Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
The next morning, Gio woke up to a poke in the butt, and he checked his watch.
He rolled over carefully, not that it would have woken up Sacha.
Last night took a lot out of his boyfriend—fiancé—and he’d been asleep well before Gio had finished in the bathroom and joined him in bed.
Gio was glad that Sacha and Jack had worked things out.
Two pairs of big, dark eyes stared at him expectantly.
“Your daddies are getting married,” Gio whispered.
He was so ridiculously happy. “Isn’t it exciting?
” He held up his left hand, showing Chip and Cookie his ring.
Chip’s eyes went to the ring, then back up to Gio’s face, his expression forcing Gio to cover his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh.
Unless Gio’s ring turned into breakfast, Chip didn’t give two figs.
“Breakfast is three minutes late,” Sacha grumbled, half asleep. “Shame on you. Why are you starving them?”
Gio chuckled. He rolled over and brushed his lips over Sacha’s.
“Go back to sleep, love.” A brief kiss later, and Sacha was softly snoring.
Gio got up and went to the bathroom, both dogs following him in case he forgot they were waiting for breakfast. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and finished his business.
The two furry beasts followed him out of the bedroom, and Gio left the door slightly ajar, knowing Chip would want to nap with Sacha.
He didn’t even bother changing out of his yoga pants and T-shirt before heading downstairs.
Breakfast was already eight minutes late. Oh, the humanity.
Fitz, Jack and Duchess were already downstairs in the living room and looking like they were heading out.
“Leaving so early?” Gio asked as he grabbed the two dog bowls from the pup pantry and placed them on the counter beside it.
Chip’s Rin Tin Tin bowl made Gio smile every time he saw it, without fail.
He opened the airtight kibble container and used the measured scoop to fill their bowls.
Turning, they both sat patiently waiting, eyes fixed on him.
Gio placed the bowl on the floor in front of each one.
“Good boys. Go.” He pointed to the bowls, and the two started eating.
“I can’t believe your dogs have their own pantry,” Fitz said, shaking his head, amused.
“I’m not,” Jack replied. “Those furry monsters are spoiled rotten.” He side-eyed Fitz. “Like another floofy-tailed individual I know.”
Fitz gasped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, who’s the one who brings her a little gift every time he comes home from working out in the field?”
“Hey, I bring you little gifts too,” Jack said, kissing Fitz’s cheek and tickling him under his sweater.
“Oh my god, stop,” Fitz laughed. He playfully pushed Jack away. “Anyway, sorry to run off so early. I’ve got inventory at the salon today, and Jack has an installation job over in Vilano Beach. Will you give Joker a hug for me? I’ll check on him later this afternoon.”
“Of course,” Gio said, walking them to the door. Fitz kissed his cheek and hugged him.
“Call us if you need anything,” Jack said, waving as they headed to his car. Gio waved and closed the door behind him. The house was quiet, but it was a peaceful quiet. Knowing Sacha was upstairs, tucked in bed, warmed him.
Gio made himself coffee and breakfast and, when he was done, sat on the couch with his laptop to check his emails.
Cookie and Chip napped on the floor near him.
When Cookie lifted his head, and Chip did his “boof” quiet bark thing, Gio listened.
It didn’t sound like Sacha was up, so it was probably a delivery.
He checked his phone. Yep. Another flower delivery.
“Your daddy is going to have to thank a lot of people,” Gio said with a chuckle. “He’s going to be so thrilled.” He walked to the door and opened it, smiling at the delivery person. She smiled back.
“Mr. Wilder?”
“Yes, thank you.” He signed for the flowers, thanked her, and as she walked away, he waved to the agents at the far end of the drive.
Making sure he locked up behind him, he turned and hummed.
“Where’s this one going?” He ended up having to put the bouquet on the bar in the game room.
Maybe I should move some of the others in here, too.
Returning to the living room, Gio went back to work.
It was a quiet day where he checked on Sacha, making sure he ate and took his medication on time, played frisbee on the beach with the dogs, and received five more deliveries: two of flowers, two snack baskets, and one fruit basket.
Ace was going to end up with an entire produce aisle’s worth of fruit.
Later that evening, after taking Cookie and Chip out to potty, Gio sat on the couch with the TV on low in the background while he confirmed Sacha’s follow-up appointments.
Cookie’s head shot up, and Chip released a low growl, probably annoyed at being woken up for the umpteenth time today by delivery people.
With Sacha upstairs in bed all day, Chip spent some of the time with Sacha and some of the day downstairs with Gio, but he went up every so often to check that his daddy was still where he’d left him. Gio chuckled and closed his laptop. He checked his phone.
“And your daddy says I know a lot of people,” he told Chip, who tilted his head.
“Why are you two so cute?” Gio headed for the door, Cookie at his side and Chip following.
These two. When Chip wasn’t napping with Sacha, he was Gio’s furry shadow.
Gio opened the door and smiled at the deliveryman.
Like so many of the other delivery people, his polo shirt and baseball cap had a colorful flower shop name embroidered on them.
Gio recognized the logo, it was from a little flower shop in the historic district.
“Delivery for Mr. Wilder,” the man said.
“Yes, I can take it. Thank you.” Gio signed the little pad, and the man lifted his face.
There was something familiar about him. Then again, Gio had been in that flower shop before.
“Do I know you?” Before he had a chance to process what the hell was going on, the man shoved him inside and closed the door behind him.
Chip growled low, and Cookie positioned himself in front of Gio.
Everything happened in a flash.
Gio threw his arm up to cover his face and head from the thick vase that slammed into him. Glass shattered, and Gio stumbled back, his arm stinging as he hit the wall. What the hell?
“Do you forget the faces of all the people whose lives you’ve ruined?”
“What?” Gio held his stinging arm, his fingers wet. Damn it. He was bleeding. Wait. “Angelo?” He gasped. “Angelo Valeris?”
“So you do remember,” Angelo snarled.
Cookie’s sharp bark snapped Gio out of it, and he ducked under Angelo’s fist as he threw a punch, but the glass on the tile floor made Gio slip and hit the floor. Shit! He scrambled to get up when Chip lunged at Angelo.
“Stupid dog!” Angelo kicked Chip, sending him rolling into one of the side tables.
His yelp was like a punch to Gio’s gut, and he cried out.
He got to his feet to go to Chip, relief washing over him when Chip got up and shook himself out of it, but he held up a paw.
Cookie barked again, and Gio ran, swiping the solid wood elephant from his trip to Jeypore off the side table.
He swung it, catching Angelo off guard and hitting him in the face.
“Cookie, Jack’s button!”
Cookie darted off to press the silent alarm button like Sacha had taught him, and Gio ran into the living room, grabbing a bronze lion he’d been gifted while on a trip to London.
He spun and held it up. “This one’s going to hurt more than the elephant,” Gio warned.
“You son of a bitch. You almost killed my fiancé!”
“It should have been you!”
Gio flinched. No. This wasn’t his fault. Chip snarled and growled low, teeth bared, but kept his distance, his gaze locked on Angelo, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
“My sister is dead because of you,” Angelo snapped.
“No.” Gio shook his head. “Eleni is dead because of you. She’d finally built the life she wanted for herself, started her own business creating beautiful things, and you and your greed turned her dream into a nightmare. You got her killed.”
Angelo balled his hands into fists, his face going crimson with fury as he slowly followed Gio, who used the couch and furniture to keep Angelo at a distance.
The man clearly was unarmed, or he would have shot at Gio by now, which meant Angelo had done his homework.
Gio wasn’t surprised Angelo had found a way to hijack a genuine delivery. The man was a mercenary after all.
“You should have stayed out of it,” Angelo spat. “She betrayed her own blood!”
“She was terrified, didn’t know who to turn to, who to trust, so she called me.
You were using her shop to move drugs for your boss!
It was his men who showed up as the Hellenic police arrived.
Eleni was sweet, talented, and a good person.
She didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire.
You’re the one responsible.” Gio didn’t bother trying to reason with Angelo or talk him down.
It wasn’t going to work on a killer who’d used his own innocent sister to move drugs.
Angelo inched closer. “Let’s see how you like it when you lose your family, Galanos.”
The sirens were faint, in the distance, but Gio readied himself. Cookie was at his side, reminding Gio to steady his breathing despite his heart pounding. “You’re going to have to get through me,” Gio said through his teeth, lifting the heavy statue. “Come on, tough guy.”
Angelo lunged, and so did Chip. Gio swung with everything he had. The fuck this asshole was going to hurt his family. Whatever happened, Gio would go down fighting.