Chapter 53
TERINA
Present
Sunsets bleed into sunrise as the world goes by outside our windows.
One day. Two days. A week. Aside from the dog walker and deliveries, we exist for days on end in a timeless bubble.
We eat when we’re hungry, sleep when we’re tired, have lots and lots of sex, and talk about everything under the sun.
It’s the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.
I never imagined the risk I took in opening up to DiAngelo could yield such an incredible reward. I’d hoped it would be worthwhile, but the past week has been so much more than that. All because I chose to embrace D instead of fear.
I still get anxious, but I’m trying not to let it govern my decisions.
It helps enormously to know DiAngelo will catch me if I fall. He won’t judge or criticize me. I think this might be what it feels like to have a partner—something I never achieved with Craig. Not with all his secrets acting as a barrier between us. I can see that now.
D has been keeping me updated on the hunt for Pasha.
He’s told me all about his time in prison and the years after when he tried to track down the man responsible for killing his brother.
It’s the one target he was never able to identify, but those skills have helped him hunt down other monsters like Pasha.
He’s confident all of this will be over soon.
In fact, he’s taking me to Renzo’s today so that he can follow up on leads.
My job is not to panic that something awful will happen while he’s out.
That possibility feels especially real when he has me wear a bulletproof vest on the way.
Bonny helps, though. I decide to take her with me.
She makes an excellent distraction, bounding around in the back seat while D grumbles at her to sit still.
When we arrive at Renzo’s brownstone home, Bonny puts on a good show of pretending to be all business. A real boss bitch, considering she still has her pink collar and nails. I’m totally smitten.
Mom is, too. She gives Bonny a leftover piece of sausage from breakfast. After that, all pretense of badassery is dropped.
D just shakes his head. “You’re the one who has to live with the consequences. She’ll be farting sausage the rest of the day.”
“Don’t be silly.” Mom waves him off. “She’ll be fine.”
“Who’s farting sausage all day?” Shae rounds the corner with sweet little Liora asleep in her arms.
“Hell, did we wake you?” D grimaces.
“Nope, I was just changing her. Ah, I see what’s going on. We get a furry visitor today, do we?” She lets Bonny sniff her, then scratches behind the dog’s ears.
“I think we’re both happy for a change of scenery,” I explain.
“I hear you,” Shae agrees. “Between the threats and the baby, I’m real close to going stir-crazy.”
Renzo pipes up in response. “Just be patient a little longer. This will all be over soon enough. I should be hearing from the Genoveses any time now. They’ve been doing what they can to get intel on Michael to see what’s happened on that front. And D, you’ve got a lead on Pasha, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll show you what I have before I head out.”
He nods, turning for the hall. “We can visit in my office.”
While his back is turned and the others are looking in his direction, D leans in and places a quick kiss on my temple. At the exact moment his lips make contact, Renzo freezes, then slowly swivels back around to gape at us.
“What the fuck was that?” he demands.
Mom and Shae look from him to us, blinking cluelessly.
My gaze flits to the large horizontal hall tree mirror in the entry. The angle gives me the perfect view of the back of Renzo’s head.
Uh-oh.
“We should probably talk in your office,” DiAngelo mumbles.
“You think?” Renzo spins back around, pissed. D follows him, leaving me with Mom and Shae.
“What on earth just happened?” Mom asks.
Shae narrows her calculating eyes at me. “Nooo, surely not.” A Machiavellian grin spreads wide on her face as she assesses my reaction. “Oh, hell yeah. This is way better than an outing. Zuzu, pour us some tea. It’s time for Rina to spill the beans.”
“Tea? Beans? What am I missing? And you’re not supposed to have tea, it has too much caffeine.”
Shae seats herself at the kitchen table. “If we don’t have any decaf, then pour me some juice. Your daughter’s about to tell us how she started bumping uglies with her bodyguard.”
Mom gasps, her hand flying to her chest as she spins to face me. “Ree Ree, is it true?” There’s so much hope in her eyes, I’m not sure if it’s sweet or sad. I think she’s been worried I’d never move on from Craig.
I bite back a shy smile and shrug. “Guilty as charged.”
The next thing I know, she’s shrieking and jumping around like a fool. The baby starts crying, Bonny begins to bark, and I’m doubled over laughing.
“Jesus, fuck. You three scared me to death.” Renzo barrels into the doorway, his frantic eyes wide. D is close behind him. “You okay?”
Shae and Mom assure him everything is fine. He runs a mystified hand through his hair, muttering to himself about lunatics as he ushers DiAngelo back toward the office.
Shae quiets the baby with a pacifier, then sits back at the table. “Sit. Spill.”
It’s a good thing I’m okay talking about it because judging by the look on both their faces, I’m not leaving this room without a full recounting of the past six weeks.
“Let’s see … I suppose it started that first night he was assigned to protect me…”