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“Matteo…” I called out his cousin’s name and took two steps closer to him. “You tried to seduce me. Honestly? I really liked our kiss. We could have gone all the way that day. Maybe not in the men’s room, but in my apartment or yours. You had my number, too. Did you use it to ask me on a date?”
“No.”
“Leo.” I finally shifted my gaze up to his. “We had some fun together, too. What happened afterwards? Because I don’t remember you contacting me in any way.”
“That’s true,” he said, lowering his voice.
“There you have it, then,” I stated, gesturing at Leo. “Casual fun. That’s it. Nothing exclusive. Nothing permanent. All three of you could have pursued something more with me. None of you did. So, take your insults and…”
“Don’t say it,” Matteo interrupted me. “You might regret it. You’re in a tough spot, sweet pea. We all are. We may deserve it, but you don’t.”
“Elaborate, please,” I urged, a throbbing pain in my head making me wince.
“There’s a hit out on you.”
Prior to hearing Leo’s theory, this information would have shocked me to my core. Still, although I hated it, I wasn’t really surprised. I had helped the wrong people. I had provided a helping hand to men who had been doing their best to provoke organized crime. This “hit” as they called it, would be my punishment…
“That’s what I get for doing my job,” I uttered in a somewhat shaky voice. “Why would I regret saying what I had in mind?”
“Look,” Matteo said, his tone calm. “Cesare told us tonight that he wanted to work with a bunch of mobsters. I’m not going to lie to you—I didn’t like that. But, seeing as you could get killed for just helping us out, I’m willing to do it. It wouldn’t be fair for you to pay for our mistakes, Piper.”
“I wanted to shoot those pricks; I really did,” Leo confessed, softening his tone. “But I’ll bite the bullet and work with them if that’s what it takes to keep you safe.”
“The same goes for me,” Cesare put some force in his voice, looking at me with a bright-eyed look. “Your safety was a big factor in my decision to work with a bunch of people that tried to take me and my boys out.”
“Oh, my god…” I whispered, waves of utter confusion smashing around me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I stared at them, one at a time, my mouth agape. They were going to shield me, for all my mistakes. I had made some—I couldn’t lie to myself. I hadn’t led them to believe we were exclusive, but I hadn’t exactly been honest with them, either.
“You look like you just saw Godzilla in the flesh,” Matteo remarked. “Say something.”
“Like what?” My heart fluttered in my chest. “Thank you? How could I ever thank you for what you want to do for me?”
“We dragged you into this,” Cesare pointed out. “We didn’t mean to, but this doesn’t change the truth. We should be the ones to get you out of this mess, alive and in one piece.”
“Oh,” I huffed out, starting off towards them. I threw my arms forward, in my attempt to hold just one of them. I must have looked quite ridiculous… I needed to be six or seven inches taller to have any hope of closing my arms around one of them. Before I knew it, I was snuggled up against a broad chest, with six, masculine arms over my back. A gentle squeeze intensified that enormous sense of security, my heartbeat slowing with each passing second. Even after the revelation of that hit, I wasn’t feeling scared. On the contrary, I was peaceful. Aware that those three would gamble their own lives, in order to protect me.
32
CESARE
It wasunbelievable how people could amaze me.
Even the ones I had known all my life, like Matteo and Leonardo.
Nevertheless, Piper was the one who had blown me away the most.
I considered myself smart. Able to analyze situations by using my brain. And, once I’d left that hospital, I felt beaten.
By her.
She had destroyed me. Rejecting my accusations was one thing. Anybody could do that. Proving my mistake to me was a whole different matter. I was really struck by how she had managed to maintain her composure and offer me her counterargument. She had a point, while I felt like I had made a complete fool of myself. How the hell could I have been so wrong? Was it pressure that had blinded me like that? Was it stress? Or was something else at play? I didn’t know. Worse still, I didn’t wish to delve deeper into this.
We had more urgent matters to take care of. My pride could wait.
We had to have a sit-down with Maggie’s men.
I never thought I’d be in this position. Planning a meeting with a group of wise guys who had stormed into a bar, guns blazing? If anyone had told me this about a month ago, I would have laughed in their faces and told them to get lost. Now, this was the only way forward. The only thing we could do, to make sure that we didn’t get whacked by another crew.
After a lengthy exchange of texts, we agreed to meet on Roselli’s turf. Nowhere near Brooklyn and far away from typical mob hangouts, that two-story building housed Maggie’s office. I found myself admiring her idea. That woman had brains. Knowing she had to stay away from crappy neighborhoods, she had chosen Upper East Side to run the shelter next to her building. Of course, wise guys could get to her there if they wanted. Yet, this place had everything a spot in Brooklyn just didn’t have.
