2. Dom
2
DOM
“ Y ou’re absolutely sure you can’t find someone else to babysit this man?”
“Not anyone I trust like I do you.” There was a hint of humor in Lucien’s voice, but I could tell he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
I tried the sympathy-for-an-old-man angle. “You do remember I’m not the man I used to be.”
Lucien, my nephew and the current head of the family business, snorted. “You’re as good a shot as you ever were. You can handle this.”
I could, I just didn’t want to. “What if I need to chase someone down?”
“You have others to send on a chase. You need to focus on Corey.”
“Tell me more about him. I’m going to be stuck with him for weeks or—fuck—months.”
“You already know he’s an attorney.”
I grimaced even though my nephew couldn’t see me. “Tell me something that might make this more pleasant.”
“He’s quite attractive.”
“Did you forget I’m straight?”
Lucien laughed. “It’s still something positive about him.”
“Is he such an asshole you can’t come up with anything else?”
“He’s not an asshole. He’s actually….”
“What?”
“He’s the type of guy who would suggest the office do Secret Santa, the one who would bring everyone treats.”
“Oh my God. He’s nice?”
Lucien chuckled. “That’s what I’m told.”
“And he’s staying with me.” I walked to my bar cart. I was going to need a drink to deal with this.
“You can be nice.”
“No. I can’t.”
“You’re nice to your sons, and even occasionally, to me or your other nephews.”
“On occasion, but you’re all family. This is some too-nice stranger. Is he going to expect me to chat with him, to entertain him?” That wasn’t happening. I’d keep him alive. That was all.
“I think X warned him you weren’t…outgoing.”
“He told him I’m a scarred, reclusive old bastard who would prefer he not be in my home?”
Lucien hummed. “Something like that.”
“This is going to be really fucking fun.”
“You’ll manage. You’ve done things that are much harder.”
I wasn’t sure I had. “Let’s see if I can make it to the end of the week without killing him myself.”
“You can and you will.”
I could do anything I had to. I’d already proven that many times over, but I shouldn’t have to do this. “As long as you promise to find someone else to take him on. This is a temporary situation.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Lucien—”
“There’s something you need to know about the person behind the drug scam Corey has to testify about.”
My pulse sped up. Lucien was hesitant, and he was a man who never held back. Despite being my nephew, he was very comfortable with his authority as head of the family.
“Who is it?” I asked, knowing I was going to hate the answer.
“It’s Lisa.”
Lisa was my ex-wife, and she’d nearly, literally, been the death of me. “No.”
“Yes.”
“And you and X waited until now to tell me?”
“I didn’t want to tell you at all.”
“How dare you—” The doorbell rang. “Fuck. He’s here.”
“Go answer the door. We’ll talk more later.”
“Damn right we will.”
I ended the call, wishing I was on an old-fashioned phone I could slam down on its cradle. I threw back my drink, took a deep breath, and headed to the front door, leaving my cane leaning against my desk. I rarely used it in front of anyone unless I absolutely had to.
Not only was this man I was stuck with reportedly nice, but he also had to be young. He hadn’t been out of law school for long, which meant he was probably close to my younger son’s age. Would he see me as an old man not worth listening to? If so, he’d learn to respect me or—fuck. There was no “or”, not now that I knew Lisa was involved.
You knew she’d be back eventually.
I should have killed her when I had the chance. Now she’d hurt more people, and it was my fault. No matter how much I hated having anyone in my home, I would take care of Corey. Lisa wasn’t getting near him or anyone else. As soon as he was settled, I would contact X and make a plan to put an end to Lisa and her evil once and for all. It’s what I should have done a long time ago.
Each step I took sent stinging pain through my scarred leg, but I ignored it, forcing myself to walk with full strides. No way in hell would I let Corey think I was weak. My injuries wouldn’t stop me from being a deadly weapon. I’d only pretended that was the reason I didn’t want this assignment. I was a hell of a lot more capable than I let anyone know, because if they realized how much I could still do, they would never leave me alone.
That was all I wanted—to be left alone. I didn’t want to “get back out there.” I didn’t want a relationship. I rarely even wanted sex, and when I did, I was happy to pay to keep it professional. But even years of protest hadn’t made my family stop insisting that my reclusive existence was a problem.
Didn’t they know that only made me retreat further?
Vito and Valentino have made some headway with you.
Just because I’m willing to go to a wedding or step in when their lives are on the line doesn’t mean I want to start socializing again.
I paused by the door, flexed my scarred hand, and used it to turn the doorknob.
When I opened the door, a gorgeous man looked back at me. He was several inches shorter than me and dwarfed by Lucien’s guards, Six and Muffin. He had blue eyes and shiny dark blond hair I knew would feel like silk.
What the fuck? Why was I even thinking about his hair? He looked up at me and fucking smiled. No one smiles when they see me. Most people freeze or recoil, not only because of the scars marring the left side of my face, but because they instinctively know I won’t hesitate to kill them if they piss me off.
“Hi, I’m Corey.”
I nodded.
“This is Mr. Marchesi,” Six said. “He’s in charge of keeping you safe.” The guard set down a large, bright blue suitcase that nicely matched Corey’s eyes. Why the fuck had I noticed that? I didn’t care what he chose to coordinate with his appearance.
Muffin handed Corey a black backpack and tilted his head toward me. “Do whatever he tells you. He’s the best at what he does.”
Corey nodded absently. His eyes widened as he looked around the foyer. “This is really where I’m staying? I thought I’d be in some boring box-like safe house in the middle of nowhere.”
“Trust me,” Six said, “you’re more than safe here.”
I nodded to the guards, and they stepped back and turned to go.
“You’re leaving?” Corey asked them.
“They have other assignments.”
He turned back to look at me. “Oh, so you do talk?”
I glared at him.
“I didn’t mean that like…I mean, if you couldn’t talk, it would be fine. We’d just have to figure out how to communicate.”
“I prefer to communicate as little as possible.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay. I like to talk, so you won’t really need to do much to hold up your end of the conversation.”
“I don’t like to listen either.” How was I going to survive weeks—months—with this man living in my house? He hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d stepped inside.
I motioned for him to follow me.
“Should I bring my things?”
I nodded, then turned around. The squeak of his suitcase wheels let me know he was behind me. I shuddered at the thought of what they might do to my antique hardwoods.
When we reached the guest room where he would be staying, I opened the door and motioned for him to enter.
“Wow,” he said, looking around the room. It had a four-poster bed with a dark gray comforter and plenty of pillows piled on it. The room was decorated in a lighter shade of the same gray and a rich cream. There was a desk with an upholstered rolling chair, and a chaise lounge in a cream and floral pattern by the window.
“This is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere so fancy.”
I knew I should acknowledge the compliment, but after forcing myself to walk up the stairs, my head was aching. My vision had become spotty at the edges. The last thing I wanted was to tell him I had to lie down.
“Is there anyone else staying here?” He looked hopeful, which I suppose made sense. Who would want to be saddled with me for God knew how long?
“No.”
“So you don’t have a wife or…?”
He must not know my relationship to Lisa. “My ex-wife better not come anywhere near this house.”
Corey grinned, and I realized I’d raised my voice, dropping my cold facade. How did he already have me riled up?
“There is no one else here except my housekeeper, who comes in for the day. Unpack and settle in. I have business to attend to. Later, I’ll call you to my office and go over the rules with you.” At least there I could sit down and stop pretending it was comfortable to stand.
“Rules?”
“If I’m going to protect you, then there will be rules.”
Did he think I was going to just let him run wild here? Did he think this was a joke? He could be locked up in a safe house with bare walls, guards at the door, and someone dropping off disgusting fast food. He needed to be more appreciative of what he had.
Corey’s smile faltered for the first time as he set his bag on the floor next to his suitcase. Was he finally starting to understand that this wasn’t going to be fun and games?
I didn’t have time to babysit. I’d protect his life if he were in danger. I’d ignore the pain I felt, no matter how bad it was that day. I would keep him safe, but I wasn’t here to entertain him. I didn’t even like my own family in my house, much less a stranger. He was only here because I was responsible for him and all the rest of Lisa’s victims.