11. Matteo #2
To his credit, Enzo didn’t flinch. He knew it was entirely within my rights to kill him if I so chose.
“Uh, I’m just gonna head back down to the gatehouse.” Paulie’s slightly nervous voice could barely be heard over the blood roaring in my ears.
“Good idea,” I replied, my eyes never leaving Enzo.
Once retreating footsteps sounded, the man whose life I could end with a single twitch of my index finger said, “If you’re going to shoot me, get it over with already. Either way, you’ve just shown your hand.”
He was right. Within the hour, word would spread throughout the organization that disrespecting Summer would be a fatal mistake. They’d know how much she meant to me, and that would be enough to put her life in danger.
As I let my arm fall to my side, the haze of red surrounding my vision cleared, and I cursed under my breath. “Fuck.”
The relieved rush of air that flew past Enzo’s lips was the only indication that he’d been nervous while I’d held him at gunpoint. Stepping backward to put space between us, he huffed out a strained laugh. “Didn’t realize how badly she’d gotten into your head.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I muttered.
It didn’t matter that I was used to Enzo busting my balls; something inside me snapped when he made it sound like Summer was nothing more than a conquest, with the implication that once I got her into bed, I’d lose interest.
Did I want to fuck the woman into oblivion? Hell yeah, I did. More than ever before, now that I knew how incredible she looked when she came. But it was more than that. I wanted to protect her, cherish her, worship her.
Claiming her body was only the start.
“Maybe it’s best if I don’t stick around for dinner,” he offered.
I holstered my gun. “Don’t be fucking stupid. It’s not like you can cook for yourself.”
“You know, I would correct you, but that would only screw me out of a free meal, so I think I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
“Wait, are you saying you do have control over the things that come out of it?“ Sarcasm colored my words.
A smirk tipped up a corner of his lips. “Why would I answer that when it’s so much more fun to keep you on your toes?”
My eyes lifted to the ceiling. “You might be good at dodging bullets, but it’s a wonder you’ve survived this long without becoming a victim of friendly fire.”
“Almost crossed that one off the bucket list today.” The asshole snapped. “So close.”
“I’m going inside, and if you have plans to follow, I suggest you find a way to contain the verbal diarrhea.”
He gave me a mock salute. “Sure thing, Boss.”
There was plenty of space between cars inside the massive garage, but I still went out of my way to make sure my shoulder knocked into his as I passed.
In the end, the joke was on me, though, because while I kept fit, I was no match for the man whose job was to be an enforcer.
His muscles had muscles, so I was the one who came away the worse for wear after our collision.
When I opened the door to the mudroom, the scent of sugar hung heavily in the air.
Enzo practically moaned from behind me. “Oh God, if she bakes, I’m moving in.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Yeah, you keep forgetting that can be arranged.”
He was teasing, I knew that, but it still set me on edge. After my father’s murder and then Allegra’s, I didn’t find it funny. Not when there were people counting on me to protect them, and my track record of failure on that front haunted me.
Navigating the hallways until we reached the kitchen, I was surprised to discover we had a guest. Or rather, Summer did.
The minute I entered the room, the eyes of the girl who captivated me by merely existing did a quick sweep of my body, and the unmistakable flare of hunger in their blue depths had me biting back a groan.
Hiking Serafina higher on her hip, she announced, “Look who’s home.”
Bianca was seated atop the island, talking animatedly with a dark-haired woman whose back was to me. My daughter’s tiny head whipped in my direction, and the most brilliant smile lit up her face as she exclaimed, “Papa!”
“Hello, my beautiful girls,” I said in greeting as I stepped closer to drop a kiss on each of their foreheads.
It took a herculean effort not to give Summer one as well. God, what I wouldn’t give to place my lips on her skin, even if only in a chaste show of affection.
Eyeing the dozens of cookies filling containers laid out on the island, I remarked, “Looks like you’ve been busy.”
Teeth descended on that plush lower lip of Summer’s, and a blush crept onto her cheeks. “Sorry, we got a little carried away. I’ve never had a kitchen like this to work with before.”
“No apologies necessary,” I reassured her. “What’s mine is yours, dolcezza .”
A loud scoff reminded me we weren’t alone, and I turned to find Summer’s guest glaring at me. Which was strange considering I didn’t even know this girl.
Deciding to be the bigger person, I extended a hand. “Matteo Bellini.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware.”
The venom in her tone had me rearing back. “Is that so?”
Summer widened her eyes at her friend, hissing, “Gabi!”
Enzo reached past me to snag a biscotti. “So we meet again, Gabriella.”
The pieces clicked into place. This must be the D’Amico girl, Summer’s ex-roommate.
Gabriella’s lips pulled into a thin line. “Enzo. Why don’t you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of?”
Ooh, she had a sharp tongue on her. Though I would expect nothing less of a woman with Bellini blood coursing through her veins.
“Pretty sure I have more of a right to be here than you do, sweetheart.” Like the man hadn’t just cheated death, he booped her on the nose.
In the blink of an eye, she lunged, and I was forced to put my body between the pair of them.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” I boomed so loud that it startled Serafina, and she began to whimper.
Summer’s lower lip trembled like she, too, was about to cry. When she spoke, her voice wavered, and it was like a punch to the gut. “I didn’t mean to stir up any trouble by having Gabi over.”
Dragging a hand down my face, I let out a heavy exhale. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” With a jerk of my chin toward the door, I said to Enzo, “You just cost yourself dinner. Get out.”
“Great,” he huffed. “Thanks a lot, Gabi.”
As soon as he was gone, Summer said softly, “You should probably go too, Gabs.”
The girl’s jaw dropped. “What did I do? He’s the one who touched me without permission!”
“While you have a point, you also went out of your way to provoke him.”
“Ugh! Fine.” She threw up her hands.
Gabi moved toward the table where she’d slung her purse over one of the kitchen chairs before returning to where I stood. Narrowing her eyes, she lowered her voice so that Summer couldn’t hear her. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
There weren’t words to describe how satisfying it was that she involuntarily stepped back when I got in her face. She might act tough, but she was smart enough to be scared of me.
“If I hurt her, I’ll hand you the gun.”
Brown eyes widened, and a surprised exhale rushed past her parted lips.
When the shock wore off, she said, “I’ll hold you to that.” Then she was gone.
Summer looked to me in question, but I shook my head, silently asking her to let it drop. Thankfully, she granted my request, because I didn’t think she was ready to hear that I valued her life more than my own.
Hell, I was barely ready to hear it myself, but that didn’t make it any less true.
My obsession with Summer Reynolds had officially reached an all-time high.