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“Obviously, I made sure of that,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
I don’t even hide my laugh. Before I can tell him I was sending Matteo home, he grabs the back of my neck, pulling me in as he claims my lips and deepens the kiss, robbing me of my thoughts. I know I should be, but I’m not even mad or fazed by what I just learned.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nico
“Nico! Your hair’s all wet!” my mother yells as I greet her with a hug and kiss on both cheeks, trying to hide my irritation.
Don’t get me wrong—I love my parents, but they have the worst timing ever.
“Yeah, Ma. I just took a shower.” I don’t care to mention that it was a fucking cold shower, considering I was balls deep in Anya in the library when Enzo all but broke the door down to let us know about their arrival.
I look at Bash. He looks just as confused. It looks like my parents’ arrival surprised us all.
Anya stands off to the side, smiling and looking cool as a cucumber, not a hair out of place, holding her hands in front of her.
“You weren’t supposed to be here for another few days,” I say as my mother brushes by, ignoring me.
“You must be Anya. I’m Marcella.” Ma rushes up to Anya, pulling my girl into her arms.My girl.Anya doesn’t flinch or stiffen. She hugs and kisses my mother back on both cheeks. My mother pulls back, still cupping Anya’s face. “Oh my, you’re as beautiful as my son says you are!”
The fuck?I never talk to my mother about women.
“Nico told you about me?” Anya asks, confused.
“No, Lorenzo did, but you just confirmed it,” my mother replies with a wink.
Anya’s eyes widened, but she was smiling like she was holding back a laugh.My mother had a way with these things.
“I didn’t realize Dipshit is also a gossip queen. We really need to get you laid, bro,” I say as my mother greets the gossip himself.
“Don’t talk about your baby brother like that, Nico.” My mother chastises.
“Jesus, Ma! I’m twenty-three!” He fights my mother off of him while she licks her finger and tries to rub lipstick off his cheek. He really is her baby.
“The Triad Princess in the flesh,” a deep voice says from the doorway. My father walks over to Anya and pulls her in to greet her.
“Anya. Of course I know who you are, Mr.—”
“Call me Giuseppe,” he says with a polite smile. He greets my brothers, saving me for last with a glare. “We’ll talk about this.” His eyes gesture to Anya.
She’s talking to Ma, so she doesn’t notice. Fuck, what did Enzo tell them?
“Is that why you showed up here unannounced? You aren’t capo anymore,” I joke, knowing it gets to him. Giuseppe Delucci is a controlling, micromanaging asshole. But we love him anyway.
“That, and I want to know what Anya’s plan is for taking down Li. I know you’re working with the Outfit. I’ve always liked Cesare,” my father says as he pats Bash on the back and walks away, only to stop to kiss my mother on the cheek.
“Have Valentina set up antipasto and bruschetta on the back patio,” he calls back without a glance, and my parents take their exit to the backyard.
“You’re practically quadruplets,” Anya says, stopping next to me.
My brothers and I look exactly like my dad. The only thing we got from Ma is her black hair, whereas my father’s was a lighter brown, and Enzo has her eyes.
Nico
For the next two weeks, Outfit men show up two or three at a time along with some of our men. They’re all staying in the cabins surrounding the property. We can fit about six to eight men in each cabin, so there’s plenty of room. I notice the more Outfit soldiers that turn up, the more tense and reserved Anya gets.
She’s been spending time either in the library or in the security room with me, memorizing the blueprints, accounting for all the men and weapons and even timing the whole damn mission. She doesn’t smile as much or joke with me during our fight training anymore. Hell, even sex feels different. I’m on high alert. I told her she needs to talk to me about this shit, but my girl’s stubborn. I should’ve known better than to think it’d be that easy.
