One #3
Carlo starts dressing the loudest damn rattle on the planet, and I let out a sudden sigh.
“Until today, I thought the most painful day you and I ever lived through was when you were about to hand yourself over to Giuseppe to save Emily. But I’ve changed my mind.
Watching the infamous Don Carlo scrubbing baby ass is a thousand times more painful than watching him get tortured. ”
He zips up the blue onesie, presses a loud kiss to Gabriel’s cheek, then sets him in the crib with a few toys and turns toward me. He’s wearing a tight black T-shirt, and his muscles look even more taut than usual. Without the baby in his arms, he’s all menace again. A fucking war machine.
He drops onto the small couch in the nursery beside me, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Even wolves protect their pups with their lives. Doesn’t mean their nature’s changed.
In time, they’ll still rip the guts out of whatever they’re hunting.”
I take a deep breath and down another sip. “I remember a time when you gouged the eyes out of some motherfucker who tried to double-cross you—while he was still alive.”
Gabriel grabs onto the bars of the crib and pulls himself up. Carlo reaches in and tickles his belly through the rails. The kid giggles again and flops back on his ass onto the mattress.
“That time you remember was last month,” Carlo says as he keeps playing with his son.
I drain the rest of my drink. “Feels like a lifetime ago.”
Carlo turns back to me and teases me. “Don’t be jealous, Maxim. One day you’ll be a father too. And you’ll see, wiping a baby’s ass doesn’t change our bloodthirsty, psychotic nature one bit.”
Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl. I jab a finger into my chest. “Me? Have a kid? Not a fucking chance.”
He lights up, clearly enjoying how much it bugs me, and doubles down. “You can never say that with certainty. You’re a strong, well-built man. I bet your swimmers could knock up a woman on sight.”
“Of course, my swimmers are hyper-fertile. And of course I can say with absolute certainty that I will never, ever, ever—”
The vow dies on my tongue as Emily walks into the room.
“Never, ever, ever what, Maxim?” she asks, but doesn’t wait for an answer. She heads straight for Carlo and leans down to kiss him.
Her long, wavy black hair falls across Carlo’s face as she leans in and kisses him deeply. “Sorry I’m late. Things ran long at the hotel.”
She walks over to Gabriel and scoops him up into her arms.
“No problem, baby. I managed to beat your record,” Carlo replies, staring at his wife’s ass as she bends over the crib.
Emily straightens up and shoots him a sultry smile. “Oh really? Then I guess we’ve got to set a new record for Don Carlo.”
Carlo’s muscles tense, and his breath comes out low and deep—like a lion ready to mate. Emily chuckles at her husband’s reaction, then turns to me with a knowing look. She’s clearly still waiting for my answer.
I just shrug.
Carlo answers for me. “He hates kids. Swears he’s never, ever, ever having any.”
Emily raises a brow. “Oh, is that so? Well, unless you’ve had a vasectomy, Maxim, I wouldn’t be so sure. With the amount of crazy sex you’re having, like it or not, diapers and screaming babies are very, very, very much in your future.”
Carlo lets out a laugh, eyes trailing after his wife as she leaves the room.
Once Emily’s out of sight, I say without thinking,
“We welcomed that woman with four corpses tied to our horses. You nearly choked her to death thinking she was a spy. Tony bailed on her. Giuseppe beat her within an inch of her life. Then you locked her up, forced her into your bed, and at one point, actually tried to rape her. Let’s not even bring up the whole kidnapping fiasco with Giuseppe.
I just don’t get it. What else would a woman have to go through to be at least a little afraid of us? ”
When Carlo doesn’t respond, I turn my head and catch his gray eyes burning into me. I realize I’ve stepped over the line.
He lifts a brow, his voice hard and cold. “Her husband runs the most powerful and dangerous crime syndicate in all of Europe—and he’s madly in love with her. Tell me, why the hell should she fear anyone?”
Emily and Gabriel are the one red line. Crossing it means death—even for me, Carlo’s best friend and consigliere.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “You know damn well I’d die for that woman if you asked me to. No need to get murderous on me.”
It takes him a moment to soften his expression and give me a nod.
I change the subject and give him the update. “I’ve tracked down Vincenzo Vanni. He’s heading to Trentino next week to see his grandson. With the trip there and back, I can get it done in five days.”
His expression hardens again, no longer the doting father or possessive husband. Now, he’s just Don Carlo Bruni.
“I’ll come with you,” he offers, generous as always. “We’ll take a team and finish him off.”
I shake my head. “Thanks, Carlo. But you know I have to do this alone.”
Of course he knows. We may not share blood, but the shit we survived together since we were eight binds us tighter than blood ever could.
His eyes narrow slightly. “Six down out of seven, right?”
A wicked grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. “That’s right, Don Carlo. Once this one’s in the ground, there’s only one left.”
He rises from the couch and claps a hand on my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s drink to his sorry ass going straight to hell.”