Chapter 12
TWELVE
Sable
Losing my virginity and being the recipient of an obscenely expensive shopping spree wasn’t going to change me. Entering into an unholy arrangement with a mafia prince and agreeing to be his trophy might.
Why did Milo want me here?
I rubbed my forehead as I counted the bags of clothes, shoes, underwear, and whatever else Camila insisted I needed. Where was I going to put all of this stuff?
It couldn’t stay on Milo’s bedroom floor. It definitely wasn’t coming with me when I went back to my apartment. The items in those bags weren’t meant for someone like me. They were made for someone who felt comfortable in her own skin. A woman who would know how to be the companion of Milo Accetti.
A woman like Camila would be better suited for him. What did I have to offer him?
“Sable!” Chance hurried into the sitting room. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I hugged him. “Are you?” I looked him over, noting there were no new bruises on his face. It had only been two days since I last saw him, but we had never been apart that long before. “How did you get in here?”
My stomach churned when I thought about him sneaking in to find me. I didn’t want to think about what Milo would do if he caught Chance.
“Ricardo told me I could come up and see you. He said Milo okayed it.” He glanced around the bedroom. “Is this where you’re staying?”
“The first night I did.” I sat on the couch and patted for him to join me. “Last night I stayed at Milo’s penthouse.”
“Why?” He plopped down next to me, focusing on all the packages lining the wall.
“Milo sent for me and I went.” I shrugged. “What have you been doing?”
“Not too much.” He pointed at the bags. “What’s all that?”
“New clothes.” I rolled my eyes. “Milo insisted. He said if I was going to accompany him to places, I needed to look the part.”
“He didn’t like your clothes?”
“I didn’t even like my clothes.” Milo wasn’t wrong. If he was going to take me out, I couldn’t go in the clothes I came here with. I hadn’t forgotten the way the hostess and the other people at the restaurant looked at me the other night.
“Sable?” Chance shook his head. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Have you been eating?”
“I’m not worried about food.” He tapped his hand on the couch. “I’m too busy wondering why you look like you’ve been to Paris.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t own anything like that.” He motioned to my new jeans, black leather boots, and soft cream sweater. “You would never buy something like that.”
“I could never afford something like this.”
“What did you have to do to get it?” he mumbled.
“Excuse me?” I hopped off the couch and paced the room. “What are you suggesting I did?”
Milo tying me up flashed through my thoughts faster than a freight train coming down the tracks. I couldn’t seem to get those steamy images out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried.
“Sable.” He stood and grabbed my arm. “I’m not stupid. I know what you offered him to get me out of this mess I got us into. I’m sorry I made you do that.”
“You didn’t make me do anything.” I faced him. “It was my choice to go to Milo. I’m an adult.”
“You were protecting me.”
“I’ll always protect you.” I patted his cheek. “Even if you are an idiot.”
“Did the asshole give you any indication when your debt would be paid?”
“Don’t call him that.”
“Don’t defend him.” Chance clenched his fists. “Not to me. We both know who and what he is.”
“He’s not that bad,” I said. “And he didn’t get us into this situation.”
“What’s gotten into you?” He held up his hand. “Don’t answer that.”
“Don’t be vulgar. ”
“Well, without being vulgar, if you’ve already done what you came here to do, when can we leave?”
“Where is it that you think you’re going to go?” Milo leaned against the doorframe. “Back to not being able to pay your rent? Borrowing from scum like Bello?”
“Milo.” I stepped around my brother so I could be a buffer between these two volatile people. “I didn’t realize you were home.”
“You didn’t answer me.” Milo stared over my shoulder. “If I let you walk out of here today, where would you go? What would you do?”
“I’m sure that we could?—”
Milo cut me off and pointed at Chance. “I’m talking to him. If he wants to be a man, let him answer for himself. Stop hiding behind your sister.”
“We’re going to be fine.” The agitation in Chance’s tone startled me. If he provoked Milo, I wasn’t sure I could save him.
“What’s your plan?” Milo taunted. “I’m sure it’s elaborate and well thought out.”
“I’m going to get a job,” Chance said. “Sable and I will make it work. We always do.”
“You should be taking care of Sable,” Milo said. “You want a life on the streets? You want to be part of my world? You should be protecting her, not putting her in dangerous situations with men like Bello.”
“Or men like you?” Chance asked.
“You fucking runt.” Milo came toward Chance, but I held out my hand, backing him off. “I warned you not to get between us.”
“We can’t keep doing this if you want me to stay with you.” I ran my hand over his heart, hoping it would diffuse the murderous intent in his icy eyes.
“Stay where?” Chance shouted. “What do you mean?”
“Get yourself under control,” Milo said. “Or I will do it for you, and Sable won’t be able to stop me.”
I held Milo’s gaze. I want to be with you…
“Your sister has agreed to stay here with me for a while.” Milo looked at Chance. “And you’re going to take that opportunity to grow up.”
“What does that mean?” Chance moved to stand by my side.
“Starting tonight, you’re going to work for me.” Milo checked his watch. “Ricardo is going to take you to get a suit.”
“Why?” Chance asked.
“Because you can’t look like a fucking slob if you’re going to work for me.” Milo took his jacket off and draped it over the couch.
“What kind of work will he be doing?” I wasn’t certain I liked the idea of Chance working for Milo. Wasn’t that the life I was trying to steer my brother away from?
“Whatever I need him to do,” Milo said. “Is this not acceptable to you? I would think you would want him to work.”
“It’s just that… well, I don’t want him involved with men like Bello.”
“You mean men like me?” Milo snickered. “You two are unbelievable. If it weren’t for me, he would be dead and you would be alone, trying to figure out how to pay for the funeral.”
“It isn’t like you did it out of the kindness of your heart,” Chance said. “My sister is paying a steep price.”
“Yeah, designer clothes and everything else that comes with me is a real hardship.” Milo loosened his tie. “Have you lived in many mansions over the course of your lives? ”
“I’m grateful for what you did for us,” I said. “I just don’t want Chance to get in too deep. When we leave here, I want him to be safe.”
“Right, when you leave here, of course.” Milo unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on having him kill anyone tonight.”
“Milo?” Why couldn’t he understand where I was coming from?
“Ricardo is waiting in the foyer for you,” Milo said. “Don’t give him any trouble. He’s responsible for you tonight. If I hear there are problems, you’re going to answer to me.”
“Chance.” I grabbed his hand before he could leave. “Be careful.”
“I’ll be fine.” He hugged me. “You’re the one who needs to be careful.”
“Go.” Milo motioned to the door.
Chance released me and left the room, but I couldn’t shake the dread that settled in the pit of my stomach. I had already gotten him out of a jam with Bello, but by doing that, I inadvertently put him in an even more dangerous situation.
“What are you going to make him do?” I wanted to trust Milo, but Chance always found a way to screw things up. Milo didn’t have the tolerance for Chance, and I didn’t want my brother to get hurt or end up dead.
“Nothing illegal.” Milo roamed into the bedroom area. “I wouldn’t trust him with anything important.”
I followed him, stopping just as he slipped his shirt off his back, revealing muscle upon muscle decorated with intricate ink.
“I’m not ungrateful.” My fingers itched to trace all of his tattoos. I wanted to know what they meant. I craved to know who he was and those tattoos told his story.
“You could have fooled me.” He turned around, giving me a full view of his chest and abs. “You’re not the most appreciative person I’ve ever met.”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t know how to accept the things you’re offering.”
“What do you mean?”
“No one has ever given me anything. I’ve been fending for myself and taking care of Chance for as long as I can remember.”
There wasn’t a time I could recall that we didn’t go to bed hungry. We never had nice clothes or the right sneakers for gym class. Gloves and hats weren’t easy to come by when the weather was harsh. Once my mother left, any remnants of a normal childhood went with her.
“I’m offering you a solution.”
“Where I come from, no one gives you something for nothing,” I said. “When I came to you the other night, I knew you would expect something in return.”
“That’s the way it works.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Negotiations are a big part of my life.”
“I could handle that.” I gazed out the window overlooking the tree-lined path in the backyard. “I asked for something, and in return, I gave you something. We were even.”
“We’re still even.” He got up and came toward me. “You don’t owe me anything.”
I owe you everything. If Milo hadn’t intervened with Bello, Chance would have paid with his life and I would have been lost. Even more lost than I already was.
“Why do you want me here?” I asked .
“Because I do.” He took my hand. “I’m not used to being alone.”
“I don’t understand.” I had searched his personal life online, but I couldn’t find any serious relationships. He was always photographed with a woman, but never the same one twice. He kept his life private. “I didn’t think you had serious relationships.”
“I don’t.” He guided me to sit on the bed. “Relationships aren’t my thing.”
“Then why are you lonely?”
“I didn’t say I was lonely.”
In most of the pictures I had uncovered of him, he was usually with Marchello and his father. Neither of them were here, and now he lived in this big house all alone. If I didn’t have Chance, I would feel like a part of me was missing.
“You miss your father and your brother.”
He sat on the bed and leaned back until his head hit the mattress, his feet still planted on the floor.
“The last few months have been tough on my family. We’re dealing with a lot.” He stared up at the ceiling. “Not having one or both of them to talk to whenever I want is difficult. It’s been the three of us for so long.”
“Antonella told me your mother passed. I’m sorry.”
“It was twelve years ago.” He ran his hand along the prayer hands tattooed on his chest. “It happened in the driveway.”
“I looked it up because I was curious.” A car bomb had gone off in front of their home when Milo was just seventeen. As difficult as reading those old articles were, it was nothing compared to the haunted look in his expression. “Your family must have been devastated.”
“We still are. ”
“Is that tattoo for her?”
“It’s the first one I ever got. My father took me before I was eighteen and signed so I could honor my mother.”
“Do you know who… I couldn’t find anyone who was responsible for her death.”
“No one took responsibility, but it was meant for her because the bomb was planted in her car. It was a message for my father, but one he hasn’t gotten the opportunity to answer because whoever did it is a phantom. It’s been over a decade, and we still haven’t avenged her.”
“Milo, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that must have been like for your family.”
His tone was softer than usual. When he spoke of his mother, I could feel his anguish. This side of him was different than what I had seen on New Year’s Eve. Was it his mother’s death that changed him? How did he end up running the biggest crime syndicate in the country?
“I try not to think too much about the past,” he said. “My father, Marchello, and I have enough to deal with in the present.”
I took my new boots off and then criss-crossed my legs on the bed. “They’re both away because they don’t have a choice,” I said. “That’s why you’re here alone.”
“Something like that.” He rested his hands on his stomach. “They’re not home because my family is under attack. I have to stay here and keep things going while they take care of other threats.”
“That sounds like a lot to put on you, especially if the three of you run things together.”
“We’re still running things together. We all have a role to play.” He closed his eyes. “I’m not supposed to get distracted. ”
“I guess barging in on your dinner the other night and asking for your help was a distraction.”
“A big one.” He rolled onto his side and propped himself on his elbow. “I can’t really explain it, but something tells me I need you here.”
It wasn’t as if I had anything important going on. I could put off life for a few weeks and keep the gorgeous mafia man company. He looked like he could use it.
“Stay with me.” He reached out and touched my leg. “A little distraction won’t hurt.”
“I do appreciate what you’ve done for me and Chance.” I placed my hand over his. “Thank you.”
“Maybe you are giving me something in return.” He squeezed my leg. “Something I didn’t know I needed.”
Who wouldn’t want to save a tortured bad boy with a traumatic past? But I was smart enough to know his trauma didn’t end with his past. His future had violence written all over it, and in turn, that could mean heartache for me. Are his passionate eyes, impressive ink, and rough exterior enough?
My own demons gnawed at my soul. What if the darkness inside both of us was too much?