Chapter 24
Joey
A s I walk out of Elise’s bedroom, I hear Enzo’s footsteps coming up the stairs. I quickly shut the door, not wanting to disturb her with whatever conversation I’m sure we’re about to have. She needs to sleep after the ordeal she had tonight, and she doesn’t need to be burdened with anything related to work or Enzo’s obsessive jealousy.
I turn back around just in time to make eye contact with him, and I’m honestly not sure how he’s going to react to me being in her room. He asked me to be here, but he didn’t ask me to be in there. Sure, he claims he’s okay with sharing, but none of us really believe him. He’s never wanted to try it before, and he’s never acted this way about a woman before. Why would she be the one he’s ready to experiment with? It doesn’t make any sense.
But if he doesn’t change his mind soon, I’m pretty sure we’re going to be fighting over which of the three of us gets to have her first. Maybe this conversation will give me a clue as to where he stands. It’s been a few days since he gave us the green light, so he has to be expecting one or all of us to make a move soon.
When he realizes where I just was, Enzo’s expression instantly hardens, and I brace myself for a fight. But when he gets to the top of the stairs, he forces his shoulders to relax and takes a deep breath. I’ve never seen him fight his natural emotions before; it’s fascinating to watch.
I expect the first words out of his mouth to be an interrogation about what I was doing in her room. Instead, he asks, “Did anything happen while I was gone?”
“No, boss. All quiet here.” I pause, then extend an olive branch. “I was just checking to make sure she was okay after the meeting, and I accidentally woke her up. But she seems fine. I think she’s asleep again.”
He looks at me, contemplating my words and probably trying to decide if I’m lying. But I have no reason to lie, which he must realize.
“Why haven’t any of you taken advantage of the new rules yet?” he asks. I can tell that he’s genuinely curious but also not sure if he wants to hear the answer.
“Been watching your cameras lately?” I tease. He’d know immediately if any of us touched her; this house is under heavy-duty surveillance. Most rooms have either cameras or microphones. Nothing happens here that he doesn’t know about. Is it a little extreme? Sure. But with as many enemies as he has, I don’t blame him.
“I always check the cameras,” he points out.
I hesitate, not sure if he can handle what I’m about to say. But he needs to hear it. “You’ve never shared before. We aren’t sure you can handle it.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I couldn’t handle it.”
“Well, in that case…” I turn to go back into her room, but Enzo stops me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Not right now. She’s recovering from a traumatic event. She needs to sleep.”
I smirk over my shoulder at him. “I could wear her out. That would help her sleep.”
He laughs, which surprises me, then says, “Trust me. It’s much more likely that she’d wear you out.”
I turn around and tilt my head, studying him. “Are we… bonding over our shared woman right now? Aww!” I reach out to hug him, but he pushes me away.
“Since we haven’t shared her, I’m going to say no. We’re not.”
“We haven’t shared her yet ,” I correct him. Because I will have my hands and mouth all over her as soon as an opportunity comes my way.
He rolls his eyes and nods. “Yet.”
“How was work? Got it all straightened out?”
He sighs and rubs his temples, suddenly looking exhausted. “There’s a lot more to do, but everything is fine for tonight. The situation was a little more complicated than Sal let on.”
“I thought it was just a spat between one of the girls and a client?”
“That’s what I thought. But the client was Emilio.”
“Oh, shit,” I say. Emilio is one of our biggest clients at the club. “What do we do about that?”
“I kicked him out tonight and told him to let things calm down for a few days. But I don’t see how we can let him come back.”
“He should consider himself lucky. Anyone else would’ve been killed.”
“He thinks he should be able to do whatever he wants. But there’s always a line, and he crossed it.”
Enzo fights a yawn, and I smile at the sleepy mafia boss. “Let him stew for a few days. We can figure this out later. I think you need to get some sleep.”
His eyes flick to Elise’s door.
“Not in there.”
He glares at me. “This is my house,” he argues. “And she’s my…” He looks frustrated that he can’t think of a word to describe their relationship, and I laugh before shooing him down the hall to his own room.
“Sleep on that too. You’ll figure it out.”
He flips me off over his shoulder before slamming the door to his room.
Elise
I was almost asleep when Enzo came upstairs, but his heavy steps woke me all the way back up. Once I was sure they weren’t coming in here, I got up to eavesdrop on their conversation. It’s not my fault they chose to talk right outside my door.
When it sounds like Enzo might try to come in here, I almost panic and run back to my bed. But then I hear him hesitate with a word to describe who I am to him, and I can’t leave. I’m not sure what to make of his inability to classify our relationship. I’m his employee, right? But that doesn’t feel right. Definitely not girlfriend. Prisoner? Sex slave? Okay, maybe he was right to hesitate. We’re in a unique situation.
I consider opening the door to see if one or both of them wants to come in, but I have a feeling my time as a damsel in distress will be short-lived. There will be plenty of time to make questionable choices regarding these men in the future. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.
When I hear them both leave—Enzo to his room and Joey to the room he sleeps in when he stays here—I tiptoe back to my bed and climb in, ready for sleep to claim me for the third time tonight. Hopefully it lasts this time.