Chapter 15 #2
“The sooner, the better. I need to get you caught up to speed on Massimo. He’s been spotted in town, and we think we have the location of his next shipment.”
Exhaling a sigh, I don’t exactly have another choice.
I despise the work my father does, but Massimo is far worse. The things he’s doing to those women and possibly children, it burns me up inside.
“We’ll be there,” I grunt before ending the call. I need to tell him what happened with Harper. I’ve been delaying the inevitable, trying to deal with it ourselves.
“What’s going on?” Harper asks, catching the tail end of the conversation.
“Dante called. He wants Ashton and me back at the house this afternoon. As soon as possible.”
She purses her lips together, her mind reeling. “It sounded urgent. Everything okay?”
I don’t dare tell her about Massimo and the work that we suspect he’s involved in. She saw the bruises, but I never told her the specifics.
There was no reason to worry her.
The less she knows, the better.
“Dante has something he needs us to help him with.”
Leaving her is wrong. There’s a lead ball in the pit of my stomach, making me anxious and nauseous, and the pain in my chest returns. Except it’s not from the broken ribs or bruises, it’s worry.
With the threats and now two men having shown up on campus, I can’t take any chances with my wife or son. Especially when Ashton and I won’t be here to protect her.
“Pack a bag for us and Zeke. You’re coming with us.” It’s not a question.
She stares at me, and I try to alleviate some of her concern. “Mom would love to help with Zeke, and we’ll all be home in a couple of days.”
Harper watches me, like she senses something is off. Probably from the sweat on my forehead and my voice not quite its usual tone.
“A couple of days with your family,” Harper repeats.
She’s clearly thinking it over, but if she says no, I’ll have to find another way to convince her, because her staying here without me isn’t an option.
“It’s Sunday. I thought you only worked with him on the weekends.” Harper’s brow is pinched, and she rubs at her forehead. She’s on the verge of something, like she’s trying to piece it all together, but I don’t think whatever she’s thinking is anything close to the truth.
“It’s also summer,” I remind her. “He’s given me the past several months off—”
“Because you were nearly beaten to death.” Her hands are on my arm, pulling me toward her. “What’s going on, Luca?”
“Babe, I’ve got to finish cooking on the stove.” I force a smile, but when that isn’t enough, I hand Ashton the fork to pull the bacon off the pan when it’s ready.
I wrap my arms around Harper, pulling her tight against me. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” she whispers, staring up at me, worry etched all over her beautiful face. “Your parents scare me, and then that incident at the store—"
I lean in, brushing my lips hungrily against hers, taking a taste, trying to convince her that I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. “Come with me.”
Her fingers tangle in my hair at the nape of my neck, and I deepen the kiss, pulling her tighter, harder, craving her touch.
“You two, get a room.” Nova’s voice startles me.
“Dante called us back for work,” Ashton says, glancing at Nova.
Her bottom lip juts out in a pout. “That’s a bummer. I wanted us to go out on a date tonight.”
“Promise I’ll make it up to you,” Ashton says, blowing Nova a kiss. She stalks around, stealing a kiss from him while he’s cooking on the stove. “We can always have our little late-night video chats.”
I wince, listening to my best friend flirt with my little sister.
I drop several chaste kisses on Harper’s nose and cheeks. “What do you say about spending the weekend at my parents’ house?”
Harper grimaces, her eyes flickering. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, Zeke can be a handful, and I’m not sure your parents actually like me. They’re civil and polite to me, but like me—that’s a stretch.”
“They don’t dislike you, they’re just … different.”
“They’re mafia.”
It’s not something that she needs to remind me of; I’m well aware who my father is. In fact, it’s the reason I want her under their roof. If I can’t watch over her to ensure her safety, then Dante and his men can.
“Yes,” I whisper and lean closer, teasing her with my lips.
I can sense her hesitation, feel her tense against me.
My fingers tangle in her hair, guiding her lips back down to mine. My movements are rough but deliberate, taking control, showing her what she’ll be getting or missing.
Seeing as how it seems she needs a bit of convincing for tonight.
Her lips part, hungry for more as I hover but don’t kiss her. Her breath is warm, and it caresses my cheek. Her eyelids are heavy, and she leans in to steal another taste, but I pull back, teasing her. “We don’t have time now,” I whisper cheekily, “but tonight—”
Harper moans, and I swear that delicious sound goes straight to my cock.
Fuck me.
I playfully bite down on her bottom lip, tugging it between my teeth.
This time, she whimpers, and my heart speeds up, my body desiring to explore every inch of her. If I don’t slow down this minute, it’s going to be a very uncomfortable ride in the car.
“Come with me.”
She blinks a few times and grins. “You know that’s my favorite part.”
I laugh, leaning my forehead against hers, as if we’re the only ones in the room.
I can hear Nova’s footsteps hurrying away now that she’s heard far too much.
“Come with me to my parents’.”
Harper’s nose scrunches at the words and pouts. “I just want to come with you.” That sexy tone stirs my insides and makes my cock twitch.
I drop a kiss to her lips, reluctantly pulling farther back. Another minute of that type of talk, and I’ll be throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her to the bedroom, caveman style.
I lean my back against the counter, letting it offer me support because Harper makes my head spin.
“Pack a bag.”
She rolls her lips together and then finally nods. “I’ll grab stuff for Zeke as well. Nova, are you joining us?”
“Yeah, let me go pack my things. Give me ten minutes?” Nova hurries down the hallway.
“That’s fine. We still need to finish breakfast, clean up, and get Zeke dressed for the day.” I breathe a heavy sigh when Harper heads out of the kitchen and has agreed to join us this weekend.
Ashton turns around to face me. “Everything okay? You really pushed the idea of Harper joining us today. That’s a little … unusual for you.”
“Liam came home this morning. Caught someone outside our place.”
“Shit.” Ashton frowns. “It seemed too quiet around here after the last threat…” he trails off, glancing in the direction of the hallway where the girls ran off. “Do we know anything about the guy who showed up?”
“Liam snapped a photo of his identification. He’s supposed to text me a copy. I’ll make sure that we get the text before we leave.”
Ashton hands me back the fork. “Here, get help with the bacon so we can get out of here. I’m almost done with the eggs.”
Nova and Harper both pack overnight bags, but I swear the girls packed enough for a week’s trip.
I don’t argue about the unnecessary extras they’re bringing along. There’s plenty of trunk space for the bags.
Ashton and I toss everything in the trunk. The girls and Zeke squeeze into the backseat while I drive and Ashton sits up front with me.
There is lots of chatter the entire drive up to the compound. Nova makes us swear not to tell anyone at home she’s dating Ashton.
I share a quiet glance with Ashton because Dante knows. And I’m pretty sure Moreno knows.
“Don’t worry,” Harper says. “I’m pretty sure that’s a conversation that’s not going to randomly come up.”
“I know, but it always worries me. Like if Dad comes knocking on my bedroom door and Ashton is in my room,” Nova says.
“Then sleep in my room.” Ashton glances over his shoulder at Nova. He extends an arm, reaching for her, like the two of them can’t quite get enough of each other.
Sounds familiar.
“Can you guys not sleep in Ashton’s room? Last time you did that, I could hear you. Not even noise-canceling headphones could drown the two of you out.” It’s a memory that I don’t want to remember, barging in on the two of them in bed together.
“Oh, like we don’t hear the two of you all the frickin’ time.” Ashton lets go of Nova’s hand and glares at me. “I’m glad you two are finally getting along, but some of us like to sleep in.”
I catch a glimpse of Harper in my rearview mirror as she laughs. Her eyes are bright, and her cheeks are red. Oh, she’s definitely embarrassed. I like that look on her, how her skin is flushed, and it reminds me of another time she gets those colorful cheeks.
“We’re not that loud.” I glower at Ashton. “You’re just stirring shit up.”
“Language!” Harper scolds me.
“Sorry.” I grimace. I’ve been trying to do better, watch myself around Zeke.
Hopefully, he’s not paying attention and didn’t hear my curse word.
As we pull up out front, storm clouds are brewing in the distance. It’s going to make for a long night if it’s thundering and we’re stuck doing surveillance on Massimo in the rain.
I try not to let it ruin my day. We head out of the car, Ashton and I grabbing everyone’s bags while Harper unbuckles Zeke and carries him to the front door, right behind Nova.
“We’re home!” Nova shouts as she heads inside, announcing us.
It’s not like security doesn’t get the first inkling of our arrival when we have to punch in the code at the gate. Sometimes they have a man standing guard outside at the guard post, it depends on how busy things are with Dante or the current level of security he feels is necessary.
I slip out of my shoes as I enter the house last. “I’m going to take our bags upstairs.” I glance at Harper, making sure she heard me before I head upstairs.
“Okay, thanks.” Harper looks a bit nervous. It’s not like this is the first time she’s stayed at my parents’ house, but it’s been a while since she’s spent the night. As long as she doesn’t go snooping, things will be fine.
I’m actually feeling a bit relieved knowing that Harper and Zeke are here. I won’t have to worry about them while I’m away, and I can remain focused on Massimo.
I’d love to be wrong about him, that Massimo wasn’t trafficking women, just selling counterfeit merchandise, but I doubt he’s in the business of selling lingerie. It doesn’t fit him as a mafia boss.
Two dons, one city.
Nothing good will come of the war brewing between the two organizations. My loyalty and allegiance is to my wife, first and foremost. I’d do anything to protect her and my son. Dante falls in line far behind them, but I know my place, my job, and my responsibilities.
I never thought I’d choose Dante over anyone else, but having met Massimo, who happens to be my uncle, talk about mind-blowing, I want nothing to do with him.
Dante is a monster.
Massimo is the devil.
And what does that make me, the man who does Dante’s bidding?
I place Zeke’s smaller bag on the dresser in his bedroom and then our shared bag on the dresser in our bedroom. I like knowing that I get to sleep in here with Harper.
It at least makes the thought of going to bed tonight not awful.
I’ve had trouble falling asleep under Dante’s roof for years. Working for him hasn’t made it any easier, and each day that I’m here, I only grow more tired.
I can’t make mistakes, it could get Ashton or myself killed.
Closing the door behind me, I head downstairs, hearing chatter through the halls. It’s unusual to have the house so lively, except when shit is going down.
But today’s chatter is upbeat, friendly, boisterous. I’m not used to witnessing it in this home.
Stepping into the hallway, I walk toward the laughter and pleasant sounds as I catch sight of Zeke showing off his dancing moves and Ashton is playing some ridiculous music with his phone to cheer the kid on.
Even Harper is dancing along with Zeke, and as I watch from the doorjamb, I realize they’re doing the same dance moves.
A smile spreads across my face, watching her with Zeke; it makes me want to put a baby in her.
I refrain from striding across the space and capturing her lips with mine. I want to badly, but I also don’t want to stop watching because the way she’s swaying her hips will give me a few new fantasies for the two of us to try out—stripper and dancer.
Yes, I’m a guy, which makes my mind constantly thinking about Harper and sex. It’s two of my favorite things, the third being Zeke.
The song ends and everyone, including me, begins clapping for them.
Zeke grins and claps proudly as well, taking a bow.
The kid is a real showman.
“There you are,” Harper says, reaching for my hand, pulling me into the room with them.
I grab a seat on the couch, yanking her onto my lap. I can’t ever get enough of the woman who has stolen my heart.
And then there’s Zeke, who has grown so fast and will soon be three. He loves dragons and pretty much any animal that roars.
“Luca,” Dante’s voice bellows over the room as he stands in the doorframe. He gestures for me to get up and come with him. “I’d like to see you as well, Ashton.”
“Business calls,” I whisper to Harper, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“Be safe.” She stares at me, the worry lines wrinkling her forehead. I kiss them away, as if that will absolve away her concerns.
I wish it would ease my own fears. I’m not afraid to face Massimo. I’m worried about my family.
“You know I will.” I steal one more kiss before following Dante down the hallway and pause as he leads us toward the basement.