11. Anya
CHAPTER 11
ANYA
O h my God.
Those pecs look more delicious than I ever imagined…and I want to taste.
I stretch out my hand to shake his, making a concerted effort to not sweep my tongue over my lips as I drink in the inferno that evidently is Dante Villani.
He grasps it with a knowing smirk, not at all acknowledging the fact that we were devouring each other outside of the Bellagio a little while ago.
I suddenly stiffen, pulling back my hand like it’s just been singed, electricity crackling in the air between us.
Once the thick cloud of desire lifts, the realization smacks me across the face.
Hard enough to leave a mark.
He’s one of them .
And little do they all know, my job isn’t to be the perfect nanny.
It’s to take down the people who were involved with Maks’s murder.
More specifically, them .
And nobody, not even Mr. Dark, Dirty, and Delicious, is going to derail me from my objective.
I plaster a bright smile on my face.
I will get this job.
I will make these people love me.
And then I will destroy them.
“Pleasure to meet you,” I say, keeping my voice as even as possible. Interesting. He’s not going to out me.
Which means he wants me to get this job.
A smile plays at my lips.
Pretty but so ignorant.
He has no idea what I will do to anyone who had a hand in my brother’s murder.
And this job is only the beginning.
I wish my uncle had given me the whole story when we spoke earlier. He was evasive about a lot of the details and it pisses me off to no end when he hides things. It’s like he doesn’t trust me, and after everything I’ve done for him over the years, all of the jobs I’ve completed, he should treat me like an equal and not like one of his freaking soldiers.
But this job is a way for him to build himself back up in the eyes of the bratva, and I’m going to do my part to help him regain his status.
Because as far as I’m concerned, anyone who had a single thing to do with Maks’s murder should and will be punished.
Viciously.
And for as gorgeous as this guy is, he is the enemy. Hell, they all are.
So I ignore the tingling in my hand when his skin brushes against mine.
I forget how it felt sliding against my ass, how his fingers drove me over the edge the night before at Velvet Lounge.
Instead, I remember my brother and what we had before it was broken.
He was my only real family.
Uncle Boris plays his part and watches out for me, but I’m not stupid. I know I’m a means to an end for him. He’ll use me to get what he wants and I’m not na?ve enough to believe he thinks of me as the daughter he never had.
He’s self-serving and dark as hell. And yeah, he may have taken us in after we fled the Ukraine, but he worked us both damn hard to keep himself on top.
It wasn’t enough.
Because he always fell prey to his own inner demons of greed and rage.
But right now, I can’t think about Uncle Boris and his battles with the bratva. I need to be the most convincing and charming girl possible so that I can get him whatever we need for his ‘contact’.
I keep my smile plastered across my face as Heaven fires off her ideas about the position, half-listening as I run through scenarios in my mind.
But confusion clouds my mind.
My objective is clear — help my uncle close the deal with his elusive ‘contact’ so that these Villani people suffer the way we have. I understand why I’m here and what I need to do to avenge my brother’s murder.
But what escapes me is the part Dante plays with the bratva…as a hit man.
Because I’m damn sure he was there to kill Vigo last night.
The pieces of this very seedy puzzle are so jagged, I don’t know how they’ll ever fit together.
The Villanis obviously had dealings with Vigo Kosolov. That’s why Dante showed up at Tatiana. He told me as much. But what was he after? Was it really just a debt he wanted to collect?
Or something else?
And how does this ‘contact’ fit in? Why is he after the Villanis?
My job isn’t to ask questions, as my uncle never misses an opportunity to point out. But these thoughts continue to gnaw at my brain, mainly because I feel like some damn big details are missing from this very sketchy picture.
“Anya?”
I blink fast. “Yes.”
Heaven grins at me. “I asked if you’d like to hold the baby.”
“Of course! She is so precious!” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster, even though I want to lash out at every one of these people to find out what they know about the murder. I take Aisling’s squirming little body, hugging her tight against me. I have to make a good showing.
I have to find out the truth about my brother’s murder.
And these people are going to lead me straight to it.
Hatred for everyone who is responsible for yanking away all that was good in my life bubbles to the surface as I bounce Aisling and watch her family stare at her with adoration.
Family.
It’s something I miss every day.
Something I’ll never know again.
A pang assaults my heart as a lump forms in the back of my throat.
They shouldn’t be happy, not with the things they do, not with the lives they’ve most certainly taken and ruined.
And yet, while these toxic thoughts run through my mind, I still manage to get Aisling smiling and laughing, and her mother is looking at me like I’m the second coming of Christ right now.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dante eyeing at me with a question in his gaze.
“Oh my God, she is so great with you!” Heaven exclaims. “How soon can you start?” she asks excitedly.
“Right now!” I say with forced enthusiasm.
“Fantastic!” Heaven says. “Your references were so impressive, and the service absolutely raved about you!”
“Heaven,” Matteo, her husband, says, standing up from his spot next to the pool. “Let’s take a little walk, okay?”
Heaven gives Aisling a kiss on the cheek, babbling about details that I only half-hear. My eyes are on Matteo and he is staring at me. Hard. Not in the ‘I’d love to fuck you’ way, but in the ‘I’m very suspicious of you’ way.
I swallow hard and give them a little wave. “Take your time! We’ll just be getting acquainted out here!” I say in a cheerful voice.
“Dante, behave yourself,” Heaven calls over to him with a threatening look on her face. Matteo grabs her arm and pulls her inside of the hotel before she can utter another warning. I don’t bother to bite back the grin on my face when I walk over to him and sit down on the pool ledge. I kick off my sandals and step into the cool water, positioning Aisling on my lap.
“So,” Dante says, sitting back on his hands. His smooth, bronze skin glistens in the sun and I fight the urge to drag my tongue over his pecs.
I simultaneously fight the temptation to close my hand around his throat until he tells me what the fuck he was doing at Tatiana and what he knows about my brother.
But I restrain myself on both counts, keeping my hands glued to the baby so they don’t get any ideas of their own.
“So what?” I ask.
“So, this is the job you came all the way to Vegas to interview for?”
“How ironic that you almost killed me outside the airport and made me miss said interview,” I say in a teasing voice. See? I can be charming when I want to be.
He grins. “Thank fuck I hit the brakes when I did.”
Thank fuck indeed.
I certainly didn’t relish the idea of spending my first moments in Vegas splattered across the pavement.
“Speaking of hitting the brakes…” I look at him from under my eyelashes. “Don’t think that what happened at the Bellagio is going to happen again if I get this job. I’m a professional.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” he says. “I’m just trying to figure out…a professional what ?”
My mouth drops open. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leans toward me, his blue eyes blazing with heat that can rival the sweltering air around us. “It means there’s a lot about you that doesn’t exactly scream nurturing.”
“Oh yeah? What does it scream, then?”
His lips curl upward into a wicked smirk. “It scream a lot of things that sure as hell aren’t appropriate for a little kid to hear.”
I grit my teeth. “I’ll have you know that I’ve been taking care of kids for the past five years now. My references are amazing because I am amazing!”
“Looks like I struck a nerve, yeah? You’re getting pretty damn defensive about your qualifications. But I’m not the one you need to convince. I don’t have a say in this decision, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart,” I snip. “I’m not one of your little gold-digging groupies. And by the way, who are you to judge me when it seems like all you do is live off the spoils of your family? What are you, some trust fund baby or something?”
“Ouch,” Dante says. “Judge much?”
I take a couple of breaths. I have got to control my temper or he’s going to tell his brother I’m some crackerjack who by no means can take care of this baby. “I’m sorry,” I mutter. “I’m just a little bit tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Yeah, me either,” he murmurs, averting his eyes for a fleeting minute. For a second, my mind trips back to our time at Velvet Lounge, when his body was pressed against me and his mouth was hot against mine.
Is he thinking about that, too?
“And to answer your question, no. I’m not a trust fund baby. I run my own international business. But my job isn’t a typical nine-to-five one. I work on a few big projects a year, travel, take meetings with clients. I set my own schedule so I can be free for my family when they need me.”
I narrow my eyes. “If that isn’t the most evasive job description I’ve ever heard. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth, that you’re a contract killer?”
“Because it might have scared you off,” he says without missing a beat. “And Heaven would have kicked my ass if you high-tailed it outta here.”
Holy shit…?!
Did he seriously just admit to me that he was at Tatiana to kill Vigo in his own twisted way?
“Gotcha.” Then, he laughs, a low rumble that reverberates through me. “Holy shit, your face was priceless.” He reaches for Aisling and takes her from me, blowing raspberries on her belly. “This silly girl thinks I’m a hit man,” he sing-songs. “So silly! So silly!”
I bite down on my lower lip. Why does he have to be hot as fuck and equally adorable? “Okay, so if that’s not your gig, then what is?”
“I invest in real estate for my family,” he says. “I travel to different locations, check out properties, meet with clients who are interested in investing. That kind of thing.”
I nod, not believing him for a single second, although I pretend to eat up every bullshit word. He doesn’t know it was me last night. And that guy was most definitely not a glamorous, globe-trotting real estate investor.
He was a thug.
A killer.
I watched him with that gun.
And now I know it for sure.
A grin plays at my lips as I watch him with Aisling. She grabs hold of his ear and tugs and he lets out a yelp as if he’s being stabbed through the eye.
It only makes her laugh harder.
Sweet thing that she is.
I reach for her, helping Dante extract his ear from her death grip.
That’s when it happens.
That’s when the noxious scent from her diaper assaults my nostrils and my gut knots in response.
I almost gag, it’s so horrific.
And I’ve been around decaying bodies.
“Oh my God,” I rasp, holding her straight out as she kicks her legs. “She’s kicking. She shouldn’t be kicking. What if it leaks?”
Dante lifts an eyebrow at me. “Okay, says the au pair. Don’t you deal with this kind of shit all the time…literally?” He snickers at his own joke. “Why don’t you just change her?”
“Change her,” I repeat. “Well, yes, of course, but I don’t have…” I twist left and right. “Equipment…”
“You mean, like diapers?” He stands up and runs a hand through his hair. “You’re right. I didn’t bring her bag with me. Come on, I’ll show you the nursery.”
I furrow my brow. “Just like that? They haven’t even hired me.”
He shrugs. “Whatever gets me out of doing the dirty deed.”
I let out an incredulous giggle. “But you don’t even know me!”
“I’ve heard several times how amazing your references are. That’s good enough for me.” He pulls on a t-shirt and folds his massive arms over his chest.
“Are you sure your brother and sister-in-law won’t be angry that you brought me up without them giving me the okay?”
“Why? Do you really think I’d let anyone hurt my niece?” he says, his gaze darkening. “Because I’d do anything to protect her. Anything. ”
“That’s good to know,” I say, forcing a smile and cradling Aisling in my arms, hoping to God the poop stays securely in her diaper until I can get her changed. I had time to watch plenty of YouTube videos before I showed up here and exploding poop?
It’s a thing.
A fucking heinous, gross, and gravity-defying thing.
Dante wheels the stroller into another hotel entrance, one that leads into a long hallway with a private elevator bank at the very end. “This leads to the private residences. Heaven and Matteo have one on the forty-eighth floor. Actually, they have the whole floor,” he says with a snicker.
When the elevator opens on the forty-eighth floor, we are standing right inside of the apartment. It’s not the penthouse because there is a fiftieth floor. “Who lives up on the top two floors?” I ask Dante.
“My brother Sergio and his fiancé Jaelyn live on fifty. And Tommy Marcone lives on forty-nine when he’s here in town with his wife. He’s only here about six months out of the year because he does a lot of traveling. But he’s here this week to personally cater Aisling’s christening.”
My mouth drops open. “Tommy Marcone? The celebrity chef?”
“The one and only. Our families are joint owners of this place and Tommy owns the restaurant downstairs.”
My mouth drops open. I’ve never been much of a cook, but I love watching his show on The Food Network because he is sexy as hell and hysterical to boot. “That’s amazing. I’m a big fan.”
“Maybe you’ll get to meet him at the party.” Dante winks at me. “You know, if you get the job.” He brushes against me completely unnecessarily, his eyes glimmering with innuendo. “There are lots of perks.”
My skin prickles when his warm breath flutters against my cheek.
Do not betray me, body! I will not stand for it!
“I assure you I have no interest in any of your perks ,” I snap. “I think I made it clear that our relationship will be strictly professional.”
“I’m not used to such a blatant rejection,” he murmurs, lounging against a marble column.
“Actually, if memory serves, it was two rejections.” I lift an eyebrow. “Now why don’t you tell me where I can find the nursery?”
My eyes sweep over the expansive space. Floor-to-ceiling windows line the perimeter, and the furniture and décor are minimalist and modern. A mix of creams and whites makes the apartment look airy and bright, and it would be a completely glam look if not for the scattered toys, blankets, and various other baby necessities cluttering up the place.
To be honest, it looks like the nursery is everywhere.
But in addition to the nursery, there must be some kind of office or hiding spot for this information I’m to retrieve. I’ll have to investigate more later…when I don’t have a baby swimming in poop and babbling in my ear.
Dante struts down a hallway and pushes open a door at the end. The room is drenched in cotton candy pink, black, and white.
Also very glam…for a baby, anyway.
It’s probably the most adorable room I’ve ever seen, though.
My chest tightens.
This little baby sure is a lucky one. She has so many people around her who absolutely cherish her, and I’m sure she can feel that love, even at such a young age.
But one day, she might lose it…everything…just like I did.
It’s because of the world we live in and the choices that are made for us.
We don’t always have a say in how our lives unfold, but we have to put the shattered pieces together and move forward.
A twinge of sadness deep in my chest jolts me and I find myself squeezing her tight, as if I can protect her from her family’s sins.
I can’t.
I’m one of the people sent to punish them.
Because they already made choices for their baby girl, choices she never had a say in.
Choices she will be forced to live with when the time comes.
“Hey,” Dante says in his low, sexy voice. He snaps his fingers in front of me. “You look a little lost. You want me to show you around the place?”
I pull my lips into a tight line and expel a sharp sigh. “Thanks, but I can find my way around a nursery,” I say, taking in the various pieces of furniture. The one in the far corner looks to be the changing table, so I start walking in that direction. I place Aisling down and fumble around next to it for diapers and wipes. Heaven has a whole lot of other stuff piled on the sides of the changing table, but I stick with the basics because that’s what my YouTube training taught me to use.
Holding Aisling down while pulling open a diaper proves to be more challenging in reality than it did for the mom on YouTube, but I work at it, finally getting it spread out. Seconds later, I have her out of her bikini bottom and am ready to unleash the devastation that is the poop diaper. I take a deep breath and almost gag until I manage to get it out from under her and roll it up. I grab for the wipes, my eyes now watering from the intensity of the stench. My fingers can’t work fast enough to pull out wipe after wipe, some of them getting jammed in the stupid container.
Oh my God, I would so much rather impale someone with a hot fire poker than do this…
Dante chuckles behind me as I finally finish wiping every bit of the poop away. I glance next to the baby and bite down on my lower lip. That’s a pile of dirty wipes. The mom in the YouTube video had one .
I scream at her in my mind.
How?!
“Lemme help you out,” he says, coming up behind me and reaching for the pile of wipes. He stuffs them into a Ziploc, along with the diaper, and tosses it all into a trash can.
All while he’s pressed against my back.
And it’s making my fingers tremble as I try to fasten this clean diaper.
I squeeze my eyes shut. This is not ideal at all.
My evident incompetence with babies, my insatiable appetite for him …
I’m here to do a job…one with a very murky objective which I hope will become more clear very quickly, but a job nonetheless.
“Trust fund babies would never have done that,” he murmurs against my ear. My spine stiffens, heat radiating throughout my body as it did when I was plastered against him last night, and again at the Bellagio only hours earlier.
“Dante?” Heaven calls out. “Are you guys in here?”
“Yep,” he replies, reaching over me to tickle Aisling’s belly before giving me a long, hard lust-filled look.
Oh, yeah.
I caught that.
Not like he was looking to hide it.
The corners of his lips curl upward.
Oh, no. He definitely wanted his message to be received.
Stat.
And I got it loud and clear.
I suck in a breath as he heads out of the nursery and scoop up the baby who no longer smells like sewage. She blows her own version of a raspberry and despite myself, I smile.
She’s pretty freaking adorable. I shouldn’t let my deep-seated hatred of her family touch her.
None of this is her fault.
Just like the hell Maks and I experienced after our parents’ death wasn’t our fault.
The kids are always the victims.
I wrap my arms around her tight. “I know it doesn’t look like you’re a victim, but trust me, you are. And your parents are selfish assholes for saddling you with that reality,” I whisper into her ear. She giggles and grabs hold of my hoop earring.
“Whoa!” I say, peeling her tiny hand off of it. “You’re going to pull it right off! Such a strong little girl!” I say in a sing-song voice.
Shit, now I sound just like the rest of them.
“Oh, Anya!” Heaven says, breezing into the nursery. “I was worried when you disappeared from the pool, but I knew Dante was with you, and he…well, he’s good to have around in case of a crisis.” She winks at me.
Yes, in the case of a crisis where a group of insurgents tried to overtake the pool deck. It would be good to have a professional assassin on my side.
But she doesn’t elaborate and I don’t ask the question.
No need to, since I already have the answer.
At least to one question.
She takes Aisling and ushers me into the living room where Matteo and Dante are standing against the windows. Dante eyes me like he’s a starving man and I’m a slab of raw meat.
Matteo, on the other hand, just eyes me with that curious-slash-suspicious gaze. I’d seen it just before he pulled Heaven away from uttering the job offer that was on the tip of her tongue.
I grit my teeth. He doesn’t look to be on board the Anya Welcome Wagon.
Shoot. How the hell am I going to get what Uncle Boris needs if I don’t get this job? I mean, am I going to have to seduce Dante to get back up here if they go in a different direction?
Actually…
That sounds pretty damn good to me, and I feel my nipples pebble under my dress as the thought percolates…everything I’d have to do in the name of family loyalty…all of the salacious sacrifices I’d have to make…
Argh! I flash a tight smile at them all, ignoring my inner battle.
This is for Maks, not for me!
How can I even think these things, knowing what I do about these people?
A tiny voice reminds me that I still don’t have the full story, but it doesn’t matter. I’m convinced that I am surrounded by evil…a worse evil, at the very least.
Okay, well, whatever happens, I will figure out my next steps. I cannot be stopped. I will do what Uncle Boris couldn’t and avenge my brother’s death.
Somehow.
“Anya,” Heaven says, a big smile spreading across her pink cheeks. “We’d like to offer you the job, if you are interested. Matteo and I talked it over, made a few more calls, and we think you’d be a perfect fit for us!”
I gasp. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I would love to!”
Heaven looks so happy right now. It’s hard not to like her. Like, I really need to focus on killing her with my mind because she’s just so…jubilant. Maybe it’s because she finally has some help, maybe because she knows a good night’s sleep is now within reach…which is something I’m kind of struggling with myself right now.
Regardless, she’s sweet and happy and perky.
Like an older sister I never had…
Ugh!
Why am I having these thoughts? This is business! They are not my family, nor will they ever be!
“So I know you’re headed to UNLV in the fall, but maybe we can work something out,” Heaven says, talking a mile a minute about her future vision for this au pair relationship she’s desperate to develop with me.
After only having known me for a grand total of about an hour, give or take.
She seems awfully trusting for a mob boss’s wife.
Admittedly, I don’t know much about the family dynamics, but it would seem that she should probably be a little more wary of strangers living in her home.
And judging from the exasperated look on Matteo’s face, he agrees.
“Heaven,” he interrupts in a commanding voice. “Let’s figure out the next steps after Anya has gotten situated here. I’m sure she has plans for her college experience, and they probably don’t involve cleaning spit up and crap diapers.” He lifts an eyebrow at me. “Right?”
I nod, quick to agree with him. He literally wears the pants, but clearly doesn’t hold all of the power. He knows it and so do I, but I’ll throw him a bone anyway. “Yeah, I mean, I’m definitely open to talking about an extension of my services, but your husband is right. Let’s see how things go over the next few weeks.”
Heaven’s grin widens and she throws up her hands. “You know what, I’m just so blinded by the joy and anticipation of being able to sleep again that I’m getting ahead of myself.”
“As usual,” Dante pipes in.
She rolls her eyes. “I guess we can start with more immediate things, like the christening.”
“Christening?” I ask.
“Yes, it’s on Saturday, and there is so much to do before then. I was really afraid we wouldn’t be able to find anyone before then, and I am so happy that we did! And that she’s so perfect!” Heaven dances around with Aisling. “We have so many people coming to see our beautiful princess, right? Uncle Patty, Aunt Maura, Grandpa Paolo, Uncle Roman…so many people who want to hug and kiss you!”
She must seriously be delirious from lack of sleep.
Still…for as much anger as I feel, I can’t help but smile, remembering the tight-knit relationship I had with my own mother before she died. She was always so happy, so cheerful, and so doting on me and my brother. In retrospect, I guess it was her way of shining light on the darkness that loomed over us on a daily basis. She brightened our world to the point that we couldn’t see the gloom that would eventually overtake us all.
A pang in my chest jars me when I think of Maks and my jaw tightens.
He was the one reminder of that light that I had left to cling to.
And these people are somehow responsible for extinguishing it.
“Anya, when would you like to start?” Heaven asks.
I force a smile. “I don’t have any other obligations, so the sooner the better!”
“Fabulous!” Heaven says. “I already have a room set up for you. Wishful thinking, I guess.” She chuckles. “Would you like to see it?”
“Oh, sure,” I say. “I’d love to!” I say with false brightness.
Over my shoulder, I catch a glimpse of Dante and Matteo talking, their heads close together. I really wish I was a fly on the wall behind them. I wonder whose murder they’re plotting right now.
My gaze lingers on Dante for a second longer than I mean for it to. The muscles in his bicep flex when he runs his hand through his hair, his jaw tense. Despite my knowledge about him and this family, a shiver of desire shuttles through me.
“It’s just down this hallway,” Heaven says, pointing. I guess she may have said it earlier, but because my gaze was all tangled up in Dante, I missed it.
Dante looks up, his blue eyes narrowing at me. He flashes a half-smirk that makes my knees wobbly and I twist away, my breath hitching.
I really have to get this body of mine under control and in line with my head.
These carnal sensations are very distracting and I need to focus on the task at hand.
My own specialty…destruction.
I hurry out of the room behind Heaven, taking stock of my surroundings. Lots of closed doorways. One of them must be an office, right? Not that I have any idea what I’m looking for or who I need to deliver it to, for that matter.
There is always the possibility that the Villanis don’t keep their criminal dealings documented on paper.
That will be a challenge.
It will force me to come up with some other creative way of getting what I need. I could always figure out a way to get Dante spilling some incriminating secrets while he sleeps…
A tingling sensation in my belly accompanies the delicious vision of Dante’s hard body tangled up in a stark white bedsheet dancing through my mind.
Oh, for fuck’s sake!
How twisted am I?
I need to hate these people!
I need to hate him !
Heaven pushes open a door and waves her hand around. “I hope you like it,” she says in a soft voice.
My breath catches as I take in the space. It’s three times the size of my bedroom back in Brooklyn, decorated in soft creams and blues with gold accents.
Blue is my favorite color.
She could never have known that.
I walk in, running my hand over the plush comforter and throw pillows. Sheer white panels with gold threads weaves into the fabric hanging next to the window overlooking the Strip. The furniture is cream with crystal knobs that glimmer in the overhead light.
It’s gorgeous.
And another tiny shred of resolve falters as I turn to say thank you, but I choke on the words before I can get them out, an unexpected gaggle of tears gathering in the back of my throat.
My mother and I decorated my bedroom back in the Ukraine in this exact way. She wanted me to wake up in a place that was as bright and shiny as I was.
Heaven beams at me, her eyes sparkling as bright as the crystals in the ceiling chandelier. “Do you like it?” she asks, biting on her lower lip. “We can change whatever you want. I just want to make sure you’re completely comfortable here.”
I swallow down the sadness and ignore the sharp pain assaulting my heart at the memory of me and my mother smiling and laughing as we worked, flicking paint at one another as we transformed my space into…well, this .
God, I haven’t thought about my real home in so long before today.
And now that the wound has been torn open, I want to crumble onto the bed and just let out everything that I’ve kept bottled up for so long.
Heaven takes a tentative step toward me. “Anya, are you okay? You look a little pale.”
I give my head a quick shake and force it all down…the torment, the despair, and the rage.
As usual.
I only allow it to unleash when I’m sitting on top of a victim, ready to impale him with a sharp steel blade.
“I’m fine,” I manage to say in a shaky breath. “It’s perfect. It reminds me of…of my old bedroom. A long time ago…” My voice trails off. “I love it.”
Her face lights up. “Oh, great! I’m so happy to hear that! I picked everything out myself. I tried to think of the exact space I’d love and this is what I came up with!” She winks at me. “I guess we have the same taste, huh?”
“Seems so.” I smile tightly. “Um, I think the only last loose end I have to tie up is bringing over my things from the Bellagio. That’s where I’m staying.”
She wrinkles her nose. “That place? So twenty years ago,” she mutters.
I chuckle “So I’ve heard. But I guess that doesn’t matter anymore, right?”
“Nope!” She grabs my arm and leads me back to the living room. “Dante! I need you to take Anya back to the crappy Bellagio so she can get her things.” She hands Aisling to me and practically dances over to Matteo, putting her hands on his shoulders. “And I think you and I have some planning to do. You know, for later .”
Dante makes a gagging sound and stands up from the couch where he was sitting. “I just threw up in my mouth a little bit there, guys. Can you save your planning for after we leave?” He walks over to me, a lazy grin on his face. “In fact, I don’t want to poison Aisling’s ears with talk of your sordid sex life, so we’ll just take her along for the ride. Give her a chance to get to know her new friend .”
The way he says ‘friend’ makes the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
Matteo pulls Heaven onto his lap and tosses Dante a set of keys since we clearly can’t take the Ferrari. I pick up the diaper bag and sling it over my shoulder and the three of us head out of the apartment and down to the lobby. I watch as Dante balances Aisling in his left arm, keeping her snuggled against his chest. He’s smiling, she’s smiling, and I swear I feel the thing I swore I’d never feel…
The ovary thing.
I can’t explain away the pang I feel in that area as I walk alongside them and stare, just like all of the other pathetic women I pass.
The two of them just look so precious together. Endorphins are practically oozing from Dante’s body, and every single woman in his path seems to get swept away in them. They look at him, practically drooling, licking their lips because not only does he have the face and body of a fucking god, he’s carrying a beautiful baby girl.
That’s crack to most of the female population.
And evidently, to me as well.
We get outside and one of the valets comes over for the keys. Seconds later, a blacked-out Cadillac Escalade pulls up in front of us and Dante pulls open the back door, fastening Aisling into the car seat facing backward. Then he pulls open my door and winks. “Your chariot.”
He so doesn’t seem like the assassin type.
But then again, maybe that’s how he flies under the radar. He’s smooth, charming, and cocky with a bad boy glint in his eye — not the brooding, menacing, killer kind of guy.
I step onto the running board to climb inside, but my foot slips forward and I grab onto the door to keep myself from tumbling out of the car.
My arms flail, trying desperately to grip any part of the door that I can, but my fingers slip off the leather. “Ahh!” I yelp, my body plummeting right into Dante’s arms before my face kisses the cobblestone driveway.
I breathe deeply, drinking in his masculine scent and letting it awaken the butterflies in my belly.
Before I met Dante, I’d never felt the damn things.
I had no idea they actually existed beyond the romance novels I’d devour.
But in the past twenty or so hours, they’ve been fluttering and flitting around pretty much nonstop whenever he’s in the vicinity.
Jesus.
I don’t even know who I am right now!
I feel his heart racing at the same speed as mine as our eyes meet. He holds me for a few seconds longer than necessary before turning me upright and placing my feet on the ground. “You okay? I know those running boards can be tricky.” He winks at me and a rush of heat floods my cheeks.
I flip my hair. “Yeah, well, I guess the bottoms of my sandals are a little slippery.”
“Or you just wanted an excuse to be back in my arms,” he murmurs.
I gasp, pushing him away. “You are such an arrogant ass!” I snap. “I told you that wasn’t happening again!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says with a smirk. “I heard what you said. But maybe your body is telling you that it doesn’t agree with that mouth of yours, the way it did when I dropped you off at the Bellagio.”
I slowly climb back into the truck, holding tight to everything I can. Only when I’m seated do I flash him a death look. “Don’t pretend to know what my body wants. And don’t flatter yourself into thinking it wants you .”
He snickers and closes the door once I’m inside. My pulse beats hard against my throat as he jumps into the driver’s seat and flips on the satellite radio to some noisy rock station. “You’re kinda sensitive, yeah?”
“You’re kinda annoying, yeah?” I snort.
“I prefer to think of myself as curious,” he says, pulling away from the curb and out onto the Strip headed toward the Bellagio. “Inquisitive. And you’re pretty much the opposite. So let’s add that to the list. Doesn’t like to talk, isn’t wild about old women, doesn’t have friends, and completely shut down emotionally. What gives? Who made you this way, Anya?”
“Whoa!” I exclaim. “That’s a lot of analysis for knowing me barely two hours! And nobody made me this way, thank you very much. We all have pasts that shape us, right? I mean, you obviously have one of your own. Is that what turned you into this egotistical, entitled, whore magnet?”
Oops. I didn’t mean for that last one to slip out…
“Whore magnet?” His eyebrows lift. “That’s harsh. I’d have thought you could come up with something that sounds a little nicer than that.”
“So you’re not arguing the other things I said.”
“I think you may have unfairly judged me,” he says. “But just so you know, I’m adding defensive to my list for you.”
I roll my eyes. My God, he has me in such a twist! Why can’t I just shut it down, dammit?
Aisling babbles in the backseat as the pounding bass guitar blares through the speakers. “What the heck is this, anyway? And how can you subject the baby to this devil worship music?”
“Okay, first, it’s not devil worship music. It’s Metallica.” He pauses. “Maybe a little devil worship, I don’t know. And second, Aisling loves it. She knows all of my favorites — Tool, Ozzy, Black Sabbath.”
I shake my head. “You’re crazy. You’re going to poison her brain with this crap!”
He chuckles as he turns into the long driveway of the Bellagio. “Trust me, with her genes, she’s got enough poison running through her veins already. Anyway, don’t take my comments as judgments. I’m observant and I listen.” He shrugs. “If you’re gonna be taking care of my niece, I want to know this stuff. What makes you tick.”
“I don’t work for you so I don’t really see how it’s any of your concern,” I say in a sweet voice.
“True, but because of my work, we’ll be together a lot. And inquiring minds wanna know.” He steps on the brake as a valet comes over to take his keys.
“Just leave it up here,” Dante says with a nod of his head. “We’ll only be a little while.” Then he slips the guy a twenty-dollar bill as he gets out.
He jogs around to my side and opens my door, holding out a hand. “Wanna just jump?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye. “Or are you gonna let your shoes make that decision for you?”
I let out a little huff, fighting the urge to dive against him and step onto the driveway as he takes Aisling from the car seat. He balances her on his hip and we walk into the hotel, which, after being inside of the Excelsior, does seem a little…dingy.
We walk into the hotel, and out of the corner of my eye, I can see Dante evaluate every last bit of the place. He studies it in a way that makes you believe he’s just giving a sweep of a glance, but in reality, he’s devouring every single detail.
I know because it’s the exact way I take stock of situations.
Being observant is essential in our line of work, even though he still hasn’t admitted to me we share a common occupation.
“Well, what the fuck do we have here?” A deep voice comes up behind us as we head toward the elevator and I jump at the intrusion. A beefy, dark-haired guy who looks to be about Dante’s age fixes a glare at us and folds his arms over his ample chest. “Since when do you slum it around these parts, Villani?” he snips sarcastically.
Dante chuckles as he turns toward the man. “Petey, when the fuck are you gonna ditch this place and come work for the hottest place on the Strip?”
“Oh, you mean the Hard Rock?”
They both laugh and Aisling chimes in with her own brand of belly laugh.
Petey shrugs. “Jimmy took me back after I got out. It was a no-brainer. You’re picking ’em real young these days, huh?” Petey says with a nod at Aisling.
Dante rolls his eyes. “She’s my niece, prick.”
“Good to know. I thought you mighta knocked up some broad.” His eyes flicker in my direction and he tries to bite back his words. “Uh, girl.”
“Nah. Nobody’s been able to pin me down yet.” He looks over at me and winks. “But ya never know when that may change. Shit happens when you least expect it, right?”
“I guess. I mean, that’s what happened when I got shipped off. I didn’t expect that shit.”
Dante laughs, dropping his voice. “Well, when you get caught with a bag full of cash that doesn’t belong to you, is it really that much of a shock?”
“I guess I just thought I was better.”
“That kind of thinking will get you pinched in a hot second.”
“Yup. It sure as hell did. So why the hell are you here? If the boss sees you, he’ll exterminate your ass, so if you’re running some kind of a scam, do it fast and I’ll turn my back on it.”
“I appreciate the show of loyalty, but I’m here to pack up my niece’s new au pair. She’s found greener pastures, away from this tenement.”
“Nice. So she’s the nanny,” he murmurs, giving me an appraising look.
“I am standing right here,” I snip. “You don’t have to eye me like a freaking beef kabob.”
Petey does a double take and Dante smirks. “You never were too smooth about shit like that,” he says.
Petey throws his hands in the air. “Eh, sue me. I just got outta the clink, for fuck’s sake.”
Dante nods. “Yep, smooth as fucking silk.” He slaps Petey on the back. “Listen, we’re gonna go, but if you ever want a better gig, you know where to find it. I’ll make it happen.”
“Thanks, Dante.” He looks at me again and my skin crawls under his lewd stare. “And good luck, nanny.”
“Au pair,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, whatever. Enjoy the diaper part of the job.” He gives Dante a little salute and walks around a corner, disappearing into the casino.
“What a fucking tool,” I mutter as we walk toward the elevator bank.
“He’s okay. You’ve got to learn not to take yourself so seriously. The guy’s a little pent up. He’s harmless.”
Harmless. Yes, I could split his ass in two without a second’s hesitation.
“And how exactly do you know Petey?” I ask as we step into the elevator. I stab the button for my floor and the door closes. “Do you know him through your real estate investment business?” I ask lightly, playing the part of the dumb blonde. I tilt my head to the side, wondering if he buys it.
“He’s not an investments kind of guy,” Dante says. “But you already know that, don’t you?”
I shrug. There is a hell of a lot I don’t know, things I’d very much like to know, but nobody seems to be cooperating. Like my uncle, who hasn’t answered the text I sent earlier about getting the job.
“He did security work for my family back when we started out here. But he’s got sticky fingers. It’s why he got pinched in the first place.”
“So why’d you dangle a job in front of him?” I ask. “Why would you want to deal with that?”
“Because you never want to alienate someone who can get you something you need. Petey is a thief, but he’s got a lot of friends. And everyone needs friends in the casino business. Can never have too many.”
“I thought you were in real estate investments.”
“My family is in the gaming business. I help them whenever I can.”
“So they’d appreciate the help of an ex-con?”
“Jesus, I’ve been probed before, but this is way more invasive. I won’t lie. I kinda like it. Although I’d like it more if it included whips and chains. Really make the interrogation interesting.” He chuckles. “By the way, I’m adding judgmental to your list.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Is it wrong to call him an ex-con if that’s what he is?”
“No, not wrong. But you prickle every time I add something, and I like getting a rise out of you.” The elevator dings and we get off, standing face to face in the hallway.
“So where are we going?” he asks. “I’m in your hands.”
I snort, twisting away from him and stalking down the hallway. “You’ll never be in my hands.”
“Never say never. Those shoes of yours have a mind of their own. They crave what you’re too stubborn to admit you want.”
The tingles that follow those words assault my body, igniting every cell.
It’s not that I’m too stubborn.
It’s that I feel completely disloyal for even thinking these crazy things about him, for letting myself feel anything for a man who may have had a hand in my brother’s death.
He’s got darkness in him. Sure, he uses humor and innuendo and that whole fun uncle facade to cover it up, but a person who suffers the same affliction can see right through the mask.
A person like me.
Because for a good portion of my life, I’ve been consumed by the murk with no hope for even a sliver of light to shine through.
So, no, it’s not me being stubborn.
It’s me resisting what I secretly want because it’s forbidden.
And wrong.
And deadly on so many levels.
For both of us.