40. A Lot of Fines
CHAPTER 40
A LOT OF FINES
S erena
My entire body is still tingling from the orgasm as I lift off Antonio, cum spilling down my legs. Damn, I’ve never seen so much come out of a man at once. Either he’s been saving up or he’s a beast. Either way, I’m suddenly so relieved for birth control.
I flop down on the passenger’s seat, and I can feel Antonio’s gaze burning into the side of my face. He digs through the glove box and hands me a tissue, a smile etched into his handsome face, then watches as I sop up his arousal from my inner thighs.
“ Dio , I like how you look with my cum all over you.”
I like it too, but I don’t dare admit it. Instead, I don’t say a word as I slip into my panties, then jeans once I’m relatively clean. This thing between us is insane. It’s not like anything I’ve ever felt with another guy. And it’s got me scared shitless.
“Are you ready?” He eyes the seatbelt I still haven’t put on.
“Oh, right.”
Then he revs the engine and pulls out of the heavily wooded area onto the highway. A truck whizzes by, sending my heart jolting up my throat, but besides the big monster, the road is quiet, no carabinieri in sight.
“With that little unaccounted rest stop,” Antonio murmurs, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead, “I don’t think we’ll have time to swap out the car. I’ll stick to the side streets and hope for the best.”
“Okay.”
We lapse into silence once again, and this time keeping quiet is almost impossible. A part of me needs to know if he feels this weird connection as intensely as I do, but the other half is terrified to ask. Mostly because I’m sure he does. And I don’t know what that means for either of us.
So I spit out the first thing that comes to mind instead. “Where are we going to sleep tonight?” Really, I want to know if we’ll have another chance to fuck before he drops me off with Alessandro. Because it’s only been a few times and I’m already hopelessly addicted to that cock, to that man’s fingers, to his tongue…
I blink quickly, trying to chase away the heated thoughts before I work myself up again. Hell, who am I kidding? I could go again right now. I’m tempted to reach across the console and slip my hand into his pants just to feel his silky hardness again.
I’m so wrapped up in the idea, I don’t realize he’s already answered me. “Huh?”
“I said we can’t stay at your apartment for obvious reasons, but I have a friend in the city, the one who is a genius hacker.”
“Oh, right.” I glance down at the purse between my feet. “We should probably check if he’s responded to your messages.”
“Yes, and I’m going to need you to send him another one informing him of our arrival.”
“Or we could stay with my friend, Santi.”
“Not a good idea. The smaller number of people we involve the better. Otherwise, there are too many possibilities for leaks.”
“Santiago is one of my best friends,” I hiss. “He would never betray me.”
“How well do you really know him? Do you know anything about his family? How long have you known him?”
Well, shit, maybe I don’t know that much about Santi. “Four months now,” I mumble. That’s the only answer I have.
“We’ll stay with Valerio.”
Fine then. I reach for the phone and pull up the most recent messages, easily finding Valerio. Antonio hasn’t reached out to a single soul besides him. Me, on the other hand, I’m twitching to send out a few more messages to Bella, Matty, and the whole cousin crew, not to mention my mom. Even though Papà is being an overprotective dick, I know Mom would understand.
“Tell Valerio we’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“That’s it? You’re not even going to ask if we can stay?”
He shakes his head. “He’ll understand it’s urgent.”
I type out the message and wait for a response. Despite the late hour, it comes almost instantly in the form of two letters. OK . I guess this Valerio guy is a man of few words. Then again, I’d be pretty grumpy if someone woke me up in the middle of the night and told me they were coming over.
Before long, we’re pulling into an underground garage in a modern apartment in the center of Milano. It looks a lot like mine, only a few floors shorter, made entirely of tinted glass windows and heavy security along the perimeter.
What exactly does this Valerio guy do for a living anyway?
I’m about to ask when we’re stopped at the gate and a scary looking tattooed guy bends over the driver’s side window and stares into the car. “I.D.,” he barks, clutching a tablet to his barrel chest.
Antonio shakes his head, steely determination in his eyes. “The name is Giovanni. I’m here to see Valerio Palermo.” His dark brows furrow but before he can open his mouth, Toni barks again, “Just check the damn list for Signor Palermo.”
“Listen—”
Toni raises a hand, moving so fast my head spins. He has the guy by his necktie, using it as a noose around his throat. He jerks him into the driver’s side window and tightens his grip. “Don’t make me kill you for no reason. Just search the list, stronzo . You’ll find my name along with detailed instructions.”
He tries to nod but with Antonio choking the shit out of him his head barely moves. Finally, he releases the security guard and the man coughs and splutters, catching his breath before he scans the tablet. “Ah, here you are, signore .”
He flicks a button on the screen, and the gate opens. Antonio offers a tight smile before driving through. “ Coglione ,” he mutters.
I nearly choke on a laugh. “Him? He’s just trying to do his job. You were the asshole who tried to suffocate him for it.”
He shrugs. “I’m not showing anyone my I.D., not until you’re safe and sound, flying thousands of miles away from here.”
I don’t even want to consider the obvious here… Antonio may be dead well before that. My father is a loose cannon and there’s no telling what he’ll do now that he knows who I’m with. He could be on his way here right now, ready to burn Milano to the ground just to find me. And Antonio is going to be his number one target.
As much as I’d like to believe Papà wouldn’t kill him if I asked nicely, I’m not stupid. And the idea of Antonio dead has an invisible noose tightening around my throat. I’m so lost in the grisly image, I don’t emerge from the bleak thoughts until the engine cuts off and Antonio is leaning across me trying to open my door.
“I can open my own door,” I tease.
“Just wanted to prove chivalry isn’t dead.”
But it might be soon.
The stupid thought streaks across my mind before I can stop it, and heat pricks the corners of my eyes. Dio , what is wrong with me? I must be PMSing or something. Finally opening the door, I find Antonio waiting with our meager belongings. Glancing around the quiet garage, I notice the sleek elevator we’re parked in front of. Unlike the others around the large space, there are no buttons, only a biometric scanner of some sort.
Antonio exhales a labored breath, as if he’s been running for days, and a hint of fear lances through my chest. Shit. It was the sex, wasn’t it? It was too much for him… “Are you okay?” I inch closer, and my palm instinctively moves to his chest, but not close enough to the wound to jostle it.
“Yes, I’m fine. The wound is fine.”
“That’s a lot of fines…”
A wry grin curls up the corners of his mouth. “It does seem like I’ve been saying that a lot lately, haven’t I?”
I nod, but I could say the same for me. And yet somehow, I don’t think anything will ever be quite fine again for either of us.
“I want to talk about what happened in the car?—”
I press my fingers to his lips, cutting him off. Because whatever he’s about to say I’m not ready for. Especially not right now, in this garage. “There’s nothing to say,” I blurt. “It was just fun, right?”
“Mmm.” His head dips, an indecipherable look flashing across the tense set of his jaw. “I only wanted to say that if you want to talk about it, we can.”
“I’m good, but thanks.” I’m so not good. I don’t think I’ll ever get that orgasm out of my head. The craziest thing is that it was completely vanilla… sex in a car is not something that typically rocks my world. And yet with Antonio, it was the hottest thing ever .
The elevator doors glide open before I say anything stupid, and a man in pajamas and glasses leans against the metal wall. He runs his hand through tousled auburn locks, grinning ruefully. “After years of not speaking to me, I get an emergency text a few days ago, then you appear at my door at three o’clock in the morning, amico ?”
Antonio shrugs, the closest thing to embarrassment I’ve seen streaking across his face. “I’m sorry. I hope you know I wouldn’t have done it if there’d been any other choice.”
“I figured.” His gaze chases to mine, a slow, steady perusal. “I assume she is the reason for all of this.”
Antonio’s head dips, and now I’m the one almost blushing. It takes a lot to embarrass me, but there’s something about his look that feels too personal. Like he knows things about me…
“Follow me.”