Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
MATTEO
I ’m gone before Wren wakes up.
Last night, I finally felt like we were on the same level. I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since the first night I laid eyes on her, and I fucking hate that. This isn’t me. I’m not the one that gets all pussy whipped over a woman. That’s Aldo’s department.
I haven’t had a chance to catch up with him in private since he looked over Wren. I know he can tell this is different. I mean, I brought her to my house, for fuck’s sake. Should I have called a doctor with an actual degree? Probably. Should I have taken her to the closest hospital and left her there? Absolutely. But I felt more comfortable with someone that gets it. Got the infatuation with just one woman. And I knew he would keep just how deep I’m into this to himself.
This brings me to why I’m here, at the pizzeria, and not back at my place, where the most gorgeous creature that I have ever laid eyes on is warming my bed .
Well, that and the small fact that I’m also being a pussy right now. As much as I wanted Wren to stay in my bed, I wasn’t ready to face her in the morning. I’d be the luckiest man in the fucking world if she were mine. But let’s be honest; guys like me never have a happy ending. We might have it for a decade, but our lives always end with us being six feet under or in a cement cell.
Wren caught me off guard last night when she asked what tesoro means. I debated answering, not really feeling ready to dive into my own feelings on why I even started calling her that. It just rolled off my tongue without a second thought. I regretted it for two seconds until I noticed I didn’t feel actual regret. It felt right. Wren proved that by snuggling back into me and passing out when I told her. I’ve never wanted for anything in life, but Wren has made me realize I’ve been missing something. What is that exactly? I have no clue. But I have a feeling Wren is about to show me.
“I’m taking it that you found her?” Alessio asks, leaning up against the wall of the small office.
“Yeah,” I grunt.
“She back in your bed?” Alessio asks as Aldo sneaks me a knowing smirk, making me just grunt again. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
I wish it was what he really thought. I’m counting the days until that lip is healed. Then, I’ll make her understand what this is.
“So the meeting—do you believe none of them know what’s going on?” Alessio asks, steering the conversation back to why we are really here.
“I don’t ever fully believe any of them, but with this, I don’t have a reason not to believe them,” I say as I lean back in my chair, twirling the pen that was left out on the desk in my right hand .
“Cormac didn’t look like he was lying. He always gets a little fidgety. Reminds me of what a snake does when you cut off its head,” Gio adds nonchalantly from the wall he is leaning against, one leg propped up. “What?” he asks after he notices all of us staring at him.
Fucking Gio. Some of the shit that comes out of his mouth is just so unhinged.
“Have you heard anything more from Cain?” Alessio asks, choosing to ignore Gio’s comparison.
“He still has nothing.”
“So, basically, we have nothing.”
“Well, not nothing,” I say, drawing everyone’s attention to me. “Wren left out a small detail.”
“What did she leave out?” Alessio asks, tone guarded.
“We had an incident at her apartment last night. Got shot at when we were leaving.”
“You got shot at?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Why are we hearing about this now?” all three of them yell at once, cutting me off.
“It was late last night, no one was hurt, and I wanted to get more information out of Wren and get her settled.” That seemed to placate them for now. “After the piece of shit stopped shooting, he yelled at Wren that she shouldn’t have stopped to help me and then proceeded to call her a cunt.”
“So he’s a dead man,” Aldo concludes.
I let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, yeah. He’s going to wish I just shot him in the head and got it over with by the time I’m done with him.”
“Did you get a good look at him? I can ask around and call Brad to run a profile search,” Alessio says. Brad is the cop that we have in our pocket. We have most of the department, he’s just the one who seems to rack up the most debt with us .
“I didn’t get to see his face. I was too worried about making sure Wren didn’t get hit. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. He was driving a black town car though.”
“A black town car…” Alessio trails off to himself, the wheels turning.
“You know who still drives a black town car like it’s the fucking 70s, don’t you?” Gio asks.
“Christos,” I answer, trying to think of anyone else I know who still drives something like that, but nothing comes to mind. “It’s possible. Nicholas didn’t seem like he was lying, but that doesn’t mean it’s not them.”
“I’ll look into it more,” Alessio says. “I’m not liking how this seems to all be connected.”
“It’s looking that way.” I pause and make a point to look at Gio before I continue, “If any of you find him first, he’s mine.”
“Why are you looking at me?” Gio asks, offended.
“Because you’re borderline psychotic. You’ll have body parts cut off and shoved places before we even have a chance to get to you.” Alessio smirks.
“It was one time.” Gio scoffs, looking put out.
“One time, my ass.” I laugh. “Give Enzo a break.”
“Enzo likes cleaning up after me. It makes him feel more connected to the family.” Gio wags his fingers at us as he pushes off the wall. “I have shit to do.”
“I need to get back and make sure the escape artist is still in the same place I left her.”
“I’ve gotta ask; is this more of a ‘She’s at my house because I’m protecting her out of guilt’ or is it a ‘She’s at my house because she’s mine?’” Alessio asks after Gio leaves.
Aldo is all of a sudden way too interested in his phone, but that doesn’t stop me from seeing the smirk take over his face. Fucker.
“It’s the latter for me but the former for her,” I admit .
“I thought that was where your head was at.” Alessio pauses for a moment as he studies me. “I like her for you. She keeps you on your toes and doesn’t take your orders lying down. You’ll get her to come around. Don’t forget dinner at Ma’s,” Alessio calls over his shoulder, and he heads out as well.
I hope it’s as simple as making her come around. He is right about one thing: my tesoro does keep me on my toes.