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“That’s between us.”
I bristled and looked over at Ciro, who’d moved closer so he could try to hear the conversation. “Not when she’s asked me to get involved-”
“And I’m telling you, stay out of it,little brother.”
I hissed out a frustrated breath. “Listen, Nico. I’m going to ask her out.” There were very few things my brother took an interest in, but when it was a woman it usually meant one thing. He wanted to fuck her. He’d never go further with anyone, Maria had been the one for him, but he was still young, and he liked to play the field. His laughter floated over the line and I had to clench my teeth to keep from snapping at him.
“You mean you haven’t already?” His tone was mocking.
It didn’t matter if Havoc never accepted an invitation for a date with me. I was only telling him to get him to back off. He dashed that hope with his next sentence.
“She’s mine, Dante.”
The click followed by silence had me staring at the phone in disbelief. He seriously thought he could lay claim to her then just hang up on me? It brought back memories of our childhood and the times we used to compete for girls. Shaking my head, I looked over at Ciro again, who had his mouth hanging open, half eaten chips on show.
“What are you going to do?” He asked, shoving more into his mouth.
At least he was back to chewing and not displaying his food. “Fuck if I know.” If Nico thought this was over, he was an idiot. My brother wasn’t stupid, so I knew he wouldn’t expect me to actually back off just because he told me to. But this meant that Havoc was in trouble. If she didn’t know about my brother, I was going to have to tell her. A woman like her didn’t need to be getting mixed up with a man like him. I wouldn’t mind if she mixed with me, but I wasn’t sure that was going to happen. Not after she claimed we would only be friends. That one had stung my pride a bit.
I went into my bedroom and tugged on a t-shirt before heading next door. Knocking on her door a lot softer than she had mine, I waited until she opened the door.
Havoc stared at me suspiciously for a moment, but then stepped out into the hall with me. I sighed and figured she probably didn’t want a mobster’s brother in her apartment. I looked around, but the hallway was empty. “Look. I talked to Nico.”
Her gaze landed on mine and I could see curiosity there, but she remained quiet, waiting.
“I told him to leave you alone.”
“And?” I hesitated and she sighed. “What did he say, Dante?”
I searched for a better way to phrase it, but couldn’t. “He…” Jesus. I didn’t want to tell her that he’d claimed her. One, because it hurt my ego, and two, I didn’t deserve the fallout for his controlling, dickish behavior.
“I’m a big girl, Dante. Just tell me what he said.”
“He said you’re his.”
She just stared at me in disbelief. Whatever she’d been expecting me to say, that clearly hadn’t been it.
She laughed and shook her head. “Seriously? That’s what he said?”
I nodded and smiled uncomfortably at her. At least she wasn’t killing the messenger. In fact, she was taking it pretty well.Uh oh. Spoke too soon,I realized when her laughter stopped, and anger sparked in her eyes.
“Who says something like that?”
“Uh, Havoc. My brother isn’t someone you want to mess with...in any way,” I warned.
“I’m not trying to mess with him. And I’m certainly not ‘his’. You can tell him to sit on a dick and spin.” With that she turned and stormed back into her apartment, leaving me standing there speechless.
Under no circumstances was I going to tell my brother that. I wasn’t a coward, but I didn’t want to test what it would take to break our familial bonds and have him put a hit out on me. Or worse, kill me himself. I was only willing to push Nico so far. There was a time—in our past—when I would’ve been able to get away with saying damn near anything to him. Those days were long gone.
I realized that I hadn’t told her why she needed to stay away from him. I decided to give her a chance to cool down first and walked back to my apartment.
Chapter 13
Nico
Itapped the desk with a finger as I stared at my cell phone sitting there. So, after telling her to stay away from my brother she’d run directly to him? Something about that pissed me off. She hadn’t shown any real interest in Dante, from what I could tell, but it didn’t matter. The little kiss they’d shared in the hallway had been shut down almost immediately. It certainly didn’t compare to the one we’d had in the barn.
But I meant what I told him. Havoc was mine until I was finished with her. Maybe then, I’d let Dante have her. I ignored the fury that snaked through my gut at the thought and glanced over at the monitor as Havoc stepped out of her apartment. I watched the silent display until she went back inside, and Dante left. She’d learn soon enough who she belonged to.
