AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sweetheart.”
I won’t call herpiccolinain front of Pauly. At least not in a car like this where it feels crowded compared to our town cars and SUVs.
She rests her head on my shoulder, and I wrap both arms around her. I stroke her back, and it calms me as much as it does her. I drop kisses on the top of her head and forehead, and she wraps one arm around my waist.
I’m watching her as she rests with her eyes closed. But five minutes later, she sits up and puts her lips to my ear.
“You are so rigid, you might snap if I move your arms. I know whatever is going on isn’t over. But can you breathe for now?”
I press her head back to my shoulder and inhale. I hold it for a moment, then slowly exhale. I do it over and over until I relax. Or at least until my body does. My mind is still going a mile a minute.
Who did this? How long ago did they plan it? Was it intended for me, Sinead, or both of us? Who’s watching us? Who’s following us because someone definitely wants to know if they killed us? How am I going to get Sinead inside? How do I explain this?
My brain quiets momentarily when I see our men pouring out of the office building. We have security there around the clock, even though we don’t use the building often. Other companies do, and it’s no secret our family owns the property. They surround the cab as I shove cash at the driver. He’s looking around, trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. Six men my size in black suits are facing away from the vehicle as Pauly opens the door for me. I slide out and reach in to help Sinead. The moment the door closes, the men form a tight circle around her. People might see her bare legs among the trouser legs, but other than that, she’s invisible.
“Mr. Scotto, Don Salvatore called me. Tony’s in the garage waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Mario.”
Pauly, the six guys, and I crowd into the elevator with Sinead still in the middle. Word travelled fast if Uncle Salvatore’s already involved. Luca and Carmine didn’t wait around. Mario was the driver who met my parents and me at Laguardia when we arrived in America. He was the first Cosa Nostra man I met in America. Now I can relax. I trust Mario implicitly.
Sinead doesn’t. She freezes when the circle opens for her to step into the car. She looks up at me, and I recognize the blank stare from when her panic attack started. I push her into the car a little rougher than I liked, but I follow her in. I yank the door shut myself and pick her up, placing her on my lap. I press the button to drop the glass an inch.
“Il mio posto.” My place.
I raise the glass and wrap my arms around Sinead, pulling her against my chest.
“Piccolina, you’re safe with me now. I’m holding you, and I won’t let go until you tell me to. I’ve known Mario since the day I moved to New York. He was my mama’s bodyguard the entire time my parents lived here. He’s driven all my aunts and Maria around for years. He won’t let anything happen to us, and neither will I.”
“Daddy?”
Her voice sounds so tiny and hollow, but at least she’s speaking.
“Yes, little one.”
“How’d you know?”
“The dome light didn’t turn on. It’s a feature our vehicles have to detect explosives.”
“But Pauly had already driven the car, and we saw no one go near it. I don’t understand.”
“Someone activated it while we walked to the building. It was set to detonate when the door opened.”
“Do you think having your car explode will prove you’re not the one blowing things up?”
ChapterNineteen
Sinead
Gabriele’s fingers.Holeeefuck.The moment he put his hand on my thigh, I hoped he’d finger me. It didn’t prepare me for how good it would feel. The angle was awkward, but he still made me come hard. I kept thinking back to how he ate me out in Lorenzo’s office and the sex we had the night before that. When he wouldn’t let me come, I thought I would combust. I almost burst into tears. But it wasn’t my first-time experiencing orgasm denial. I pulled myself together and enjoyed it. The way we talked during it. Fuck, that was hot. I want more of it.
As we left my office after I gathered my bags, I couldn’t help but wonder what was next. An hour car ride each way? There was a lot that could have happened during that time, and I think none of it would have been about trial prep. We got on the elevator, and it was practically perfect when he stopped it and held me close. Then it all went to shit.
I felt the change in him like a wave crashing over me. He’s always vigilant, but he practically pulsed with I don’t even know how to explain what. Determination? Confidence? Authority? It made me nervous and calm at the same time. Totally disconcerting. I was nervous because I knew something was up, but I was calm because he was with me. It didn’t feel rude when he switched to Italian, but I didn’t like not knowing what was happening. But it was the first test as to whether I could handle the secrets he would keep from me. Frustrating as it might have been, I accepted it easily enough.
It was like that wave crashed over me and spun me around like I was in a washing machine when he and Pauly dragged me back from the car then herded me forward. I thought I was flying for a moment, then I landed hard on top of Gabriele. His arms came around me the moment we touched. He tucked my head against him as I felt Pauly land on my back. They both protected me, risking their own lives to do it. There had to be almost four hundred pounds pressing down on him between my weight and Pauly’s, but he rose to his feet with ease. To say it blew me away seems grossly inappropriate right now. But it did.
“Piccolina?”
