Chapter 3
THREE
Marchello
The closer Milo and I got to our meeting with the cartel, the more unsettled I became. This whole situation had the potential to blow up in our faces.
“We have no idea what we’re up against.” I paced the penthouse floor. “We have to be ready for anything.”
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Milo said.
“No, but it could be our last if we’re not prepared.”
“Stop being so ominous.”
“I’m not being ominous. I’m being realistic.”
“We’re prepared.” Milo handed me the itinerary and all the information on the team we were taking with us. “Dad couldn’t have organized this better himself.”
“I’d feel better if Dad was going with us.”
“First things first.” Milo leaned against the bar in the sitting room. “Let’s get this meeting out of the way, then we can focus on Bello.”
“What about Gallanti and Collins?”
“Collins is still MIA, and Gian hasn’t even tried to get his daughter back.”
“That’s because he doesn’t care about her.” I shoved the papers in front of me across the coffee table. “I’m going to make him suffer.”
Gian was a rival who had been a thorn in my father’s side for years, but now he had hurt Lissia and set a maniac in her path. I wasn’t going to let that go.
“I believe you will, and I’ll help when the time comes, but today we have to deal with the cartel.”
“I hate when you’re right.”
“It happens quite often.” He handed me a bottle of water.
I arched a brow at him. “It’s way past noon. Maybe something a little stronger?”
“Like we ever needed it to be noon to have alcohol.” He unscrewed the cap on his bottle. “But we need to stay sharp. We can drink once this meeting is over.”
“Agreed.”
“There is something I have to ask you.” Milo sat on the chair across from me. “You’re probably not going to like it.”
“What?” If he had to preface it that way, then I certainly wasn’t going to like it.
“I think we should bring Ricardo to Florida.”
“Fuck no!” I shouted. “Why would we do that?”
“Hear me out.”
“I don’t want to hear any bullshit.”
“It will be good for Lissia if he’s there,” Milo said.
“How do you figure?”
“He will keep her occupied, and if something were to go wrong, at least we know he could get her back here.” He shrugged. “In case we have to run or something.”
“First of all, we’re not going to run.” I held up my hand when he opened his mouth. “Secondly, I wouldn’t trust that idiot with her. Look what happened last time, and that was in our own safe house. Can you imagine what would happen in another state?”
“I would have specific people on them. He wouldn’t be there to guard her. He could be more like a friend.”
“She doesn’t need any friends.” What the fuck?
“He cares about her. He constantly asks for her.”
“Of course he does. It’s his fault she was taken.”
“He fell victim to her charms.” Milo stared at me. “And he’s not the only one who allowed that to happen around here.”
“What the fuck is it with everybody and Ricardo? I should have taken him out when I had the chance.”
Milo shook his head in disapproval.
“Why didn’t I?” I asked. “Oh, because you stopped me.”
“You would have regretted it.”
“Well, now we will never know, will we?” I drank the bland water, craving the silky texture of my expensive vodka instead.
“Chello?”
“No, Ricardo stays here.”
“Fine.” He stood. “I’ll put another plan in place if we need someone else to look after her.”
“I’ll look after her.” I tightened my jaw. “She’s my responsibility.”
“Don’t make bringing her a mistake. You can’t afford to lose focus, and let’s face it, Lissia makes you do that.”
How could I deny that? I had been off my perfect game ever since she blew into my life.
“I can’t leave her here.” I rubbed my jaw. “I don’t trust her enough to do that.”
“You think she’ll run again, don’t you?” He shook his head. “Christ, Marchello, what are you doing?”
“I don’t think she’ll run, but she is impulsive and does things she shouldn’t because she doesn’t expect consequences. I’m working on that.”
He closed his eyes and muttered some foul words in Italian under his breath.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said. “I know how important this is.”
“I have total faith in you, but we do have a lot riding on this.” He pointed at me. “We’re going to get one shot. If we mess it up, we’re screwed.”
“We’re not going to mess it up.” At least, I hoped we didn’t. Because if we couldn’t get this cartel on our side, Gian would use that to his advantage. “We can’t.”
“With you at the helm, we can’t lose.”
I appreciated my brother’s confidence in me, but I needed more than his praise if we were going to pull this off.
“Check on the flight plan. Make sure our pilot is ready to go.” I finished my water. “I have a few things to do before we leave.”
“Where are you going?” Lissia came into the room wearing a pair of pink sweatpants and a tight, white T-shirt that left little to anyone’s imagination.
At least she wasn’t half-naked.
“Listening to my conversations could be dangerous for you,” I said. “I don’t think you want any more of my wrath, especially not today.”
Her ass couldn’t take another round with my palm. But we both knew that wouldn’t stop her from trying my patience.
“Hello, Milo.” She kissed my brother’s cheek. “I love your tie.”
Patience tried.
She batted her long lashes at Milo. “How come you’re never in a foul mood?”.
“I wouldn’t say never.” He took her hand in his and brushed her knuckles along his lips. “Someone as lovely as you doesn’t trigger me.”
“You’re both playing a dangerous game.” I glanced at their joined hands, then pointed to the door and stared at Milo. “Go get shit done. Be ready to leave in a few hours.”
“See you soon.” Milo kissed Lissia’s cheek, then smirked at me.
“Don’t be late,” I shouted as he left the penthouse.
Lissia gazed out the window. “If you’re in a bad mood, maybe we could go for a walk and get some fresh air.”
“No.”
“You’re not in a bad mood? Or no to the walk?”
“I’m not particularly in any worse of a mood than I usually am when you provoke me.” I joined her by the window. “And no, you’re not going for a walk.”
“I don’t want to be cooped up here.”
“You can go out on the terrace.” I stood behind her, trailing my fingers along her arm. “Just don’t jump.”
“I’m not provoking you.” She turned to face me. “I really am trying.”
“Then what was the display of affection with Milo? Was that not provoking me?”
“I was teasing you.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Can you tell me where you’re going?”
“Come sit with me.” I took her hand and led her over to the couch, but when I sat, she continued to stand. “I said sit.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Oh.” I smiled. “Why not?”
“You know why.”
“And yet, you still taunt me.” I held up my palm. “Maybe I didn’t spank you hard enough.”
“You got the job done.” She glanced at the couch and bit her lip. “Several times.”
“I aim to please.” My cock stirred when I thought about our encounter yesterday. “If you want more of that, then keep flirting with Milo.”
“You do know that I could have had a chance with Milo.”
“He’s made me well aware of that, and if he were anyone other than my brother, I would have killed him.”
“Milo wanted only one thing from me.”
“Milo wants one thing from every pretty face.”
“That’s why I don’t hold it against him when he shamelessly flirted with me and tried to get me to go home with him.” She tossed her hair to the side, revealing her slender neck and smooth skin.
With her beautiful face, every guy she encountered wanted her.
“I have my brother to thank for you.” Maybe I should kill him for unleashing her on me. “If he hadn’t put you in my path, I wouldn’t have saved you from that bullet, and you wouldn’t have been so persistent.”
“That’s not true.”
“It isn’t?”
“I had made up my mind before the bullets started flying that I wanted you. I would have found another way to annoy you, and you still would have kidnapped me. We were always going to end up here.”
She wasn’t wrong about that.
“Come here. You have to bite the bullet and sit.” I tugged her into my lap.
“Ouch!” She wiggled, trying to raise her hips.
“Settle down.” I stroked her hair. “It will only sting for a few seconds.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one with the sore backside.”
“Ah, baby, I’ve been stabbed, shot, and punched in the face more times than I can count. You’ll be fine.”
“You say that like it’s a badge of honor.”
“It is.”
In my world, the more times you were shot or knifed, the stronger you became, especially when you were left standing and your opponent was six feet under.
“I don’t understand why you want this life.” She traced my cheekbone with her fingertip. “I don’t want it for you.”
“It isn’t your choice.” I closed my eyes when she trailed her finger to my jaw. So delicate. “It isn’t mine either.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But I don’t have to like it.”
“Do you still want to know where I’m going?”
“You’ll tell me?” she asked.
I opened my eyes to meet her gaze. “Why wouldn’t I tell you where I’m going? You’ll be accompanying me.”
“We’re going somewhere together?”
“Florida,” I said. “Miami to be exact.”
“What?” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Really?”
“Really.”
“It’s warm there in November. We could swim. I need a bikini. Well, more than one.” She hopped off my lap. “Oh, I hear the clubs there are top-notch. I need a few dresses.”
“Princess.” I stood and grabbed her wrist. “This isn’t a vacation. I’m taking a crucial meeting with some very serious men.”
“Oh.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Am I going to the meeting?”
“No.”
“Then I can still swim.”
“I suppose you can.” I caressed her cheek. “I’m sure we can have dinner together in a top-notch restaurant too.”
“I need to get my nails done and my brows need to be waxed. When are we leaving?”
“In a few hours.”
“Marchello!” She shook her head. “I can’t possibly be ready to go in a few hours.”
“We’re leaving tonight,” I said. “But I’ll arrange for new clothes, and I’ll have people meet us at the hotel for your nails and eyebrows.”
“And hair?”
“Whatever you want.”
“You’re the best.” She kissed me. “I’m so excited.”
“I think you’ve been a hostage for too long.” I pulled her closer to me. “That status hasn’t changed, though. We’re changing the scenery, but you’ll still be guarded.”
“Can I have a phone?”
“No.”
“I had to try.” She ran her lips along mine.
“I admire your determination.” I kissed her slowly, taking my time to explore her mouth. When I ran my hands down her sides, she inched closer to me, creating an electrifying sensation.
“I want to thank you properly for letting me go with you.” She glided her fingertips along my neck. “Do you want to go upstairs?”
“As tempting as that sounds, I’m going to have to deny your request.”
“Why?” She pouted.
My cock is disappointed too.
“We will have plenty of time for you to show your gratitude while we’re away.” I gripped her hips. “But we need to set a few ground rules.”
“Like what?”
“You can’t tell anyone where we’re going.”
“Who am I going to tell?” She skimmed her hands to the back of my neck. “I don’t have a phone, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“That’s a silly rule anyway. What are the other ones?”
“You have to listen to me.” I glared at her. “At all times. The men I’m meeting with don’t play games. You can’t go rogue on me, you can’t talk about your father’s business, and you can’t provoke me in front of anyone.”
“I have to be your obedient little woman?”
“It will be expected.”
She scraped her nails along the back of my neck. “I’ll try.”
“Lissia, I’m serious. I want you with me, but I can’t worry about what’s going to come out of your mouth or that you’ll do something to offend these people.” I ran my fingers through her hair and gripped it in my firm hold. “If you think that I’m barbaric, just wait until you meet these men.”
“I get it.” She looked into my eyes, almost as if she was searching for something in them. “I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do what?” I asked.
“I’ll behave.”
“It’s for your protection.”
“As long as I’m with you, I’ll do whatever you want.”
Her warm eyes softened my demeanor. “I appreciate that.”
What gutted me was, I knew what she wanted and I couldn’t give it to her. Not now. My father gave my mother the world. He loved her more than anything and look at how that ended for her.
“Are you sure we don’t have time to go upstairs?”
My phone buzzed with a text, so I took it from my pocket and glanced at the screen.
“As enticing as that sounds, I have a feeling you’re going to want to stay here.” I nodded toward the door. “I have a surprise for you that you’re not going to want to miss.”
“What kind of surprise?” Her whole expression lit up.
“I wanted to reward you. I know you’ve been trying these past few days,” I said. “Agreeing to my terms wasn’t easy for you, but you did it anyway.”
“I want to be with you.”
“I know.” I gently kissed her.
“So what is it?”
The doorbell chimed, and I took her hand and guided her to the door, hoping I didn’t regret this decision. I had to give her something as a show of good faith. She wasn’t the only one trying.
“Not what.” I reached for the door handle. “Who.”