What brings you here?” Romeo asked.
I looked behind him to see if I could see Allegra in the house, but she must already be upstairs. “Wanted to talk to Allegra,” I said. “Catch up.”
Romeo didn’t bat an eye. He knew Allegra and I had run in the same circles, even if he didn’t know that we were together back then. “Sure thing. I’ll get her. Wait here,” he said, and confused, I waited on the front step. Before, Romeo would always invite me inside if I happened to be there for business. I guessed that being away meant he didn’t exactly trust me the same anymore.
It took a long time for Allegra to come down the stairs, still in her cocktail dress that she all but spilled out of. I took a sharp breath, doing my best to keep my eyes on her face. She padded barefoot to the open door, her face slack and expressionless. Her father stayed upstairs, and so it was just me and Allegra. “Not used to meeting you on the front porch,” I teased, thinking about all the times I’d snuck up the trellis to her room.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Wanted to talk to you.” I paused. “Wanted to apologize for last night.”
“Apology not accepted,” she said firmly. “Especially since you did the same thing tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What, I’m supposed to believe you really wanted Ricardo Gallo to corner you alone in his bedroom?”
“Alberto would have protected me.”
My eye twitched. “Is he just your bodyguard or are you dating him?” I asked tightly. “Isn’t he a little old for you?”
“Again, it’s none of your business,” she said calmly, staring at me with narrowed brown eyes. “Why are youreallyhere?”
“I thought we could go for a drink,” I said.
She scoffed. “Fat chance. Get out of my life and get away from my house.” She paused, looking back over her shoulder, and I didn’t miss the panic in her brown eyes. She cleared her throat. “I need to go.”
I was curious as to what she was so paranoid about, thinking it might be that shewasdating Alberto and something would prove it, so I frowned. “Just one drink, Allegra,” I said. “I just want to catch up.”
“Why would you want to catch up?” she asked. “You left me.” Her voice shook at that last, and it made my heart ache. I knew I’d hurt her by leaving, even if she was loath to admit it.
“I had a good reason,” I told her. “I’ll tell you all about it if you’ll just come out for a drink with me.”
She looked at me for a long moment. “I don’t care what the reason is,” she spat out. “Our story is over and it always will be. Just get out. I’ve got better things to do than stand around here talking to you.”
