Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
I’m ready to burn this fucking city to the ground. Some asshole with a hard-on for my friends put Evie in the line of fire. That will not go unpunished. Louie wants me to let Carlo get his revenge on Antonia’s father. I don’t disagree. Doesn’t mean I have to like the idea.
I’m in the doorway of my foyer with my men.
I know Joey Marciano doesn’t have the resources to breach the boundaries here, but I don’t ever make the mistake of underestimating anyone.
Which is why I’ve instructed my men to increase security, making sure they know Evie is their only priority when she’s in this house.
I don’t give a fuck if anyone else makes it out alive, as long as she does.
Okay, Evie and Jazzy—that little girl isn’t going anywhere either.
I never would have thought that one of my best friends having an instant family would mean I would too.
When I heard Jazzy was dropped off to Carlo without him having any prior knowledge of her, I didn’t think too much of it.
Until I met her and knew I would do anything for my niece. She’s Carlo’s, which makes her mine.
Once my men disperse, I head into my office and pick up my laptop.
I open it and do a quick Google search for the best bridal stores in Milan.
The first thought that popped into my head when Lailani told me they were hit was that I didn’t marry Evie yet.
I need to marry that woman. I was a fucking idiot to tell her we should wait.
I know Evie, though, and a wedding dress is more than just an outfit to her. It’s why I want her to have the fucking dress of her dreams. Finding a few listings, I save the tabs and head upstairs with the laptop.
Evie is sitting on the edge of the bed when I walk in. We stare at each other, neither saying a single word. I close the door behind me and walk over, stopping a few steps away from her.
“Let me have it,” I tell her.
“Have what?” she asks, clearly confused.
“Yell at me, tell me how much you despise me and this life. Whatever it is you want to say, do it. Because I have something to say also, but you’re going first,” I clarify.
“I’m not going to yell at you,” Evie says. Then she stands. “Actually, I am. Are you fucking her?”
My eyebrows jump up in surprise. That is not what I was expecting.
“Fucking who?” I ask. “Actually, don’t bother telling me. Either way, the answer is no. I’m not fucking anyone who isn’t you, Evie. You should know that.”
“Lailani? Or Lai?” she says sarcastically. “Why hide that you know her if you’re not fucking her?”
“Because she’s a contractor, Evie. A hired gun.
A hitwoman. Whatever the fuck you want to call it.
I have a job. She takes it on. That’s all there is to it.
” I shrug. “I had her here keeping an eye on Louie, Sammie, and Carlo. To protect them from a threat they had no fucking idea was lurking in their backyard.”
“Why not just tell them? Why keep her a secret?” Evie asks.
“Because that’s not how people stay safe.
I’m not sorry I brought her here. Because if it weren’t for her, you’d be on the fucking floor of Carlo’s penthouse with a goddamn bullet between your eyes.
Is that what you would prefer?” Now I’m the one yelling.
I take a deep breath. I need to calm down.
I do not want to yell at this woman, but fuck, she frustrates the shit out of me.
“What I’d prefer is not being in a situation where I’m at risk of being shot at in the first place.”
“I… That’s never going to be our reality, Evie.
I can put in as much security and safety protocols that money can buy into place around you.
I can do everything I know to keep you safe.
But I can’t guarantee that you’ll never be put at risk again.
I’m not going to lie to you and give you false hope that our lives are going to play out in some little cottage with a white picket fence,” I tell her.
“No, they’re going to be in compounds surrounded by men in black suits who carry rifles everywhere,” she says.
“I’m sorry.” I’m at a loss for words. “I know that you deserve better than this. I want to give you that, but I can’t.”
Evie frowns at me. “Are you dumping me? Because you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to make me fall in fucking love with you, Emmanuel Lopez, and then break up with me.”
I laugh, because the mere thought of me dumping her is absurd. “No, Evie, I’m not dumping you. I came in here to give you this.” I wave the laptop in the air.
“Why?”
“I’ve saved some stores on the Google page. I want you to go through them and pick out a white dress.” I hand Evie the computer.
“A dress for what?” she asks.
“Open the laptop, Evie. Have a look.” I sit on the edge of the bed.
Evie comes and sits next to me, opening the laptop and then clicking on the first tab in the Google browser. “E… what? These are wedding dresses,” she says. “In Milan.”
“I know. We’re going to Milan, and we’re getting married,” I tell her.
“What? Seriously? When?”
“Tomorrow,” I say. “Pick a dress. You are going to be my wife.”
“Are you sure?” Evie looks me in the eye. She can’t be fucking serious right now.
“Am I sure? Evie, I don’t know what else I have to do to get you to trust me. I don’t know what I can say to reassure you that you are it for me.”
“I know,” she whispers.
“You don’t know. If you did, you wouldn’t have just asked me if I was fucking another woman,” I tell her.
“Deep down, I knew you weren’t. But I got jealous, okay?
You have a damn pet name for her, E. And she knows her way around your house.
I don’t like that another woman is so comfortable in your space.
It was jealousy, not mistrust. If I really thought you were fucking someone else, I wouldn’t be here. ”
“You have no reason to be jealous, Evie.” I cup her cheek with my hand, my thumb stroking up and down the smooth skin. “You are the only person I see in a room. You are the only one I want.”
“Be honest. When you look at me, is it really me that you see? Or is it her?” Evie asks.
“It’s you,” I reply quickly. “I haven’t compared you to her since that first night we met, Evie. I swear it’s you.”
“See? I’m even jealous of a ghost. Something is wrong with me.” She shakes her head.
“Nothing is wrong with you,” I tell her. “I was jealous of a fucking towel, Evie, because that fabric was touching your body when I couldn’t.”
“Well, yeah, but we already know you’re insane. One of us has to have all of our screws tight, E. We can’t both be nutty.”
“You are not nutty or insane or anything else of the sort. You might have very questionable taste in men, but I’m not here to point that out.” I laugh.
“Can we… Can you lie down with me.” Evie moves up the bed and slips under the blankets.
“Are you tired?” I ask her.
“Maybe. It’s been a while since I’ve slept and today was… a lot.”
“I’m not staying if you’re sleeping, Evie. I’m not having you wake up and look at me like I’m a monster again.”
“I won’t,” she says.
“You will, and you won’t be able to help the questions that run through your head. I get that, but I can’t see it,” I admit.
“Can you just stay until I fall asleep then?”
“That I can do.” I lie on the bed, and Evie curls up into my arms. My lips press onto the top of her head.
“E? I don’t like fighting with you,” Evie says.
“I fucking hate it when you do too.” I chuckle. “I love you. I don’t care what you throw at me, Evie. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Can you lock the door when you leave so no one can get in?”
“I will make sure no one comes in here,” I tell her. “Promise.”
“Get Alejandro here,” I tell Paz. We’ve been sitting in my office for the past three hours, searching through every database we could get our hands on. I haven’t found him yet. But Enrique cannot outrun me. I will find him and show the fucking world what happens to rat bastards.
“Anyone else?” Paz asks.
“No.” I’ve been over every question the agents asked Paz, the things they claimed to know, and he was right. There is no possible way they knew it unless they have Enrique. “That agent, he wants Evie to turn.”
“You worried she will?” Paz lifts a curious brow.
“No.” I shut that idea down real fucking quick. “But he doesn’t know that.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“He’s going to try to contact her again. He just has to think she’s alone,” I say.
“You’re going to use your wife as bait?” Paz attempts to clarify.
“No. She’s also not my wife. Yet,” I remind him.
“But she will be. Might as well get used to the term now.” He shrugs. “So what’s your plan?”
“Evie’s going to go back and start writing up ideas for that retail space. She’ll take Charlotte with her, and when I have Louie drag Charlotte away, the dirty fucking cop will show his face again.”
“And let me guess… you’ll be there?” Paz says. “Bad idea, jefe. It’s you he wants to pin.”
I laugh. “If he had anything concrete, I’d already be in cuffs.” We can do this and have a couple of guys tail him when he leaves.
“Let me dig through the night. If I can’t come up with the asshole’s home address, we go with your plan,” Paz says.
I raise a brow at him.
“I’m not using our queen if we don’t have to,” he adds.
I smile. He likes Evie. Good. It means he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. “Fine, you find him before morning, and we follow him from there. If not, we draw him out,” I tell Paz. “I need to go find Lailani.”
“Good luck.” Paz sighs. “By the way, I see our little queen isn’t a fan either. She has great instincts. We should get rid of Lailani.”
“We’re not getting rid of Lailani. And Evie likes her just fine,” I lie.
I’m in the garage when Lailani walks in. I heard her arguing with Sammie and knew she’d be looking for a quick escape.
“You need to let Carlo deal with him.” I step out of the shadows. Probably not the smartest thing to do considering she’s fucking lethal with that gun of hers.
“Jeez, E, why are you hiding in the shadows? I could have shot you,” she points out.
“You’re far too smart to try to shoot me, Lai.” I chuckle. She’s quick with her trigger finger, but she’s not reckless.
“I need to borrow a car.”
“Did your yelling match with Sammie blow out an eardrum? I said you can’t touch this.” I shove my hands into my pockets, because I don’t want to accidentally strangle the woman, and glare at her.
“They could have gotten Jazzy,” she says.
“I know. Which is exactly why her father needs this.”
She knows I’m right. This is Carlo’s fight. He needs this kill.
“Okay, but I still need a car,” she grunts.
“Take the Merc.” I nod towards a black G-Wagon.
“Thank you,” she says. “I’m assuming now that my cover is blown, the job is finished?”
“The job is finished, but that doesn’t mean you need to leave town,” I tell her. As much as she likes to remind me we’re not friends, we both know that we are.
“I don’t really have a reason to stay.” Lailani looks away from me.
“Don’t you?” I question.
“He hates me. He doesn’t understand me. People never do.” She shrugs as if she doesn’t care. She does. “It’s okay. I knew this would happen.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you should give him a chance to understand you,” I tell her.
“I… My dad asked me to visit. I need to deal with that and Sammie needs time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to miss me, time to realize what a chauvinistic ass he’s being.” Lailani rolls her eyes.
“Okay, call me if you need anything,” I tell her.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because that’s what friends do, Lailani,” I groan.
“Yeah, we’re still not friends. But thanks for the car. I’ll return it in one piece.” She smiles as she climbs into the Merc.
“If you don’t, you’re paying for it. I’m not running a charity here,” I tell her, then watch as she pulls out of the estate. She’ll be back. No way Sammie is letting her go for long. There are also other jobs she’ll want from me. She’s the best. I’m not letting her off my payroll anytime soon.
I send her a message.
Me:
Be safe, Lai, and thank you for what you did for Evie.
Killer Woman:
Your wife hates me.
Me:
She doesn’t know you.
Killer Woman:
Don’t die, E. I might need a job again one day.
I laugh, pocket my phone, and head upstairs.
I told Evie I wouldn’t stay in the room with her when she slept.
But I can’t stay away either. I sit in the chair in the corner and watch as her lips part ever so slightly, the rise and fall of her chest giving me a sense of peace.
Knowing her heart is beating is what keeps mine beating too.