Chapter 9 #2
Being stranded on a jet with Alessio at thirty thousand feet isn’t exactly what I had in mind for my flight back.
There’s no way I’m going to agree to flying home with him.
The more space and time between the two of us, the better.
I want him to be nothing but a distant memory.
Someone I may see in passing at future kid birthday parties and offer a casual hello to.
What I don’t want is to be close enough to touch him.
To feel those icy blue eyes on me. To want him.
“But—” I start to protest.
Luna holds up a hand, cutting me off. “No buts. I insist. It’s the least I can do as a thank-you for saving my honeymoon.”
I stare at her, a dawning sense of dread blooming inside.
There’s no way I can refuse her offer without it seeming incredibly odd and making her ask questions I have no intention of answering.
What person in their right mind would turn down a flight home on a private jet in favor of paying a premium to fly economy?
“Okay,” I relent. “I’ll take you up on that offer. Thank you.”
Luna beams at me. “No, thank you. Now, come on. Let’s go get brunch with the others so that we can lie on the beach and do absolutely nothing other than tan our asses and drink fruity drinks for the rest of the day.”
I force a smile. “Sounds perfect.”
And it does, really. Except for the part where I have no choice but to accompany my mobster tormentor home on a private jet. Then we’ll be spending two weeks in the same city. Maybe he has an assistant who can go between us.
Because if he doesn’t, and if I’m forced to interact with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Psycho for the two weeks I’m cat-sitting Cid, I’m going to be so, so screwed.
And not in a good way either.
Saint
“She’s what?”
I stare at my brother, thinking I must have misheard him, because it sounded a hell of a lot like he just said that Isla would be cat-sitting Cid at their new penthouse for the next two weeks while they’re on their honeymoon.
“Cat-sitting Cid,” Priest repeats, looking at me like I have a few screws loose. “Have you been paying attention?”
Halfheartedly.
In my defense, we’re all lounging at the pool, soaking up the sun. Isla is wearing a green two-piece that matches her eyes, and I’ve been having a hard time not admiring her in it every time she rolls over or struts back and forth to the pool for a cooling dip.
I rub a hand over my jaw. “Yeah, I have. Which is why I don’t understand what’s going on. Didn’t Luna hire some fancy cat sitter who was going to feed him caviar every morning for breakfast and brush his teeth before bed?”
I’m being an asshole about it, I know. The cat is Luna’s baby, and she treats him like a little prince.
“Don’t be a dick,” Priest says, giving me a glare over the top of his Ray-Bans.
“She does have a cat sitter, but the cat sitter has a family emergency, and she needs to fly home. Isla volunteered to step in and spend the next two weeks with Cid for us. That’s the part where you come in.
I’m going to need you to get her set up at the penthouse.
She’ll require a code, clearance with security, the whole nine yards. ”
My dick likes this news a lot.
The rest of me? Not so much.
“Can’t Scorpion do it?” I ask, trying to pawn her off on someone else, even though the thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
She’s beautiful. Scorpion is likely to make a move.
“He’s busy with the Russians. There’s something brewing in their ranks, and I can’t have him distracted. I don’t need any shit going down on my honeymoon.”
I don’t bother to tell him that if I’m forced to spend a lot of time with Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, a whole different kind of shit is going to go down, and he won’t like it any more than the kind he’s talking about.
“Lucky, then.” I volunteer my youngest brother.
Priest shakes his head. “He’s got shipments coming. We’ve had some recent delivery problems, and he needs to keep a close eye on everything.”
I sigh. “Why me?”
“Because you’re my right hand. When I’m not there, you’re in charge. Because I trust you.”
A sharp prick of guilt stabs through me when he tells me he trusts me.
I don’t like keeping what happened between Isla and me from him.
We’ve never had secrets from each other.
In this world, if you don’t have trust, you don’t have anything.
I’m breaking the code between us. But I don’t see that I have much choice.
This is a complication none of us needs.
“Fine.” I blow out another breath, annoyed. “I’ll get her set up with security and have them give her a code. But if you think I’m babysitting her, you’re wrong. I’ll be too damn busy to watch over her.”
“She’s capable of taking care of herself,” Priest says.
I think about her leaving her purse behind at the reception last night. The way she took a wrong turn.
“Sure.”
“Hey, you two looked like you were getting along fine last night,” he points out.
His stare is hard. Penetrating. I know my brother well enough to understand he’s testing me, waiting for a reaction.
So I’m careful not to give him one. If he finds out I hooked up with Isla and then kept it to myself, there will be hell to pay. It’s a violation of my oath of loyalty to him, to the family. Even if I’m doing it for his own good. It won’t matter.
“She seems nice enough,” I say coolly. “For a nerdy chick.”
“Watch it, frattore mio. My wife is a nerdy chick, and for the record, I think it’s hot as fuck.”
Smart women are a turn-on for me. And Isla is definitely intelligent. She’s also like an adorable kitten in the wild, about to be eaten by an apex predator.
In this scenario, that predator is me.
I hold up my hands. “Easy. I mean no insult. She’s just not my type.”
Jesus, what a lie. Isla is more my type than any woman I’ve ever met, and that’s why I have to stay the fuck away from her.
Why I need to be as cold and ruthless to her as possible.
I’m not like my brother. I don’t believe in love and happily ever after and all that sentimental shit.
For him, yeah. It’s great—he needed to marry Luna to unite the families and end a brutal turf war.
Bonus, they’re wildly in love with each other, and they’ll have a shit-ton of the cutest kids imaginable.
For me, that kind of commitment is a hell no.
I’m married to my job.
“Damn right she’s not your type,” Priest says, a note of warning entering his voice. “She’s off-limits.”
“Noted.”
“Good.” He nods, pushing his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose. “So it won’t be a problem, then? You’ll handle everything and see that Isla gets safely to the penthouse. Give her the lay of the land. And if she needs anything, you’ll be her first call.”
Shoot me now.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t fucking need anything,” I grumble.
“She might. She might not. Apparently, she’s going through a rough patch, from what Luna told me. Her fiancé cheated on her, and she dumped the bastard.”
Holy shit.
This is news to me. Isla was engaged? And the piece of shit stepped out on her with someone else? He deserves a nine millie between the fucking eyeballs for doing her dirty like that.
I let out a low whistle. “She’s better off without him.”
“No doubt. Obviously, don’t mention it to her. Luna told me in confidence.” Priest gives me a look of warning. “I’m just telling you so that you know to be careful with her. Use your fucking kid gloves.”
I already did my part to heal her wounds, but I used my cock and my tongue. I don’t tell my brother that, however.
“Kid gloves.” I nod. “Got it.”
“Promise you’ll be there for her if she needs it? Luna’s a little worried, and I don’t want her spending the whole honeymoon waffling back and forth between staying here and heading home early.”
I do everything I can to keep my distaste for this request out of my expression.
“I promise. I’ll give her all my numbers so she knows how to reach me.”
“You can do it tomorrow on the plane,” Priest tells me. “She’s flying home with you and the boys.”
Fuck my life.