10. Elio
ELIO
She didn’t look at me on the ride home.
And I kept my eyes focused on the road, not straying, partly because, with everything going on with the Devil’s Wings MC and the obvious way they were targeting us, it was vital to be careful, and partly because I didn’t know how to look at her and not think about the sounds I’d heard coming from the bathroom during her morning shower.
My fists clenched around the steering wheel. I hadn’t misheard my name coming from her lips or the obvious moan that had come out before that.
I could only imagine what she had been doing?—
I shook my head. No, it was fucking best that I didn’t imagine… or think of her that way.
The last thing I needed was to feel anything more for her than brotherly love. My grip on the steering wheel tightened marginally, and I could feel my entire body tensing from the thought. What the fuck was wrong with me?
Thankfully, the drive to her house was short.
I didn’t need to spend more time with her in the enclosed space of my car, with her floral scent teasing my nostrils.
I pulled up to Joseph Gambino’s house. Everything was quiet.
From what Valentino said, his father had been drunk out of his mind the night before.
I doubted he was up or even knew that his daughter wasn’t in his home.
Retirement obviously didn’t agree with him.
I hadn’t expected him to take retirement well, but it was a necessary move, especially since he was a part of the traditionalist men we didn’t trust.
And the fucker was lucky. Technically, there was no such thing as retirement in our world.
And Gambino wasn’t exactly “retired,” considering he still came to the meetings, and he still put in his voice when Massimo asked for opinions from his men, but his voice didn’t hold as much weight—if any—as Valentino’s.
And any job that might be required of his old position as Nevada’s underboss was given to Valentino.
Plus, I still wasn’t entirely convinced the fucker wasn’t in bed with Enzo, our uncle and fucking traitor.
He and the rest of the traditionalist men.
The only reason they were still breathing was that we didn’t have any proof.
And eliminating a high-ranking official wasn’t an easy thing to do.
We couldn’t just act based on “gut feelings” alone.
We needed cold, hard proof of the fucker’s betrayal.
I look forward to that day.
But getting the fucker out and putting Valentino in his place had been a win.
Isa looked out the window at her house. She was turned away from me, so I couldn’t tell what she was thinking or feeling. I took the moment to study her side profile, wondering why I was suddenly feeling so fucking lost when it came to her.
“Thank you for the ride,” she said softly, glancing at me briefly before she blushed and looked away.
“You’re welcome,” I answered her, my voice gruff.
She hesitated for a long second before she pushed open the door and got out of the car, taking her scent and warmth with her.
She shot me a brief smile and walked away. I watched her leave.
I didn’t believe Valentino had put the fear of God in her, preventing her from sneaking out again.
I didn’t know what was going on with her, or why she felt the need to do this, but I couldn’t ignore it.
There was no way to ignore it.
I would just have to be there to catch her when she tried to attempt it again.
My phone vibrated on my dashboard, where I had placed it earlier.
I took a drink of my coffee before grabbing my phone and checking the notification. Another text from Matteo.
It vibrated once more before I could read it, and Romeo’s name popped up on the screen. Nice to know Matteo had gotten Romeo involved.
I quickly scanned the text before I threw my phone in the passenger seat, not bothering with a reply.
While my brothers and I were close, I was closer to Massimo than to my younger brothers, mostly because I could relate to him better than to the other two.
And mostly because Massimo and I had to bear the brunt of our father’s abuse.
We tried our best to protect our younger siblings—as much as two kids could have done against their monster of a father, and perhaps that had trauma-bonded us for life.
Matteo and Romeo were closer to each other than they were to the rest of us, despite being so different.
And I knew I gave away too much last night when I heard Isa was missing. Matteo obviously caught on to that, and like a fucking dog with a bone, he wouldn’t be letting this go anytime soon, or fucking ever.
Romeo might be more subtle at reacting to things, but like Matteo, I doubted he would let this go either. The two of them together were worse than some of the bored, gossiping wives of some of our men.
I leaned forward in my seat when I noticed some movement in the dark around the Gambino house. My eyes strained as I tried to focus on what that shadow might be. It was hard to tell in the dark, and I was almost convinced it had been nothing more than a trick of my eyes when I caught more movement.
Bingo.
I didn’t think she would be sneaking out of the house so soon after being caught, though I had staked out here just in case, and yet, here she was.
Why was she doing this?
Did she not know how dangerous this world was? I was sure Valentino had done a good job at shielding her from most of it, but it wasn’t like her to act so na?ve like this. As if she truly didn’t know.
My eyes followed her as she walked off the property line.
She wouldn’t be walking from her house to the strip, would she?
It was the middle of the night, and that was at least five miles away, and it was dark.
I was about to get out when a strange car pulled up about half a block away from her house.
She got in without hesitation, and I felt my jaw clench.
I didn’t know which was worse, her walking so far away in the middle of the night or her getting into a stranger’s car, even if it looked like she had called for it to be there.
I should call Valentino, but he had company right now. And while I knew he would drop everything to go pick up his sister, it was obvious his “lectures” weren’t working, or else she wouldn’t be sneaking out of the house again.
What the hell was I supposed to do with her?
I turned on my car and followed behind.
Ten minutes later, the car pulled to a stop in the middle of the strip, and she climbed out. I quickly got out as well, following close behind her. She never even looked back once, unaware of that fact.
She couldn’t have known when she asked the driver to drop her off that she was on the edge of the invisible property line where the Devil’s Wings MC usually liked to hang around.
They hadn’t been around much since Massimo had sent more men to patrol the area, hoping there would be some sighting of Waylen Thompson, but fuck me if she wasn’t pushing the fucking line, walking around the street like it was a walk in the park.
I watched her stop in front of a bar, as if debating whether or not she should go in.
Don’t do it.
I would follow her inside and throw her over my shoulder to carry her back out, and I wouldn’t fucking stop for anyone.
She made a move toward the front door when it burst open, and a group of drunk men came out, laughing and talking loudly with each other.
She stopped mid-step and turned to walk away.
One of the men noticed her and started catcalling.
I moved up and made eye contact with the fucker.
That stopped him, and he went back to his group.
I quickly followed after her. She was walking further and further away from the main part of the strip and into the more sketchy parts of the area.
It wouldn’t take long for trouble to find her.
I decided to put an end to her little field trip.
And I was going to teach her a lesson about the dangers of wandering alone at night.
I sped up until I was close enough to her and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her back against me.
It took her two long seconds to react, but I planned for that and covered her mouth with my hand, muffling her cries.
She struggled against me, but she was no match. I pulled her into an alleyway and gently pushed her against the wall, still facing away from me.
“Let go of me!” she yelled, her hands reaching back, trying to hit me.
I pressed her closer to the wall, not saying anything.
She struggled even more as I put my hand over her mouth again.
She whimpered, the sound tearing at my heart. The plan was to scare her a little. I just hadn’t realized how much the sound of her struggle and fear would get to me.
“It’s me,” I said.
She stilled against me.
I pulled my hand away from her mouth and turned her around. “Elio? What the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to scare me half to death?”
“I wouldn’t say half to death, but yeah, scaring you was part of the plan,” I responded.
She slapped my chest. “Why? Why would you do that?”
“The better question is, what are you doing out in the middle of the night?”
“That’s none of your business,” she said, trying to push me away. I stayed where I was, not budging an inch. “Move. You’re crowding me, and I don’t like it.”
“Tough. I don’t like you sneaking out in the middle of the night, and yet, here we are. What the hell were you thinking? Anything could have happened to you. What if it wasn’t me who had pulled you into an alleyway? Huh? How would you be able to escape?”
I wrapped my hands around her shoulders, pulling her in closer to me, and resisting the urge to shake some sense into her.
The more I spoke, the more emotions I could feel coming to the surface as all the worst scenarios popped into my head.
Anything could have happened to her. What if I hadn’t been here?
Fuck me.
“I’m right here. You don’t have to yell so loud,” she said, infuriating me.
“Do you not have anything to say about that?”