Chapter 8
I hate that Connor is feeling anxious about being here. I get it. He’s literally walked right into enemy territory and my brother’s being an ass. Not that I expected any different from Lorenzo. He’s always been an overprotective grouch.
I just wish Connor wasn’t the one being made uncomfortable. There’s also a small part of me that worries he’ll change his mind and leave if everything that comes with being with me gets too much for him to handle.
I’d never let him go. I don’t care what lengths I have to go to. I am keeping him. And I won’t let my overbearing family scare him off.
Lorenzo drives through a set of iron gates that look like they’re right off Buckingham Palace. I guess it doesn’t hurt when you marry an heiress. Kyla told me her father bought this house for them as a wedding gift. I’ve seen pictures, but they do not do it justice.
“Nice castle,” I murmur.
“It’s just a house,” Kyla says.
“It’s nice, though,” I tell her.
“I forgot to mention we have other guests in town for the weekend,” Lorenzo says a little too cheerily.
“Who?” I ask.
“Bray and Levi,” he replies.
A groan leaves my lips. “Seriously? Did you tell them both to come? As if one of you wasn’t enough.”
“They don’t know about you. I didn’t tell a soul,” Lorenzo says. “They’re here on business with another family, not us.”
“What? They can’t afford a hotel?” I huff, knowing full well Bray and Levi Mancini have the means to afford a castle of their own if they wanted one.
“They like me. What can I say?” Lorenzo shrugs.
The car stops and Connor gets out. He then reaches in and offers me a hand. I don’t take it, only because it’s the arm that’s linked to his injured shoulder. Connor doesn’t move.
He’s literally caging me against the car as he leans in and whispers, “Who are Bray and Levi?”
“Cousins,” I reply.
Appearing satisfied with my answer, he nods his head and takes a step back. “After you.” He smirks.
“You just want to look at my ass.” I laugh. I glance over a shoulder and catch him staring.
Connor comes up behind me, his fingers hook into the bottom of my shorts, and he drags the fabric down. “No, I wanted to make sure everyone else couldn’t see it,” he tells me.
I swat his hands away from my ass. Usually I love having them anywhere on me. But when he’s trying to cover my body up just so other people can’t see it, it’s ridiculous. “Stop. No one is looking at my ass.”
“Not if they know what’s good for them, they’re not,” Lorenzo throws at me.
“Hey, Lorenzo, did Mom ever find out who broke her vase five years ago? You know the pink-and-white one she loved almost more than us? The one that her father gave her for a birthday gift when we were little?” I ask him.
My brother’s eyes widen. “You wouldn’t,” he says.
“Oh, but I would.” I smirk.
“You are many things, Aurora, but a rat isn’t one of them. Try again,” Lorenzo replies, sounding so sure of himself.
Shit, he’s right. I really wouldn’t rat my brother out. They’ve never ratted me out for anything, well, except for that one time Enzo had to tell my dad I was dating. “Try me,” I bluff.
“Fine. Truce.” He holds out a hand. I accept it, and he tugs me towards him and wraps his arms around me. “You know, it’s fucked up that your boyfriend gets jealous of you hugging your brother,” Lorenzo whispers into my ear.
“Shut up.” I swat at his chest as I pull away from him. “Now, show me these two bedrooms you think we’re sleeping in.”
“I can place guards outside your door. Don’t push it,” Lorenzo grunts and turns around. Kyla has already gone up to the front door and is holding it open.
“You okay?” I ask Connor.
“Never been better.” He smiles at me.
“You can tell me if you’re not,” I say. “It’s not like this is an ideal situation.”
“I’m with you, princess. What could be more ideal than that?” he asks.
“You could be inside me,” I say, keeping my voice low.
“Well, there is that.” He chuckles. Placing his hand on my lower back, Connor guides me towards the front door.
“Kyla will give you the tour. I have something I have to do,” Lorenzo says. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Or, you could call me if you need anything,” I counter.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Lorenzo laughs as he walks away.
“So… what do you want to see first?” Kyla smiles so wide. “I’m so happy you’re here, and so is Lorenzo.”
“I know,” I tell her. “I would say show me everything, but this palace is bigger than Buckingham.”
“It’s not actually,” she says. “Follow me.”
After Kyla showed us the two bedrooms my brother insisted that we’re staying in, which really are on opposite sides of the house, she said she would meet back up with us later.
“I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me,” I blurt out as soon as Connor and I are alone again.
His brows draw down and he pulls me against his chest. “It’s going to take a lot more than protective brothers to scare me away, Aurora.”
“It’s probably going to get worse,” I warn him.
“Your family loves you. That’s not a bad thing. Besides, there is nothing they can do to me that will change my mind. I just took a bullet for you, princess. I’m literally Prince Charming right now, swooping in and saving the day and all.” He grins.
“I don’t need to be saved,” I remind him. “I can save myself.”
“I know, but I like saving you.” Connor presses his lips to the top of my head.
“Wanna go see if we can find some booze?” I suggest.
“Fuck yes,” he groans. “Preferably some whiskey.”
“Champagne would be good too,” I counter.
We manage to find our way back to the kitchen. Unfortunately, it’s not empty like I’d hoped.
Shit. I can’t even turn around because he’s already seen me.
“Little Aurora Valentino, Lorenzo didn’t tell me you were coming to visit,” the distinctively Australian accent of Bray Mancini, aka the underboss of the Mancini Crime Family in Sydney, calls out to me.
“Funny, he never mentioned you’d be here either.
I would have made a welcome cake or something.
” I walk over and hug him. Because I was raised with manners.
It’s not that I don’t like Bray. I do. It’s just that I know he’s going to be an ass to my boyfriend.
The same boyfriend who physically drags me away.
“I thought you said they were cousins,” Connor says.
“They are,” I tell him.
“You’re related to the Mancinis?” he asks with a raised brow.
“In a long, drawn-out way, yes. Wait. How do you know him?” I point to Bray, who is smiling like a cat that just caught the canary.
“Connor O’Malley, of all the gin joints, this is not the one I ever expected to see you at,” Bray says.
The two men meet up and do that weird guy-hug, slap-the-back thing. “You didn’t see me here,” Connor tells him.
“Word on the street is there’s a pretty price on your head,” Bray says.
“What?” I gasp. “How much?”
“Heirs tend to run a hefty price, Aurora,” he tells me.
“Okay, hold the fuck up. How do you two even know each other? And I swear to God, Bray, if you so much as think of cashing in on my boyfriend’s head, I will remove yours from your body and send it to your brother in a pretty gift basket surrounded by blueberry muffins,” I threaten.
“That’s oddly specific.” Connor laughs.
“The threat is in the details.” I shrug.
“Boyfriend? How are you still breathing, mate? You must have the luck of the Irish.” Bray laughs at his own joke.
“Something like that,” Connor replies.
“Are you both going to ignore me?” I ask, getting annoyed.
“I would never ignore you, mo mhuirnín . I know Bray because our fathers did business together a few times. We’ve hung out in Dublin once or twice,” Connor explains.
“Seriously, you two? I don’t get it. How? And what the fuck did you two do to get that price on his head?” Bray asks.
“What’s the price, Bray?” I repeat.
“Ten mil, and it’s on both your heads, twenty combined.” This comes from Lorenzo, who storms into the kitchen. I swear he got that scowl from Zio Theo.
“That’s it? Pfft, I, for one, am worth way more than that.” I shake my head.
“Ten million is a lot of money for desperate people, and desperate people do stupid shit, Aurora,” my brother tells me, like I don’t already know this.
I look to Connor. I can see him contemplating something. Whatever it is, it’s not good. I point at him. “No.”
“What I do?” he asks me.
“Whatever you’re thinking, just no,” I tell him before turning back to my brother. “How do you find them first?”
“You don’t do anything. You stay put in this house until I tell you otherwise,” Lorenzo says.
“You do know who she is, right?” Bray directs to Lorenzo. “You really think she’s just gonna stay put because you said so?”
“No, she’s gonna do it, because if she doesn’t, I’ll kill her pretty little boyfriend here,” my brother replies.
“Yeah, you can’t,” Bray says.
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t stutter, Valentino. Connor is off limits,” Bray says, his voice firm and very non-negotiable.
“You know him?” Lorenzo asks, pointing to Connor.
“I’ve met the kid once or twice.” Bray lifts a shoulder.
“Okay, who lost my invitation to this party?” Levi’s booming voice breaks right through the tension.
Now this Mancini I am happy to see. I run and jump at him, throwing my arms around his shoulders. “Took you long enough. I was about to send out the search and rescue team,” I tell Levi when my feet hit the floor again.