Chapter 3 #2
“Lucia.” I push back my chair and stalk in her direction. I hesitate for a moment before I place my hand on her shoulder and turn her to face me. When I see the tears pooling in her eyes, I instinctively reach up to cup her face. “That came out wrong.”
“I get it. You like my cooking, but you can’t stand me.”
I rear back slightly. “Is that what you think?”
“It doesn’t take a genius to work that one out.”
I scrub my hand down my face. “I was dreading spending time here with you, not because I don’t like you, Lucia. It’s because I like you more than I should.”
Her eyes widen, and that look of despair that was present a few seconds ago is quickly replaced with what I can best describe as hope.
She sucks in a sharp breath before her plump lips curve slightly at the corners.
Goddamnit. I want to kick myself for making that stupid confession.
Filling her with unrealistic expectations is wrong. This woman can never be mine, whether I want her to be or not. I swore an oath to Dante … to the Famiglia, one that I’m not prepared to break. Not for her, not for anyone.
“You like me, like me?” she asks.
I clear my throat, trying to think of a response that’s not going to upset her further. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
When her entire body deflates, I tilt my head back and groan. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I’m not good at this kind of shit. I don’t usually do people for this very reason.
“Right,” she says, swiftly turning and giving me her back again.
“Lucia,” I reply through a shaky breath.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to placate me, Romeo. I get it. I thought coming to Australia was a dream come true, but I’m quickly realising I should’ve stayed in Italy.”
“Why would you even say that?”
“So many reasons.”
“Give me one?”
“I spoke with Arabella on the phone this morning. She and Dante are fighting because he won’t tell her where I am, and then there’s … you.”
“Me?”
“I’m inconveniencing your life by being here.” She blows out a puff of air, like she’s already accepted the inevitable. “Maybe I should just take Giuseppe up on his offer of marriage and be done with it. At least then everyone’s lives can get back to normal.”
Those words hit me like a punch to the gut, setting off a wave of panic. The kind of terror I experienced as a child. One I never wanted to feel again.
This time, I grasp both of her shoulders, squeezing them slightly, but I don’t turn her around. I’m afraid that if I do, she’ll see straight through my facade.
“You will marry that psychopath over my dead fucking body, Lucia,” I growl.
We are on a second loop around the block, taking Killer for his daily walk. This is something I usually do on my own, but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to leave Lucia home alone. Not after what she said this morning.
How could she possibly think we’d be better off without her?
That she’d be better off with that fucking monster?
Just the thought of her going off with him is enough to give me fucking nightmares.
It’s risky having her out here with me, so I want to stick close to the safe house, but after her comments earlier, I have no plans of letting her out of my sight.
I somehow managed to get her to come back to the table and eat some breakfast this morning.
After I inadvertently caused her to cut her meal short the night before, I’ve been keeping my mouth shut and treating her with kid gloves ever since.
I’ve never been a man of words, and the more I speak around this woman, the deeper I seem to be digging my hole.
“Why do you have to put that on Ki-Ki?” Lucia asks, pointing to the leather muzzle I placed over his snout before leaving the house.
“Killer,” I correct, trying to bite back my annoyance at that ridiculous name. “And like I said, he’s trained to kill, so muzzling him while we’re in public is a sensible move. Although he usually only acts on command, I’m not taking any chances if a hostile person or dog randomly approaches us.”
“He’s such a good doggy,” she coos, reaching forward to ruffle the fur on his back.
It’s a gutsy move on her part; she’s braver than most. Even my men are scared shitless of him, but the dog just looks back at her and wags its damn tail.
“Ki-Ki would never kill an innocent person or animal, would you, boy?”
“That’s your first mistake there. I’m his master, and even I wouldn’t underestimate him … hence the muzzle. And stop psyching him out, you’re going to make him soft.”
She’s already eliminated canned dog food from his diet. He now enjoys a freshly cooked breakfast each morning, consisting of ground beef, chicken breast, rice, a variety of vegetables, scrambled eggs, and blueberries.
Fucking blueberries.
Neither of us is used to eating this well, and I’m not sure how we’re going to cope with returning to our everyday, bland reality after this.
“Why do you need a killer dog anyway?” she asks. “I know you have a dangerous job, but you own a gun … I’ve seen it.”
“To be honest, I originally got him to protect my house.”
“From who? The bad guys?”
“No, my mum.”
She audibly gasps, but I keep my attention trained forward. “You trained your dog to kill your mother?”
“Not to kill her … to keep her away from my stuff. She thinks that just because she gave me life, it gives her the right to do whatever she wants with my things.”
“She steals from you?”
“She has in the past. If I didn’t hand over money, she’d break into my place with whatever loser she was dating at the time and take anything they could sell to support their habit.”
“Oh, Romeo,” she whispers as she reaches for my hand and wraps her dainty fingers around mine. Her hand is so fucking tiny, just like her. “How’s Ki-Ki going to protect your house if he’s here with us?”
I lift one shoulder. “I have motion cameras installed on the exterior of the building. If she turns up there, I’ll know about it.”
“That’s good.”
I should remove my hand from hers, but for some reason, I don’t.
Famous last words.
I should’ve listened to my gut, which was screaming at me to drop her hand the moment she took hold, because when we round the corner, heading back towards the safe house, I see Dante in the driveway, sitting on the hood of his sports car with his arms crossed over his chest.
I can already tell by the frown on his usual jovial face as his gaze focuses solely on our conjoined hands that I’m in deep shit.
Deep, deep shit.
Fuck!
Lucia immediately drops my hand when she sees him and sprints in his direction. “Dante,” she squeals as she launches herself into his open arms.
“Hey, little sis,” he replies with a smile as he places her back down on her feet, but even as he does, his eyes remain focused on me. “Romeo,” he murmurs when I reach them.
I hate letting him down, even if he’s blowing what he saw way out of proportion. Years ago, he changed my life and gave me something I’d always craved as a kid, a real family. The kind I never thought I’d have.
The Cosa Nostra took me in and treated me like one of their own, no questions asked. Blood didn’t matter; loyalty did. I’ll be eternally grateful to this man for that. His friendship means everything to me.
“Why don’t you take Killer out back?” I ask Lucia, handing her the lead. “I need to talk with your brother-in-law alone.”
“Sure.”
“He’s not going to eat her, is he?” Dante asks as he watches the two of them cross the lawn, heading for the back gate.
“No. She spoils him. He’s wrapped around her little finger already.”
“Hmm,” he hums. “By the looks of what I just witnessed, he’s not the only one captivated by that Rossi charm.”
“Whatever you were thinking, you were wrong.”
“Really?” he quips, arching an accusing eyebrow.
I blow out a long breath, turning my face away. “We were talking about my mum.”
“Is she giving you trouble again?”
When isn’t that woman giving me trouble?
“No.”
“Let me know if that changes.”
I nod, but I’d never go to him for help with her; she’s my problem.
“Lucia reached for my hand after I confessed something about my past,” I say, trying to steer the conversation away from my fucked-up family. “I know I shouldn’t have allowed it, but she’s …”
“She’s what?” he asks, frowning.
“Fragile.”
That prompts a small chuckle from him. “Fragile is not a word I’d ever use to describe Lucia Rossi. And why was she out walking the street with you in the first place? You know it’s not safe for her out here.”
“It’s the first time I’ve taken her, but she said something earlier that spooked me. I wasn’t prepared to let her out of my sight in case she followed through on her threat.”
“What threat?”
“She feels like she’s upsetting everyone’s life by being here and said maybe it would be better for everyone if she just married that fucker Salvatori.”
“The fuck!” he growls.
“Yeah, it rattled me. I can’t believe it’s something she’d even consider … so you can understand my reluctance to leave her unattended. She’s not safe with him.”
“You’re telling me,” he replies, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a folded piece of paper. “We’ve had contact from him already.”
My hand slightly trembles as I reach for the envelope in his hand and unfold the piece of paper enclosed. A cold chill runs down my spine when I read what it says.
I’m going to fuck every crevice of that bitch when I get my hands on her, then I’ll share her with my men for the disrespect she’s shown me. When I’m done, I’ll slit her fucking throat.